We have explained (the truth) in various ways in this Qur'an, that they may be warned; but it only increased their refractoriness. 41 Say: "Had there been other gods with Him, as they assert, they would surely have sought a way (of opposition) against the Lord of the Throne." 42 Holy is He and far above all that they say. 43 The seven heavens and the earth, and whosoever in them is, extol Him; nothing is, that does not proclaim His praise, but you do not understand their extolling. Surely He is All-clement, All-forgiving. 44 When you recite the Qur'an, We place a hidden barrier between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter; 45 and We place a covering on their hearts so that they do not comprehend it, and We cause a heaviness in their ears; and when you mention your Lord, the Only True Lord, in the Qur'an, they turn their backs in aversion. 46 We are well aware of what they wish to hear when they listen to you and what they say when they confer in whispers, when the wrong-doers say: "You are only following one who is bewitched." 47 See what they liken you to! So they have gone astray and cannot find the way. 48 "What!" they say, "When we are turned to bones and dust, shall we be restored to life?" 49 Say: Be ye stones or iron 50 ۞ or any [other] substance which, to your minds, appears yet farther removed [from life]!" And [if] thereupon they ask, "Who is it that will bring us back [to life]?" - say thou: "He who has brought you into being in the first instance." And [if] thereupon they shake their heads at thee [in disbelief] and ask, "When shall this be?" - say thou: "It may well be soon, 51 The Day whereon He will call you, and ye will answer with His praise, and ye will imagine that ye had tarried but little. 52