Give to them a parable; to the people of the village there came Messengers, 13 When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you." 14 They said: Ye are but mortals like unto us. The Beneficent hath naught revealed. Ye do but lie! 15 (The messengers) said: "Our Lord knows that we have been sent to you. 16 And we are not responsible except for clear notification." 17 (The people of the city) said: We augur ill of you. If ye desist not, we shall surely stone you, and grievous torture will befall you at our hands. 18 They said: Your evil augury be with you! Is it because ye are reminded (of the truth)? Nay, but ye are froward folk! 19 And there came running from the farthest part of the town, a man, saying: "O my people! Obey the Messengers; 20 Follow him who does not ask you for reward, and they are the followers of the right course; 21 Why should I not serve the One Who created me and to Whom all of you shall be sent back? 22 Shall I take (other) gods in place of Him when, if the Beneficent should wish me any harm, their intercession will avail me naught, nor can they save? 23 (Had I worshipped things besides God, I would have been in manifest error). 24 “Indeed I have believed in your Lord, so heed me.” 25 It was said: Enter the garden. He said: O would that my people had known 26 Of that on account of which my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honored ones! 27 ۞ And after that, no host out of heaven did We send down against his people, nor did We need to send down any: 28 It was only a single blast which made them extinct. 29 How regretful for the servants. There did not come to them any messenger except that they used to ridicule him. 30 Do they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them? Verily, they will not return to them. 31 and [that] all of them, all together, will [in the end] before Us be arraigned? 32