Vanity (Al-Zukhruf)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
HaMeem. 1 I swear by the Book that makes things clear: 2 That We made it a distinctly lucid Qur'an that you may understand. 3 And verily, [originating as it does] in the source, with Us, of all revelation, it is indeed sublime, full of wisdom. 4 [O YOU who deny the truth!] Should We, perchance, withdraw this reminder from you altogether, seeing that you are people bent on wasting your own selves? 5 How many a Prophet We sent among 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 Yet thus it is [with most people]: if thou ask them, "Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth?" - they will surely answer, "The Almighty, the All-Knowing has created them." 9 He it is Who made this earth for you a cradle and made in it pathways for you that you may find the way to your destination; 10 He Who sent down water from the sky in a determined measure, and thereby We revived a dead land: likewise will you be raised up (from the earth) -- 11 And Who hath treated the pairs, all of them, and appointed for you from ships and cattle things whereon ye ride. 12 That you may firmly sit on their backs, then remember the favor of your Lord when you are firmly seated thereon, and say: Glory be to Him Who made this subservient to us and we were not able to do it 13 And lo! unto our Lord we surely are returning. 14 But they have attributed to Him from His servants a portion. Indeed, man is clearly ungrateful. 15