And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God or gives the lie to His messages? Verily, such evildoers will never attain to a happy state: 21 On the Day of Judgment when We will gather all people together, We will ask the pagans, "Where are those whom you believed to be your gods?" 22 Then their excuse would be nothing but that they would say: By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists. 23 You will see how they will lie against themselves, and all their slanderings will be vain. 24 Some of them listen to you, but We have veiled their hearts so that they cannot understand and made them deaf. They disbelieve all the evidence (of Our existence) that they may have seen. They only come to you for the sake of argument and the disbelievers say that (whatever Muhammad says) is no more than ancient legends. 25 And they prohibit others therefrom, and they withdraw therefrom, and they destroy not but their own souls while they perceive not. 26 And if you see them when they will be placed above hell, they will say, “Alas, if only we might be sent back and not deny the signs of our Lord, and become Muslims!” 27 Nay, what they concealed before shall become manifest to them; and if they were sent back, they would certainly go back to that which they are forbidden, and most surely they are liars. 28 They say, "There is nothing beyond our life in this world: we shall not be raised up again from the dead." 29 If you could but see when they will be made to stand before their Lord. He will say, "Is this not the truth?" They will say, "Yes, by our Lord." He will [then] say, "So taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve." 30