The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

154
The Quran 13: 8
8 God knows what every female bears and how much their wombs
shrink or swell – everything has its measure with Him; 9 He knows
what is not seen as well as what is seen; He is the Great, the Most
High. 10 It makes no difference whether any of you speak secretly or
aloud, whether you are hiding under cover of night or walking about
in the day: 11 each person has guardian angels before him and behind,
watching over him by God’s command. God does not change the
condition of a people [for the worse] a unless they change what is in
themselves, but if He wills harm on a people, no one can ward it off––
apart from Him, they have no protector.
12 It is He who shows you the lightning, inspiring fear and
hope; He builds up the clouds heavy with rain; 13 the thunder
sounds His praises, as do the angels in awe of Him; He sends
thunderbolts to strike whoever He will. Yet still they dispute about
God – He has mighty plans. 14 The only true prayer is to Him:
those they pray to besides Him give them no answer any more than
water reaches the mouth of someone who simply stretches out his
hands for it – it cannot do so: the prayers of the disbelievers are all
in vain. 15 All that are in heaven and earth submit b to God alone,
willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the mornings and in
the evenings.
16 Say [Prophet], ‘Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say,
‘God.’ Say, ‘Why do you take protectors other than Him, who can
neither benefit nor harm even themselves?’ Say, ‘Are the blind equal
to those who can see? And are the depths of darkness equal to the
light?’ Have the partners they assign to God created anything like
His creation so that their creation is indistinguishable from His? Say,
‘God is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the All Compelling.’
17 He sends water from the sky that fills riverbeds to overflowing,
each according to its measure. The stream carries on its surface a
growing layer of froth, like the froth that appears when people melt
metals in the fire to make ornaments and tools: in this way God
illustrates truth and falsehood – the froth disappears, but what is of
benefit to man stays behind – this is how God makes illustrations.
18 There will be the best of rewards for those who respond to their
Lord; those who do not respond would willingly give away the
a Cf. 8: 53; 16: 112.
b Or ‘prostrate’: shadows submit to God’s laws in nature and also stretch out on the
ground as if prostrating. Sajada has both meanings.