Allah will respond, “It is so, just as Our revelations came to you and you neglected them, so Today you are neglected.”
20:126
This is how We reward whoever transgresses and does not believe in the revelations of their Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is far more severe and more lasting.
20:127
Is it not yet clear to them how many peoples We destroyed before them, whose ruins they still pass by? Surely in this are signs for people of sound judgment.
20:128
Had it not been for a prior decree from your Lord1 ˹O Prophet˺ and a term already set, their ˹instant˺ doom would have been inevitable.
20:129
So be patient ˹O Prophet˺ with what they say. And glorify the praises of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset, and glorify Him in the hours of the night and at both ends of the day,1 so that you may be pleased ˹with the reward˺.
20:130
Do not let your eyes crave what We have allowed some of the disbelievers to enjoy; the ˹fleeting˺ splendour of this worldly life, which We test them with. But your Lord’s provision ˹in the Hereafter˺ is far better and more lasting.
20:131
Bid your people to pray, and be diligent in ˹observing˺ it. We do not ask you to provide. It is We Who provide for you. And the ultimate outcome is ˹only˺ for ˹the people of˺ righteousness.
20:132
They demand, “If only he could bring us a sign from his Lord!”1 Have they not ˹already˺ received a confirmation of what is in earlier Scriptures?2
20:133
Had We destroyed them with a torment before this ˹Prophet came˺, they would have surely argued, “Our Lord! If only You had sent us a messenger, we would have followed Your revelations before being humiliated and put to shame.”
20:134
Say ˹to them, O Prophet˺, “Each ˹of us˺ is waiting, so keep waiting! You will soon know who is on the Straight Path and is ˹rightly˺ guided.”
20:135