If God were to punish people [at once] for the wrong they have done, there would not be a single creature left on the surface of the earth. He gives them respite for a stated time and, whenever their time comes, God has been watching His servants

Ya Sin

By the wise Quran

you [Muhammad] are truly one of the mes-sengers sent

on a straight path

with a revelation from the Almighty, the Lord of Mercy

to warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and so they are unaware

The verdict has been passed against most of them, for they refuse to believe

[It is as if] We had placed [iron] collars around their necks, right up to their chins so that their heads are forced up

and set barriers before and behind them, blocking their vision: they cannot see

It is all the same to them whether you warn them or not: they will not believe

You can warn only those who will follow the Quran and hold the Merciful One in awe, though they cannot see Him: give such people the glad news of forgiveness and a noble reward

We shall certainly bring the dead back to life, and We record what they send ahead of them as well as what they leave behind: We keep an account of everything in a clear Record