۞ AND PROPOUND unto them the parable of two men, upon one of whom We had bestowed two vinyards, and surrounded them with date-palms, and placed a field of grain in-between. 32 Both these gardens yielded their fruits, and failed not aught thereof, and We caused a river to gush forth in their midst, 33 And he had property. Then he said unto his fellow while he spake with him: I am more than thou in substance and am mightier in respect of retinue. 34 And he entered his garden, while he was a wrong-doer in respect of his own soul; he said: I imagine not that this shall ever perish. 35 I do not think that the Hour is coming; and if I am indeed returned to my Lord, I shall surely find a better resort than this.' 36 And his friend answered him in the course of their argument: "Wilt thou blaspheme against Him who has created thee out of dust, and then out of a drop of sperm, and in the end has fashioned thee into a [complete] man? 37 But he is Allah, my Lord; and with my Lord I associate not anyone. 38 And [he continued:] "Alas, if thou hadst but said, on entering thy garden, 'Whatever God wills [shall come to pass, for] there is no power save with God!' Although, as thou seest, I have less wealth and offspring than thou, 39 it may well be that my Lord will give me something better than your vineyard, and send a calamity upon your vineyard from the heavens and it will be reduced to a barren waste, 40 or the water of your vineyard will be drained deep into the ground so that you will not be able to seek it out." 41 And [thus it happened:] his fruitful gardens were encompassed [by ruin,] and there he was, wringing his hands over all that he had spent on that which now lay waste, with its trellises caved in; and he could but say: "Oh, would that I had not attributed divine powers to any but my Sustainer!" 42 And he had no troop of men to help him as against Allah, nor could he save himself. 43 For thus it is: all protective power belongs to God alone, the True One. He is the best to grant recompense, and the best to determine what is to be. 44