And indeed the Noble Messengers before you were also mocked – I therefore gave the mockers respite for some days and then seized them; so how (dreadful) was My punishment! 32 Then is He who is a maintainer of every soul, [knowing] what it has earned, [like any other]? But to Allah they have attributed partners. Say, "Name them. Or do you inform Him of that which He knows not upon the earth or of what is apparent of speech?" Rather, their [own] plan has been made attractive to those who disbelieve, and they have been averted from the way. And whomever Allah leaves astray - there will be for him no guide. 33 For them is a torment in the life of this world, and certainly, harder is the torment of the Hereafter. And they have no protector against Allah. 34 ۞ THE PARABLE of the paradise promised to those who are conscious of God [is that of a garden] through which running waters flow: [but, unlike an earthly garden,] its fruits will be everlasting, and [so will be] its shade. Such will be the destiny of those who remain conscious of God - just as the destiny of those who deny the truth will be the fire. 35 Those to whom We sent the Scriptures rejoice in what has been revealed to you, while some factions deny parts of it. Say to them, "I have been commanded only to worship God and not to associate partners with Him: to Him I pray and to Him I shall return." 36 Thus, then, have We bestowed from on high this [divine writ] as an ordinance in the Arabic tongue. And indeed, if thou shouldst defer to men's likes and dislikes after all the [divine] knowledge that has come unto thee, thou wouldst have none to protect thee from God, and none to shield thee [from Him]. 37