Vanity (Al-Zukhruf)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Ha. Mim. 1 By the Clear Book; 2 Surely We have made it an Arabic Quran that you may understand. 3 And surely it is in the original of the Book with Us, truly elevated, full of wisdom. 4 Shall We then take away from you the admonition because ye are a people extravagant? 5 How many a Prophet did We send to the ancients, 6 And whenever any Prophet came to them, they only mocked at him. 7 and so, [in the end,] We destroyed them [even though they were] of greater might than these: and the [very] image of those people of old became a thing of the past. 8 And if you ask them, “Who has created the heavens and the earth?”, they will surely say, “They are created by the Most Honourable, the All Knowing.” 9 Who has made the earth a cradle for you and made thereon paths for you so that, hopefully, you may find your way 10 And He Who sends down water from the cloud according to a measure, then We raise to life thereby a dead country, even thus shall you be brought forth; 11 He Who created all the pairs, and appointed for you ships and cattle whereupon ye ride. 12 In order that ye may sit firm and square on their backs, and when so seated, ye may celebrate the (kind) favour of your Lord, and say, "Glory to Him Who has subjected these to our (use), for we could never have accomplished this (by ourselves), 13 It is to our Lord that we shall eventually return.” 14 And they assign to Him a part of His servants; man, to be sure, is clearly ungrateful. 15