Those who associate [others with God] say, "If God had so willed we would not have worshipped anything besides Him, neither we nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything without His sanction." So did those who went before them. The duty of the messengers is only to convey the message clearly. 35 We raised a Messenger in every community (to tell them): "Serve Allah and shun the Evil One." Thereafter Allah guided some of them while others were overtaken by error. Go about the earth, then, and observe what was the end of those who rejected the Messengers, calling them liars. 36 [Even] if you should strive for their guidance, [O Muhammad], indeed, Allah does not guide those He sends astray, and they will have no helpers. 37 And they swore by Allah most vehemently in their oaths that, “Allah will not raise up the dead”; yes He will, why not? A true promise obligatory upon Him, but most men do not know. 38 In order that He may make clear to them the matter in which they differed, and the disbelievers may realise that they were liars. 39 When We want to bring something into existence, Our command is, "Exist," and it comes into existence. 40