Allah knows what every female carries and what the wombs lose [prematurely] or exceed. And everything with Him is by due measure. 8 He knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind - the Great One, the One far above anything that is or could ever be! 9 Alike of you is he who hideth the saying and he who noiseth it abroad, he who lurketh in the night and he who goeth freely in the daytime. 10 For him are angels in succession, before him and behind him; they guard him with Allah's command. Verily Allah altereth not that which is with a people until they alter that which is with themselves. And when Allah intendeth evil unto a people there is no turning it back; nor is for them, beside Him, any patron. 11 HE IT IS who displays before you the lightning, to give rise to [both] fear and hope, and calls heavy clouds into being; 12 Both the thunder and the angels glorify Him and out of His fear always praise Him. He sends down thunder-bolts to strike whomever He wants, while they are busy arguing about the existence of God. His punishment is stern. 13 Unto Him [alone] is due all prayer aiming at the Ultimate Truth, since those [other beings or powers] whom men invoke instead of God cannot respond to them in any way - [so that he who invokes them is] but like one who stretches his open hands towards water, [hoping] that it will reach his mouth, the while it never reaches him. Hence, the prayer of those who deny the truth amounts to no more than losing oneself in grievous error. 14 All who dwell in heavens and on the earth submit to God alone, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the mornings and in the evenings. ۩ 15 Say (O Muhammad): Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: Allah. Say: Take ye then (others) beside Him for protectors, which, even for themselves, have neither benefit nor hurt? Say: Is the blind man equal to the seer, or is darkness equal to light? Or assign they unto Allah partners who created the like of His creation so that the creation (which they made and His creation) seemed alike to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Almighty. 16 He sends down water from the sky and the valleys (wadis) flow each in their measure, and the torrent carries a swelling scum; and fire from that which they kindle; desiring ornament or ware, from that rises a scum like it. As such, Allah strikes both the truth and the false. As for the scum it is cast away as jetsam, but, that which profits people remains on the earth. As such Allah strikes the parables. 17 Those who answer the call of their Lord will receive good rewards. Whatever those who have not answered the call of their Lord offer to redeem themselves, even if they offer double the wealth of the whole earth, will not be accepted. They will face a terrible reckoning and their dwelling will be hell, a terrible place to rest! 18