Allah knows what every female bears, and what shrinks and swells the womb. And everything with Him has its measure. 8 The knower of the unseen and the seen, the Great, the Most High. 9 Equal* are the one among you who speaks softly and one who speaks aloud, and one who is hidden during the night and one who walks during the daytime. (* For Allah.) 10 For man are angels of alternating duties, in front and behind him, who guard him by Allah’s command; indeed Allah does not change His favour upon any nation until they change their own condition; and when Allah wills misfortune for a nation, it cannot be repelled; and they do not have any supporter besides Him. 11 It is God who flashes lightning to frighten you and to give you hope. It is He who forms the heavy clouds. 12 and the thunder extols His limitless glory and praises Him, and [so do] the angels, in awe of Him; and He [it is who] lets loose the thunderbolts and strikes with them whom He wills. And yet, they stubbornly argue about God, notwithstanding [all evidence] that He alone has the power to contrive whatever His unfathomable wisdom wills! 13 Unto Him is the real prayer. Those unto whom they pray beside Allah respond to them not at all, save as (is the response to) one who stretcheth forth his hands toward water (asking) that it may come unto his mouth, and it will never reach it. The prayer of disbelievers goeth (far) astray. 14 And unto Allah prostrateth himself whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or of constraint, and also their shadows in the morning and the evenings. ۩ 15 Say: 'Who is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth?' Say: 'God.' Say: 'Then have you taken unto you others beside Him to be your protectors, even such as have no power to profit or hurt themselves?' Say: 'Are the blind and the seeing man equal, or are the shadows and the light equal? Or have they ascribed to God associates who created as He created, so that creation is all alike to them?' Say: 'God is the Creator of everything, and He is the One, the Omnipotent.' 16 He sends down water from the sky and the valleys (wadis) flow each in their measure, and the torrent carries a swelling scum; and fire from that which they kindle; desiring ornament or ware, from that rises a scum like it. As such, Allah strikes both the truth and the false. As for the scum it is cast away as jetsam, but, that which profits people remains on the earth. As such Allah strikes the 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