7.161 . And when it was said unto them : Dwell in this township and eat therefrom whence ye will , and say "Repentance , and enter the gate prostrate ; We shall forgive you your sins ; We shall increase ( reward ) for the right doers .

7.162 . But those of them who did wrong changed the word which had been told them for another saying , and We sent down upon them wrath from heaven for their wrongdoing .

7.163 . Ask them ( O Muhammad ) of the township that was by the sea , how they did break the sabbath , how their big fish came unto them visibly upon their sabbath day and on a day when they did not keep sabbath came they not unto them . Thus did We try them for that they were evil livers .

7.164 . And when a community among them said : Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy and punish with an awful doom , they said : In order to be free from guilt before your Lord , and that haply they may ward off ( evil ) .

7.165 . And when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded , We rescued those who forbade wrong , and visited those who did wrong with dreadful punishment because they were evil livers .

7.166 . So when they took pride in that which they had been forbidden , We said unto them : Be ye apes despised and loathed!

7.167 . And ( remember ) when thy Lord proclaimed that He would raise against them till the Day of Resurrection those who would lay on them a cruel torment . Lo! verily thy Lord is swift in prosecution and lo! verify He is Forgiving , Merciful .

7.168 . And We have sundered them in the earth as ( separate ) nations . Some of them are righteous , and some far from that . And We have tried them with good things and evil things that haply they might return .

7.169 . And a generation hath succeeded them who inherited the Scriptures . They grasp the goods of this low life ( as the price of evil doing ) and say : It will be forgiven us . And if there came to them ( again ) the offer of the like , they would accept it ( and would sin again ) . Hath not the covenant of the Scripture been taken on their behalf that they should not speak aught concerning Allah save the truth? And they have studied that which is therein . And the abode of the Hereafter is better , for those who ward off ( evil ) . Have ye then no sense?

7.170 . And as for those who make ( men ) keep the Scripture , and establish worship lo! We squander not the wages of reformers .

7.171 . And when We shook the Mount above them as it were a covering , and they supposed that it was going to fall upon them ( and We said ) : Hold fast that which We have given you , and remember that which is therein , that ye may ward off ( evil ) .

7.172 . And ( remember ) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam , from their reins , their seed , and made them testify of themselves , ( saying ) : Am I not your Lord? They said : Yea , verily . We testify . ( That was ) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection : Lo! of this we were unaware ;

7.173 . Or lest ye should say : ( It is ) only ( that ) our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old and we were ( their ) seed after them . Wilt Thou destroy us on account of that which those who follow falsehood did?

7.174 . Thus We detail Our revelations , that haply they may return .

7.175 . Recite unto them the tale of him to whom We gave Our revelations , but he sloughed them off , so Satan overtook him and he became of those who lead astray .

7.176 . And had We willed We could have raised him by their means , but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust . Therefor his likeness is as the likeness of a dog ; if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out , and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out . Such is the likeness of the , people who deny Our revelations . Narrate unto them the history ( of the men of old ) , that haply they may take thought .

7.177 . Evil as an example are the folk who denied Our revelations , and were wont to wrong themselves .

7.178 . He who Allah leadeth , he indeed is led aright , while he whom Allah sendeth astray they indeed are losers .

7.179 . Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind , having hearts wherewith they understand not , and having eyes wherewith they see not , and having ears wherewith they hear not . These are as the cattle nay , but they are worse! These are the neglectful .

7.180 . Allah ' s are the fairest names . Invoke Him by them . And leave the company of those who blaspheme His names . They will be requited what they do .