THUS, INDEED, have We given in this Qur'an many facets to every kind of lesson [designed] for [the benefit of] mankind. However, man is, above all else, always given to contention: 54 Nothing prevented people from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Lord when guidance came to them, unless they are waiting for the fate of the ancients to overtake them, or that the punishment should come upon them face to face. 55 And We send not the Envoys, but good tidings to bear, and warning. Yet do the unbelievers dispute with falsehood, that they may rebut thereby the truth. They have taken My signs, and what they are warned of, in mockery. 56 And who does greater evil than he who, being reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away from them and forgets what his hands have forwarded? Surely We have laid veils on their hearts lest they understand it, and in their ears heaviness; and though thou callest them to the guidance, yet they will not be guided ever. 57 Thy Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. If He took them to task (now) for what they earn, He would hasten on the doom for them; but theirs is an appointed term from which they will find no escape. 58 We destroyed these communities when they went on doing wrong, and We appointed a time for their destruction. 59