Y. S. By the wise Korān! Verily thou art of the Messengers Upon the straight way. A revelation of the Mighty, the Merciful:-- To warn a people whose fathers were not warned, and themselves are heedless. Our word has proved true against the most of them; yet they will not believe! Verily we have put shackles on their necks, reaching to the chin, and their heads are tied back; And we have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and we have covered them so that they see not; And it is all one to them whether thou warn them or warn them not: they will not believe. Thou wilt only warn to good purpose him who followeth the monition and feareth the Merciful in secret: so tell him good tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward. Verily it is we who quicken the dead, and write down the deeds they have sent before them and the vestiges they leave behind them; and everything do we set down in the plain Exemplar. And frame for them a parable--the people of the town [of Antioch], when the Apostles came to it; When we sent unto them two, and they called them liars; so we strengthened them with a third, and they said, “Verily we are sent unto you.” The people said, “Ye are only men like us; and the Merciful hath not revealed aught; in sooth ye are only lying.” They said, “Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you; And there is naught laid upon us but to announce a plain message.” The people said, “Of a truth we have drawn an evil augury from you: unless ye desist, we will surely stone you, and a painful punishment shall surely betide you from us.” They said, “Your evil augury is with yourselves! If ye be warned?--Nay! ye are an ignorant people.” And there came from the furthest part of the city a man running: he said, “O my people! follow the Apostles, Follow those who ask you not for recompense, and who are guided aright. And what is in me, that I should not worship Him who made me and to whom ye must return? Shall I take gods beside Him? If the Merciful be pleased to afflict me, their intercession will not avail me aught, nor will they deliver me; Verily in that case I should be in a manifest error. Verily I believe in your Lord: therefore hear ye me.”-- It was said, “Enter into Paradise,” and he said, “Would that my people knew How that my Lord hath forgiven me and hath made me one of the honoured!” And afterwards we sent not down upon his people armies out of heaven nor what we were wont to send down: It was but one shout, and lo, they were extinct!