Allah knows what every female bears, and what shrinks and swells the womb. And everything with Him has its measure. 8 He is the knower of the known and the unknown, the mighty and most high. 9 It is all alike [to Him] whether any of you conceals his thought or brings it into the open, and whether he seeks to hide [his evil deeds] under the cover of night or walks [boldly] in the light of day, 10 His angels keep watch over him in succession (night and day), in front and behind, by God's command. Verily God does not change the state of a people till they change themselves. When God intends misfortune for a people no one can avert it, and no saviour will they have apart from Him. 11 It is He who shows you lightening, [causing] fear and aspiration, and generates the heavy clouds. 12 and the thunder glorifies Him with His praise and the angels do so too in awe of Him, and He sends His thunderbolts to strike anyone He pleases, yet they dispute about God, who is inexorable in His power. 13 Only the prayer to Him is truthful; and whomever they pray to besides Him, do not hear them at all, but like one who has his hands outstretched towards water that it may come into his mouth, and it will never come; and every prayer of the disbelievers remains wandering. 14 And whoever is in the heavens and the earth makes obeisance to Allah only, willingly and unwillingly, and their shadows too at morn and eve. ۩ 15 Say thou: who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say thou: Allah. Say thou: have ye then taken beside Him patrons who own not to themselves benefit nor hurt! Say thou: are the blind and the seer equal? Or, the darknesses and light equal? Or have they set up associates unto Allah, who have created even as He hath created, so that the creation hath become dubious unto them! Say thou: Allah is the Creator of everything; and He is the One, the Subduer. 16 He sends down water from the cloud, then watercourses flow (with water) according to their measure, and the torrent bears along the swelling foam, and from what they melt in the fire for the sake of making ornaments or apparatus arises a scum like it; thus does Allah compare truth and falsehood; then as for the scum, it passes away as a worthless thing; and as for that which profits the people, it tarries in the earth; thus does Allah set forth parables. 17 For those who answer their Lord is a most fine reward. But for those who do not answer Him if they possessed all that the earth contains, and as much besides, they would offer it for their ransom. Theirs shall be an evil reckoning. Gehenna (Hell) shall be their refuge, an evil cradling! 18