Say thou unto My bondmen that they should say that which is best, Verily the Satan would stir up strife between them; verily the Satan is unto men ever an enemy manifest. 53 Your Lord is most knowing of you. If He wills, He will have mercy upon you; or if He wills, He will punish you. And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], over them as a manager. 54 And thy Lord is Best Aware of all who are in the heavens and the earth. And we preferred some of the prophets above others, and unto David We gave the Psalms. 55 Say: 'Call on those you asserted apart from Him; they have no power to remove affliction from you, or to transfer it. 56 Those they call upon are themselves seeking the means to come to their Lord, which of them shall be nearer; they hope for His mercy, and fear His chastisement. Surely thy Lord's chastisement is a thing to beware of. 57 there is not a town [community] but We shall destroy or sternly punish it before the Day of Judgement. That is recorded in the Book. 58 And nothing has prevented Us from sending signs except that the former peoples denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel as a visible sign, but they wronged her. And We send not the signs except as a warning. 59 And lo! We said unto thee, [O Prophet:] "Behold, thy Sustainer encompasses all mankind [within His knowledge and might]: and so We have ordained that the vision which We have shown thee - as also the tree [of hell,] cursed in this Qur'an - shall be but a trial for men. Now [by Our mentioning hell] We convey a warning to them: but [if they are bent on denying the truth,] this [warning] only increases their gross, overweening arrogance." 60