7:176
Al-A'raf 176
Surah Al-A'raf (الأعراف), verse 176 — reference 7:176. Arabic text with optional translation and free audio on Al-Qalam.
وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَـٰهُ بِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّهُۥٓ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ ۚ فَمَثَلُهُۥ كَمَثَلِ ٱلْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث ۚ ذَّٰلِكَ مَثَلُ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا ۚ فَٱقْصُصِ ٱلْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
walaw shi'nā larafaʿnāhu bihā walākinnahu akhlada ilā l-arḍi wa-ittabaʿa hawāhu famathaluhu kamathali l-kalbi in taḥmil ʿalayhi yalhath aw tatruk'hu yalhath dhālika mathalu l-qawmi alladhīna kadhabū biāyātinā fa-uq'ṣuṣi l-qaṣaṣa laʿallahum yatafakkarūna
And if We had willed, We could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered [instead] to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he [still] pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.