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
Wa law shi'naa larafa'naahu bihaa wa laakin nahooo akhlada ilal ardi watta ba'a hawaah; famasaluhoo kamasalil kalb; in tahmil 'alaihi yalhas aw tatruk hu yalhas; zaalika masalul qawmil lazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa; faqsusil qasasa la'allahum yatafakkaroon
A gdybyśmy zechcieli, to wynieślibyśmy go przez nie; lecz on przylgnął do ziemi poszedł za swoją namiętnością. On jest podobny do psa: jeśli się rzucisz na niego , warczy, a kiedy zostawisz go w spokoju, też warczy. Podobnie zachowują się ludzie, którzy za kłamstwo uznali N as z e znaki. Opowiedz im więc tę historię, być może, oni się zastanowią!
Had we willed, we would have raised him through them, but he clung to the earth and followed his lower self's desire. His likeness is the likeness of a dog: if you drive it off, it pants, and if you leave it, it pants. Such is the likeness of the people who denied our signs. So recount the story, that they may reflect.
Akhlada has two occurrences: here, for a man who sank toward the earth when he could have been raised, and at 104:3, for a man who thinks his wealth has made him everlasting, so the verb of clinging also carries the hope of lasting. The dog in the simile pants whether chased or left alone, a craving no change of circumstance reaches. Early commentators named the man Balʿam son of Baʿura, and others Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, a poet who had hoped the prophethood would be his.