We have set forth for people in this Koran all manner of parables; the human is the most disputatious of things. 54 And nothing prevents men from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that what happened to the ancients should overtake them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them. 55 We never send apostles but to convey happy tidings, and to warn. But those who disbelieve contend with false arguments to nullify the truth. They make a mockery of My revelations and of what they had been warned. 56 Who is greater in evil than he who, when reminded of the verses of his Lord, turns away from them and forgets what his hands have sent before him? We have placed veils over their hearts lest they should understand it, and there is heaviness in their ears. Even if you call them to guidance, they will never be guided. 57 Your Lord is All-Forgiving, full of mercy. Had He wished to take them to task for their doings, He would have hastened in sending His scourge upon them. But He has set for them a time-limit which they cannot evade. 58 as [was the case with all] those communities that We destroyed when they went on and on doing wrong: for We had set a time-limit for their destruction. 59