۞ (O Muhammad), propound a parable to them. There were two men of whom We bestowed upon one of the two vineyards, surrounding both of them with date-palms and putting a tillage in between. 32 each garden produced its fruit and did not fail to yield its best; We even caused a river to gush forth in the midst of them, 33 And he had fruit. And he said unto his comrade, when he spake with him: I am more than thee in wealth, and stronger in respect of men. 34 Having thus harmed his own soul, he entered his garden saying, "I do not think this will ever perish, 35 Nor can I think that the Hour (of Doom) will come, And even if I am brought back to my Lord, I will surely find a better place there than this." 36 His companion said to him, in the course of the argument with him: "Dost thou deny Him Who created thee out of dust, then out of a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man? 37 But as far as I am concerned, God alone is my Lord and I set up no partners with Him. 38 And wherefore did you not say when you entered your garden: It is as Allah has pleased, there is no power save in Allah? If you consider me to be inferior to you in wealth and children, 39 It may be that my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden and will send upon it a calamity from the sky, and it will become a smooth, dusty ground, 40 or, in the morning its water will be drained into the earth so that you will not have a means to reach it' 41 Eventually all his produce was destroyed and he began to wring his hands in sorrow at the loss of what he had spent on it, and on seeing it fallen down upon its trellises, saying: "Would I had not associated anyone with my Lord in His Divinity." 42 And there was no host, beside Allah, to help him, nor could he be of any help to himself. 43 Here is protection only Allah's, the True One; He is best in (the giving of) reward and best in requiting. 44