Is he, then, to whom the evil of his conduct is made alluring, so that he looks upon it as good, (equal to one who is rightly guided)? For Allah leaves to stray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. So let not thy soul go out in (vainly) sighing after them: for Allah knows well all that they do! 8 And it is Allah who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds, and We drive them to a dead land and give life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness. Thus is the resurrection. 9 Whosoever desires honour (should remember) that all honour is with God. All good words ascend to Him, and all good deeds He exalts. As for those who are plotting evil, there is severe punishment for them, and their plots will be fruitless. 10 It is God who created you from dust, then from a sperm, then formed you into pairs. Neither does a female conceive nor gives birth without His knowledge; nor do the old grow older or become younger in years but in accordance with the law (of nature). Indeed the law of God works inevitably. 11 [Easy is it for Him to create likeness and variety:] thus, the two great bodies of water [on earth] are not alike the one sweet, thirst-allaying, pleasant to drink, and the other salty and bitter: and yet, from either of them do you eat fresh meat, and [from either] you take gems which you may wear; and on either thou canst see ships ploughing through the waves, so that you might [be able to] go forth in quest of some of His bounty, and thus have cause to be grateful. 12 He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and He makes the day grow longer by shortening the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws,] each running its course for a term set [by Him]. Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion - whereas those whom you invoke instead of Him do not own so much as the husk of a date-stone! 13 If you call upon them, they cannot hear your prayer. And if they hear it, they cannot answer it. On the Day of Resurrection they will disown you for associating others with Allah in His Divinity. No one can inform you of the truth save the All-Aware. 14