O MEN! A parable is set forth [herewith]; hearken, then, to it! Behold, those beings whom you invoke instead of God cannot create [as much as] a fly, even were they to join all their forces to that end! And if a fly robs them of anything, they cannot [even] rescue it from him! Weak indeed is the seeker, and [weak] the sought! 73 No just estimate have they made of God. Surely God is powerful and mighty. 74 God chooses messengers from the angels and human beings. Verily God is all-hearing and all-seeing. 75 He knows what is before them and what lies behind them, and all things go back to God. 76 O men, bow you down and prostrate yourselves, and serve your Lord, and do good; haply so you shall prosper; ۩ 77 and struggle for God as is His due, for He has chosen you, and has laid on you no impediment in your religion, being the creed of your father Abraham; He named you Muslims aforetime and in this, that the Messenger might be a witness against you, and that you might be witnesses against mankind. So perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and hold you fast to God; He is your Protector -- an excellent Protector, an excellent Helper. 78