And say to My servants, that they say words that are kindlier. For surely Satan provokes strife between them, and Satan is ever a manifest foe to man. 53 Your Lord is fully aware of you. He may show you mercy if He will, or punish you if He will. We have not sent you as their guardian. 54 And thy Lord knows very well all who are in the heavens and the earth; and We have preferred some Prophets over others; and We gave to David Psalms. 55 Say: 'Call to those whom you assert, other than Him. They have neither the power to remove your affliction nor to transfer it' 56 Those whom they call upon are themselves seeking the means of access to their Lord, each trying to be nearer to Him. They crave for His Mercy and dread His chastisement. Surely your Lord's punishment is to be feared. 57 There is not a population but We shall destroy it before the Day of Judgment or punish it with a dreadful Penalty: that is written in the (eternal) Record. 58 And nothing has prevented Us from sending [this message, like the earlier ones,] with miraculous signs [in its wake,] save [Our knowledge] that the people of olden times [only too often] gave the lie to them: thus, We provided for [the tribe of] Thamud the she-camel as a light-giving portent, and they sinned against it. And never did We send those signs for any other purpose than to convey a warning. 59 And recall when We said to you, (O Muhammad), that your Lord encompasses these people; and that We have made that vision that We have shown you, and the tree accursed in the Qur'an, but as a trial for people. We go about warning them, but each warning leads them to greater transgression. 60