مَثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَوْلِيَآءَ كَمَثَلِ ٱلْعَنكَبُوتِ ٱتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا ۖ وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ ٱلْبُيُوتِ لَبَيْتُ ٱلْعَنكَبُوتِ ۖ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
Masalul lazeenat takhazoo min doonil laahi awliyaaa'a kamasalil 'ankaboot, ittakhazat baitaa; wa inna awhanal buyooti la baitul 'ankaboot; law kaanoo ya'lamoon
Those who take protectors other than God are like the spider that builds itself a house — and indeed, the frailest of houses is the spider's house, if only they knew.
The parable arrives straight after a tour of ruins. ʿAd and Thamud are identified by their dwellings, Qarun and Pharaoh by what they built and hoarded, and the protection sought elsewhere is then weighed on the same scale, as a house. The thread the spider spins is strong for its weight; what fails is the shelter, which keeps out neither rain nor wind, and a house is measured here by that alone.