How many a town has disobeyed its Lord and His Messenger! For them Our questioning was strict and Our punishment severe. 8 Then did they taste the evil result of their conduct, and the End of their conduct was Perdition. 9 Allah has prepared for them severe chastisement, therefore be careful of (your duty to) Allah, O men of understanding who believe! Allah has indeed revealed to you a reminder, 10 The Noble Messenger who recites the clear verses of Allah to you, so that he may take those who accept faith and do good deeds, away from the realms of darkness towards light; and whoever accepts faith in Allah and does good deeds, Allah will admit him into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them for ever and ever; indeed Allah has kept an excellent sustenance for him. 11 GOD is He who has created seven heavens, and like them, [the many aspects] of the earth. Through all of them flows down from on high, unceasingly, His [creative] will, so that you might come to know that God has the power to will anything, and that God encompasses all things with His knowledge. 12