And how many a town which was iniquitous did We demolish, and We raised up after it another people! 11 And, when they felt Our might, behold them fleeing from it! 12 'Do not run away. Return to your luxury that you rejoiced in, and your homes in order that you be questioned' 13 They cried, “Woe to us, we were indeed unjust!” 14 So they kept saying this until We made them cut off, extinguished. 15 It was not in play that We created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them. 16 Had We intended to take a diversion, We could have taken it from [what is] with Us - if [indeed] We were to do so. 17 Nay, but [by the very act of creation] We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter: and lo! it withers away. But woe unto you for all your [attempts at] defining [God] 18 Unto Him belongeth whosoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those who dwell in His presence are not too proud to worship Him, nor do they weary; 19 Nor cease to endeavour praising Him night and day. 20 Have they chosen deities from earth? Can such deities give life to anyone? 21 Had there been other deities in the heavens and the earth besides God, both the heavens and the earth would have been destroyed. God, the Lord of the Throne, is too Glorious to be as they think He is. 22 None shall question Him about His works, but they shall be questioned. 23 Have they taken gods, other than Him? Say: 'Bring us your proof! Here is the Remembrance of he who is with me and the Remembrance of those before me' But no, most of them do not know the truth, therefore they turn away. 24 To all the Messengers that were sent before you We revealed that I am the only God to be worshipped. 25 And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants. 26 They cannot precede Him in word, and they act by His command. 27 He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they offer no intercession except for those who are acceptable, and they stand in awe and reverence of His (Glory). 28 ۞ And if anyone of them were to claim: "Indeed I am a god apart from Him," We shall recompense both with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrong-doers. 29