We did send messengers before thee, and appointed for them wives and children: and it was never the part of a messenger to bring a sign except as Allah permitted (or commanded). For each period is a Book (revealed). 38 Allah effaces whatever He wills and retains whatever He wills. With Him is the Mother of the Book. 39 BUT WHETHER We let thee see [in thy lifetime, O Prophet, the fulfilment of] some of what We have promised them, or whether We cause thee to die [before its fulfilment] - thy duty is no more than to deliver the message; and the reckoning is Ours. 40 Have they not seen that We set upon the land, reducing it from its borders? And Allah decides; there is no adjuster of His decision. And He is swift in account. 41 And those before them had plotted, but to Allah belongs the plan entirely. He knows what every soul earns, and the disbelievers will know for whom is the final home. 42 And those who disbelieve say: thou art not a sent one. Say thou: Allah is a sufficient witness between me and you, and also he with whom is knowledge of the Book. 43