Vanity (Al-Zukhruf)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Ha-Mim. 1 By the Book that makes things clear,- 2 Lo! We have appointed it a Lecture, in Arabic that haply ye may understand. 3 It (the Quran) exists in the original Book with Us which is certainly Most Exalted, full of wisdom and (beyond linguistic structures). 4 Shall We turn away the Remembrance from you, for that you are a prodigal people? 5 But how many were the prophets We sent amongst the peoples of old? 6 But never did a prophet come at whom they did not scoff. 7 We utterly destroyed them although they were greater in might than these. The examples of ancient peoples have gone before. 8 If you ask them: "Who created the heavens and the earth?" they will answer: "The Mighty and All-knowing created them," 9 He who made the earth a bed for you, and laid out tracks upon it so that you may find the way; 10 It is He who has sent down water from the sky in a known measure by which He has given life to the dead earth. In the same way will you also be resurrected. 11 It is He who has created everything in pairs and the ships and cattle for you to ride, 12 So that you may properly mount their backs, and may remember your Lord’s favour when you have mounted them, and say, “Purity is to Him, Who has given this ride in our control, and we did not have the strength for it.” 13 "And to our Lord, surely, must we turn back!" 14 And they assign to Him a part of His servants; man, to be sure, is clearly ungrateful. 15