—a petition and entreaty that will be of no benefit in His presence except for the one to whom He grants permission.

After that, He reminded them that no one provides sustenance from the heavens and the earth except Allah, and by this—as by the former proofs—He established pure tawḥīd (monotheism), just as He says:

“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah; then, when hardship touches you, it is to Him that you cry out.” ⦗An-Nahl: 53⦘ (53)

“But when He removes the hardship from you, a group of you goes on to associate partners with their Lord,” ⦗An-Nahl: 54⦘ (54)

“so as to deny what We have given them. So enjoy yourselves for a while, but soon you will know.” ⦗An-Nahl: 55⦘ (55)

Having cited what proves the obligation of affirming His oneness and shown that the people of tawḥīd are upon guidance while the people of shirk (polytheism) are in error, He then said:

“Surely either we or you are upon guidance, or in manifest error.” ⦗Sabaʾ: 24⦘

That is, one of the two groups—the monotheists who worship none but Allah, and the polytheists—must be upon guidance or in clear misguidance.

This is the height of fairness in discourse. Anyone who hears it, whether ally or foe, will concede to the person addressed, “Your companion has dealt with you justly,” just as a judge whose justice is evident might say to a wrongdoer whose wrongdoing is plain: “The wrongdoer is either I or you.” He says this not because he doubts an obvious matter, but to make clear that one of them is patently unjust—and that party is you, not me.