The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

306 The Quran
show you part of what We have promised them a in this life or
whether We take your soul back to Us first, it is to Us that they will
be returned. 78 We have sent other messengers before you – some We
have mentioned to you and some We have not – and no messenger
could bring about a sign except with God’s permission. When [the
Day] God ordained comes, just judgement will be passed between
them: there and then, those who followed falsehood will be lost.
79 It is God who provides livestock for you, some for riding and
some for your food; 80 you have other benefits in them too. You can
reach any destination you wish on them: they carry you, as ships
carry you [on the sea]. 81 He shows you His signs: which of God’s
signs do you still ignore?
82 Have they not travelled through the land and seen how those
who lived before them met their end? They were more numerous
than them, stronger than them, and made a more impressive mark
on the land, yet what they achieved was of no use to them at all.
83 When messengers came to them with clear signs, they revelled in
the knowledge they had, and so they were engulfed by the very
punishment they mocked: 84 when they saw Our punishment, they
said, ‘We believe in God alone; we reject any partner we ascribed to
Him,’ 85 but believing after seeing Our punishment did not benefit
them at all – this has always been God’s way of dealing with His
creatures – there and then the disbelievers were lost.
a The disbelievers.
40: 78