And We have already sent messengers before you and assigned to them wives and descendants. And it was not for a messenger to come with a sign except by permission of Allah. For every term is a decree. 38 Allah effaces whatever He wills and retains whatever He wills. With Him is the Mother of the Book. 39 (O Prophet), whether We make you see a part of the punishment that We have threatened them with come to pass during your life-time, or We take you away before that happens, your duty is no more than to convey the Message, and it is for Us to make a reckoning. 40 Do they not see that We are bringing destruction upon the land by curtailing it of its sides? And Allah pronounces a doom-- there is no repeller of His decree, and He is swift to take account. 41 And verily, those before them did devise plots, but all planning is Allah's. He knows what every person earns, and the disbelievers will know who gets the good end (final destination). 42 Those who disbelieve say: 'You are not a Messenger' Say: 'Allah is a Sufficient witness between me and you, and whosoever possess knowledge of the Book' 43