And those who associate others with Allah say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have worshipped anything other than Him, neither we nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything through other than Him." Thus did those do before them. So is there upon the messengers except [the duty of] clear notification? 35 And certainly We raised in every nation an apostle saying: Serve Allah and shun the Shaitan. So there were some of them whom Allah guided and there were others against whom error was due; therefore travel in the land, then see what was the end of the rejecters. 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 They solemnly swear by Allah that Allah will never raise the dead to life. No, surely the promise of Allah is binding upon Him, though most people do not know. 38 [It is] so He will make clear to them [the truth of] that wherein they differ and so those who have disbelieved may know that they were liars. 39 For to anything which We have willed, We but say the word, "Be", and it is. 40