O mankind! A similitude has been coined, so listen to it (carefully): Verily! Those on whom you call besides Allah, cannot create (even) a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly snatched away a thing from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. So weak are (both) the seeker and the sought. 73 No true understanding of God have they [who err in this way]: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty! 74 [In His almightiness,] God chooses message-bearers from among the angels as well as from among men. But, behold, God [alone] is all-hearing, all-seeing. 75 He knows all that is before them and all that is behind them; and towards Allah is the return of all matters. 76 O you who believe! Bow down, and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord and do good that you may be successful. ۩ 77 Strive in the way of God with a service worthy of Him. He has chosen you and laid no hardship on you in the way of faith, the faith of your forbear Abraham. He named you Muslim earlier, and in this (Qur'an), in order that the Prophet be witness over you, and you be witness over mankind. So be firm in devotion, pay the zakat, and hold on firmly to God. He is your friend: How excellent a friend is He, how excellent a helper! 78