But for a pre-ordained Word from your Lord, and a term [of respite] already fixed, immediate punishment would inevitably have taken place. 129 So be thou patient under what they say, and proclaim thy Lord's praise before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and proclaim thy Lord's praise in the watches of the night, and at the ends of the day; haply thou wilt be well-pleasing. 130 Do not covet what We have granted myriads of people of the pomp and glitter of this world to tempt them. The means your Lord has given you are better far and more enduring. 131 And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness. 132 And they say: Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord? Has not there come to them a clear evidence of what is in the previous books? 133 And if we had destroyed them with some punishment before it, they would assuredly have said: Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent unto us a messenger, so that we might have followed Thy revelations before we were (thus) humbled and disgraced! 134 Say: "Each one awaits the consequence; so you wait. You will come to know soon who are the men of the straight path and who have come to guidance. 135