And We have already sent Noah and Abraham and placed in their descendants prophethood and scripture; and among them is he who is guided, but many of them are defiantly disobedient. 26 And thereupon We caused [other of] Our apostles to follow in their footsteps; and [in the course of time] We caused them to be followed by Jesus, the son of Mary, upon whom We bestowed the Gospel; and in the hearts of those who [truly] followed him We engendered compassion and mercy. But as for monastic asceticism - We did not enjoin it upon them: they invented it themselves out of a desire for God's goodly acceptance. But then, they did not [always] observe it as it ought to have been observed: and so We granted their recompense unto such of them as had [truly] attained to faith, whereas many of them became iniquitous. 27 Believers, have fear of Allah and believe in His Messenger, and He will grant you a two-fold portion of His Mercy, and will appoint for you a light whereby you shall walk; and He will forgive you. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate. 28 (Have fear of God and believe in His Messenger) so that the followers of the Bible will know that they can receive no reward from God. They should know that all favors are in the hands of God. He grants them to whomever He wants. The favors of God are great. 29