Allah knows all what is inside the womb of every female, and every increase and decrease of the wombs; and all things are with Him by a set measure. 8 He is the knower of the known and the unknown, the mighty and most high. 9 It is all the same to Him whether you speak in secret or out loud, try to hide in the darkness of night or walk in the brightness of day. 10 For each (person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of Allah. Verily! Allah will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves (by committing sins and by being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah). But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning back of it, and they will find besides Him no protector. 11 It is He Who doth show you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope: It is He Who doth raise up the clouds, heavy with (fertilising) rain! 12 the thunder proclaims His praise, and the angels, in awe of Him. He looses the thunderbolts, and smites with them whomsoever He will; yet they dispute about God, who is mighty in power. 13 To Him alone should all prayer be addressed, for those to whom they do address their prayers beside Him are altogether powerless to respond to them. The example of praying to any other than Allah is that of a man who stretches out his hands to water, asking it to reach his mouth, although water has no power to reach his mouth. The prayers of the unbelievers are a sheer waste. 14 All in the heavens and the earth prostrate themselves before God, either of their own free will or by force, just as do their shadows in the mornings and evenings. ۩ 15 Say: 'Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth' Say: 'Allah' Say: 'Why then have you chosen guardians other than Him, even though they have neither the power to benefit nor harm themselves' Say: 'Are the blind and the seeing equal? Are darkness and light equal? Or, have they ascribed to Allah associates who create as He creates so that all creation is alike to them?" Say: 'Allah is the Creator of everything. He is the One, the Conqueror' 16 He sends down water from the skies, which flows in channels according to their capacity, with the scum borne on the surface of the torrent, as rises the scum when metals are heated on the fire for making ornaments and household utensils. This is how God determines truth and falsehood. The scum disappears like the foam on the bank, and that which is useful to man remains on the earth. That is how God sets forth precepts of wisdom. 17 For those who answer their Lord, the reward most fair; and those who answer Him not -- if they possessed all that is in the earth and the like of it with it, they would offer it for their ransom. Those theirs shall be the evil reckoning, and their refuge shall be Gehenna -- an evil cradling! 18