And this, too, is a divine writ which We have bestowed from on high, a blessed one: follow it, then, and be conscious of God, so that you might be graced with His mercy. 155 Lest you (pagan Arabs) should say: "The Book was only sent down to two sects before us (the Jews and the Christians), and for our part, we were in fact unaware of what they studied." 156 Or that: "Had the Book been sent down to us we would surely have been guided better than they." So you have now received from your Lord a clear proof and a guidance and grace. Then who is more wicked than he who denies the signs of God and turns away from them? We shall punish those severely who turn away: A requital indeed for having turned aside. 157 Do they, perchance, wait for the angels to appear unto them, or for thy Sustainer [Himself] to appear, or for some of thy Sustainer's [final] portents to appear? [But] on the Day when thy Sustainer's [final] portents do appear, believing will be of no avail to any human being who did not believe before, or who, while believing, did no good works. Say: "Wait, [then, for the Last Day, O unbelievers:] behold, we [believers] are waiting, too!" 158 As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did. 159 Whoso bringeth a good deed will receive tenfold the like thereof, while whoso bringeth an ill-deed will be awarded but the like thereof; and they will not be wronged. 160 Say: Lo! As for me, my Lord hath guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was no idolater. 161 Say thou: verily my prayer and my rites and my living and my dying are all for Allah, Lord of the worlds. 162 No equal has He, I am commanded (to declare), and that I am the first to submit." 163 Say: "Shall I seek a lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things? No person earns any (sin) except against himself (only), and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then unto your Lord is your return, so He will tell you that wherein you have been differing." 164 For He it is Who has appointed you vicegerent over the earth, and has exalted some of you over others in rank that He may try you in what He has bestowed upon you. Indeed your Lord is swift in retribution, and He is certainly AllForgiving, All-Compassionate. 165