They descend upon all sinful self-deceivers*

Woe unto every sinful self-deceiver*

Have, then, the stories of those who preceded them never come within the ken of these [hypocrites and deniers of the truth]?-[the stories] of Noah's people, and of [the tribes of] `Ad and Thamud, and of Abraham's people, and of the folk of Madyan, and of the cities that were overthrown?* To [all of] them their apostles had come with all evidence of the truth. [but they rejected them:] and so it was not God who wronged them [by His punishment], but it was they who wronged themselves.

just as He thrust into perdition those cities that were overthrown

And there was Pharaoh, too, and [many of] those who lived before him, and the cities that were overthrown* - [all of them] indulged in sin upon sin

Verily, numerous among you are those who would falsely accuse others of unchastity:* [but, O you who are thus wronged,] deem it not a bad thing for you: nay, it is good for you!* [As for the slanderers,] unto every one of them [will be accounted] all that he has earned by [thus] sinning; and awesome suffering awaits any of them who takes it upon himself to enhance this [sin]!*

Why do not the believing men and women, whenever such [a rumour] is heard,* think the best of one another and say, “This is an obvious falsehood"?

Moreover, those who are bent on denying the truth are wont to say, “This [Qur'an] is nothing but a lie, which he [himself] has devised with the help of other people,* who thereupon have perverted the truth and brought a falsehood into being."*

You worship only [lifeless] idols instead of God, and [thus] you give visible shape to a lie!* Behold, those [things and beings] that you worship instead of God have it not in their power to provide sustenance for you: seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back!

For [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, they [who are bent on denying the truth] say [to one another], “This [Muhammad] is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from what your forefathers were wont to worship!" And they say, “This [Qur'an] is nothing but a falsehood invented [by man]!" And [finally,] they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth when it comes to them: “This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!"*

Do you want [to bow down before] a lie - [before] deities other than God?

Oh, verily, it is out of their own [inclination to] falsehood that some people* assert,

But they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of those who have attained to faith: “If this [message] were any good, these [people] would not have preceded us in accepting it!"* And since they refuse to be guided by it, they will always say, “This is [but] an ancient falsehood!"*

But, then, did those [beings] whom they had chosen to worship as deities beside God, hoping that they would bring them nearer [to Him], help them [in the end]?* Nay, they forsook them: for that [alleged divinity] was but an outcome of their self-delusion and all their false imagery.*

The Christ, son of Mary, was but an apostle: all [other] apostles had passed away before him; and his mother was one who never deviated from the truth; and they both ate food [like other mortals].* Behold how clear We make these messages unto them: and then behold how perverted are their minds!*

VERILY, God is the One who cleaves the grain and the fruit-kernel asunder, bringing forth the living out of that which is dead, and He is the One who brings forth the dead out of that which is alive. This, then, is God: and yet, how perverted are your minds!*

And [then] We inspired Moses, "Throw down thy staff!" -and lo! it swallowed up all their deceptions:*

AND THE JEWS say, "Ezra is God's son," while the Christians say, "The Christ is God's son." Such are the sayings which they utter with their mouths, following in spirit assertions made in earlier times by people who denied the truth!* [They deserve the imprecation:] "May God destroy them!"* How perverted are their minds!*

Say: "Can any of those beings to whom you ascribe a share in God's divinity create [life] in the first instance, and then bring it forth anew?"* Say: "It is God [alone] who creates [all life] in the first instance, and then brings it forth anew. How perverted, then, are your minds!"*

[But] then Moses threw his staff - and lo! it swallowed up all their deceptions.*

And thus it is [with most people]:* if thou ask them, “Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and made the sun and the moon subservi­ent [to His laws]?" - they will surely answer, “God." How perverted, then, are their minds!*

[He it is who will cause you to die, and in time will resurrect you.]* And when the Last Hour dawns, those who had been lost in sin will swear that they had not tarried [on earth] longer than an hour: thus were they wont to delude themselves [all their lives]!*

O men! Call to mind the blessings which God has bestowed upon you! Is there any creator, other than God, that could provide for you sustenance out of heaven and earth?* There is no deity save Him: and yet, how perverted are your minds!*

Such is God, your Sustainer, the Creator of all that exists: there is no deity save Him. How perverted, then, are your minds!*

[For] thus it is: perverted are the minds of those who knowingly reject God's messages.*

Now if thou ask those [who worship any being other than God] as to who it is that has created them, they are sure to answer, “God." How perverted, then, are their minds!

They answered: “Hast thou come to seduce us away from our gods? Bring, then, upon us that [doom] with which thou threaten us, if thou art a man of truth!"

perverted in his views thereon is he who would deceive himself!*

Now when thou seest them, their outward appearance may please thee; and when they speak, thou art inclined to lend ear to what they say.* [But though they may seem as sure of themselves] as if they were timbers [firmly] propped up, they think that every shout is [directed] against them. They are the [real] enemies [of all faith], so beware of them. [They deserve the imprecation,] "May God destroy them!"* How perverted are their minds!*