O you who have believed, if you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion and will remove from you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allah is the possessor of great bounty. 29 Remember how those who bent on denying the truth plotted against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they schemed -- but God also schemed. God is the best of schemers. 30 And when Our revelations are rehearsed unto them, they say: we have heard; we could if we willed, surely say something the like thereof; naught is this but fables of the ancients. 31 And also recall when they said: 'O Allah! If this indeed be the truth from You, then rain down stones upon us from heaven, or bring upon us a painful chastisement.' 32 But Allah was not going to send them a penalty whilst thou wast amongst them; nor was He going to send it whilst they could ask for pardon. 33 And what is with them that Allah should not punish them, whereas in fact they prevent from the Sacred Mosque and they are not worthy (of being the custodians) of it; only the pious are its befitting custodians, but most of them do not have knowledge. 34 And naught was their prayer at the House but whistling and hand-clapping. Taste then the torment for ye were to disbelieve. 35 Verily those who disbelieve are expending their riches in order to hinder People from the way of Allah; so they will go on expending them; thereafter they shall become an anguish unto them; then they shall be overcome. And those who disbelieve shall be gathered for Hell. 36 that God may distinguish the corrupt from the good, and place the corrupt one upon another, and so heap them up all together, and put them in Gehenna; those are the losers. 37