And fear the One Who created you and ˹all˺ earlier peoples.”
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They replied, “You are simply bewitched!
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Also, you are only a human being like us, and we think you are indeed a liar.
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So cause ˹deadly˺ pieces of the sky to fall upon us, if what you say is true.”
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Shu’aib responded, “My Lord knows best whatever you do.”
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So they rejected him, and ˹so˺ were overtaken by the torment of the day of the ˹deadly˺ cloud.1 That was really a torment of a tremendous day.
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Surely in this is a sign. Yet most of them would not believe.
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And your Lord is certainly the Almighty, Most Merciful.
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This is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all worlds,
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which the trustworthy spirit ˹Gabriel˺ brought down
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into your heart ˹O Prophet˺—so that you may be one of the warners—
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in a clear Arabic tongue.
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And it has indeed been ˹foretold˺ in the Scriptures of those before.
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Was it not sufficient proof for the deniers that it has been recognized by the knowledgeable among the Children of Israel?1
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Had We revealed it to a non-Arab,
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who would then recite it to the deniers ˹in fluent Arabic˺, still they would not have believed in it!
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This is how We allow denial ˹to steep˺ into the hearts of the wicked.
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They will not believe in it until they see the painful punishment,
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which will take them by surprise when they least expect ˹it˺.
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Then they will cry, “Can we be allowed more time?”
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Do they ˹really˺ seek to hasten Our torment?
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Imagine ˹O Prophet˺ if We allowed them enjoyment for years,
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then there came to them what they had been threatened with:
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