۞ Propound thou unto them the similitude of two men. We appointed to one of them two gardens of vine and hedged both with date-palms, and We placed in-between the twain tillage. 32 Each of the two gardens produced its fruit and did not fall short thereof in anything. And We caused to gush forth within them a river. 33 And so [the man] had fruit in abundance. And [one day] he said to his friend, bandying words with him, "More wealth have I than thou, and mightier am I as regards [the number and power of my] followers!" 34 And he went into his garden while in a state (of pride and disbelief) unjust to himself. He said: "I think not that this will ever perish. 35 I think not that the Hour will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back unto my Lord I surely shall find better than this as a resort. 36 His companion said to him, in the course of the argument with him: "Dost thou deny Him Who created thee out of dust, then out of a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man? 37 “But I just say that only Allah is my Lord, and I do not ascribe anyone as a partner to my Lord.” 38 When you entered your vineyard, why did you not say: 'Whatever Allah wills shall come to pass, for there is no power save with Allah!' If you find me less than yourself in wealth and children 39 it may well be that my Lord will give me something better than your vineyard, and send a calamity upon your vineyard from the heavens and it will be reduced to a barren waste, 40 or its water sinks deep into the ground, so that thou wilt never be able to find it again!" 41 So it was, and all his fruit was destroyed. The vines had all fallen down on their trellises, and their owner wrung his hands, bewailing all that he had spent on his garden. He said, "Would that I had not associated anyone with my Lord!" 42 He had no one besides God to help him, nor could he himself achieve any success. 43 For thus it is: all protective power belongs to God alone, the True One. He is the best to grant recompense, and the best to determine what is to be. 44