Hell is behind them! and neither their gains nor the lords whom they have adopted beside God shall avail them in the least: and theirs, a great punishment! This is "Guidance:" and for those who disbelieve the signs of their Lord is the punishment of an afflictive torment. It is God who hath subjected the sea to you that the ships may traverse it at his bidding, and that ye may go in quest of the gifts of his bounty, and that ye may be thankful. And he hath subjected to you all that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth: all is from him. Verily, herein are signs for those who reflect. Tell the believers to pardon those who hope not for the days of God4 in which He purposeth to reward men according to their deeds. He who doth that which is right, doth it to his own behoof, and whoso doth evil, doth it to his own hurt. Hereafter, to your Lord shall ye be brought back. To the children of Israel gave we of old the Book and the Wisdom, and the gift of Prophecy, and we supplied them with good things, and privileged them above all peoples: And we gave them clear sanctions for our behests: neither did they differ, through mutual envy, till after they had become possessed of knowledge; but thy Lord will judge between them on the day of resurrection, as to the subject of their disputes. Afterwards we set thee over our divine law:5 follow it then: and follow not the wishes of those who have no knowledge, For against God shall they avail thee nothing. And in sooth, the doers of evil are one another's patrons; but the patron of them that fear Him is God himself. This Book hath insight for mankind, and a Guidance and Mercy to a people who are firm in faith. Deem they whose gettings are only evil, that we will deal with them as with those who believe and work righteousness, so that their lives and deaths shall be alike? Ill do they judge. In all truth hath God created the Heavens and the Earth, that he may reward every one as he shall have wrought; and they shall not be wronged. What thinkest thou? He who hath made a God of his passions, and whom God causeth wilfully to err, and whose ears and whose heart he hath sealed up, and over whose sight he hath placed a veil-who, after his rejection by God, shall guide such a one? Will ye not then be warned? And they say, "There is only this our present life: we die and we live, and nought but time destroyeth us." But in this they have no knowledge: it is merely their own conceit. And when our clear signs are recited to them, their only argument is to say, "Bring back our fathers, if ye speak the truth." Say: God giveth you life, then causeth you to die: then will He assemble you on the day of resurrection: there is no doubt of it: but most men have not this knowledge. And God's is the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth; and on the day when the Hour shall arrive, on that day shall the despisers6 perish.