When your Lord brought forth offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, "Am I not your Lord?" They replied, "We bear witness that You are." This He did, lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "We had no knowledge of that." 172 Or lest you should say: "It was only our fathers afortime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practised Al-Batil (i.e. polytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshipping others besides Allah)?" (Tafsir At-Tabari). 173 And thus do We [explain in] detail the verses, and perhaps they will return. 174 And recite thou unto them the story of him unto whom We vouchsafed Our signs, but he sloughed them off, wherefore the Satan followed him, and he became of the perverted. 175 And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered [instead] to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he [still] pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought. 176 Evil as an example are people who reject Our signs and wrong their own souls. 177 He whom Allah guides, he alone is rightly guided; and he whom Allah lets go astray - it is they who are the loser.' 178 And certainly We have created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind; they have hearts with which they fail to understand; and they have eyes with which they fail to see; and they have ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle - indeed, even more astray. Such are utterly heedless. 179 Allah has the most excellent names. So call on Him by His names and shun those who distort them. They shall soon be requited for their deeds. 180 Of those We created are a nation who guide by the truth, and by it act with justice. 181