of Mary.  Say unto them, And who could obtain anything from God to the contrary, if he pleased to destroy Christ the son of Mary, and his mother, and all those who are on the earth?  For unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and earth, and whatsoever is contained between them; he createth what he pleaseth, and God is almighty.  The Jews and the Christians say, We are the children of God, and his beloved.  Answer, Why therefore doth he punish you for your sins?  Nay, but ye are men, of those whom he hath created.  He forgiveth whom he pleaseth, and punisheth whom he pleaseth; and unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and earth, and of what is contained between them both; and unto him shall all things return.  O ye who have received the scriptures, now is our apostle come unto you, declaring unto you the true religion, during the cessation of apostles[86], lest ye should say, There came unto us no bearer of good tidings, nor any warner:  but now is a bearer of good tidings and a warner come unto you; and God is almighty.  Call to mind when Moses said unto his people, O my people, remember the favor of God towards you, since he hath appointed prophets among you, and constituted you kings, and bestowed on you what he hath given to no other nation in the world.  O my people, enter the holy land, which God hath decreed you, and turn not your backs, lest ye be subverted and perish.  They answered, O Moses, verily there are a gigantic people in the land; and we will by no means enter it, until they depart thence; but if they depart thence, then will we enter therein.  And two men of those who feared God, unto whom God had been gracious, said, Enter ye upon them suddenly by the gate of the city; and when ye shall have entered the same, ye shall surely be victorious:  therefore trust in God, if ye are true believers.  They replied, O Moses, we will never enter the land, while they remain therein:  go therefore thou, and thy Lord, and fight; for we will sit here.  Moses said, O Lord, surely I am not master of any except myself, and my brother; therefore make a distinction between us and the ungodly people.  God answered, Verily the land shall be forbidden them forty years; during which time they shall wander like men astonished in the earth; therefore be not thou solicitous for the ungodly people.  Relate also unto them the history of the two sons of Adam, with truth.  When they offered their offering, and it was accepted from one of them, and was not accepted from the other, Cain said to his brother, I will certainly kill thee.  Abel answered, God only accepteth the offering of the pious; if thou stretchest forth thy hand against me, to slay me, I will not stretch forth my hand against thee, to slay thee; for I fear God the Lord of all creatures.  I choose that thou shouldst bear my iniquity and thine own iniquity; and that thou become a companion of hell fire; for that is the reward of the unjust.  But his soul suffered him to slay his brother, and he slew him; wherefore he became of