And this (the Qur’an) is the blessed Book which We have sent down; so follow it and be pious, so there may be mercy upon you. 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 Are they waiting until the angels or your Lord come to them or for some miracles to take place? On the day when some miracles of God will take place, the belief of any soul will be of no avail to it unless some good deeds have been done with it, or it has been formed before the coming of such a day. (Muhammad), tell them, "Wait and we, too, are waiting." 158 Those who have made divisions in their religion and become sects, thou art not of them in anything; their affair is unto God, then He will tell them what they have been doing. 159 Whosoever will come with a virtue for him shall be then like thereof, and whosoever will come with a vice shall not be requited save with the like thereof; and they shall not be wronged. 160 (Muhammad), tell them, "My Lord has guided me to the right path, a well established religion and the upright tradition of Abraham who was not a pagan". 161 Say. Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; 162 No associate hath He. And to this I am bidden, and I am the first of the Muslims. 163 Say: 'Shall I seek after a Lord other than God, who is the Lord of all things?' Every soul earns only to its own account, no soul laden bears the load of another. Then to your Lord shall you return, and He will tell you of that whereon you were at variance. 164 And it is He who made you caliphs (viceroys) in the earth and ranked some of you high above others, in order that He may test you with what He has bestowed upon you; indeed it does not take time for your Lord to mete out punishment; and indeed, surely, He is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. 165