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114
THE QUR'ÂN.
XXVIII, 55-63.
have your works. Peace be upon you! we do not seek the ignorant!'.
Verily, thou canst not guide whom thou dost like, but God guides whom He pleases; for He knows best who are to be guided.
And they say, 'If we follow the guidance we shall be snatched away from the land.' Have we not established for them a safe sanctuary, to which are imported the fruits of everything as a provision from us? but most of them do not know.
How many a city have we destroyed that exulted in its means of subsistence? These are their dwellings, never dwelt in after them, except a little; for we were the heirs.
But thy Lord would never destroy cities until He sent to the metropolis thereof an apostle, to recite to them our signs ; nor would we destroy cities unless their people were unjust. [60] Whatever thing ye may be given, it is a provision for this world's life and the adornment thereof; but what is with God is better and more enduring ; have ye then no sense ?
Is He to whom we have promised a goodly promise, which he shall meet with, like him to whom we have given the enjoyment of the life of this world, and who upon the resurrection day shall be of the arraigned ?
And on the day when He will call them and will say, 'Where are those associates which ye did pretend ?' And those against whom the sentence is due shall say, 'Our Lord! these are those whom we have seduced; we seduced them as we were seduced ourselves : but we clear ourselves to thee;—they did not worship us!!
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