and to His words:

“They swore by Allah their strongest oaths that if a warner came to them, they would surely be more rightly guided than any of the nations. But when a warner came to them, it only increased their aversion.” [Fātir: 42]

The same applies to similar passages containing second- or third-person pronouns: they refer to those polytheists, but also apply to others by virtue of their meaning, comparison, and the similarity between their circumstances.

Thus, when Allah Most High said:

“Indeed, you and what you worship besides Allah are fuel for Hell. You will enter it. * Had these been gods, they would not have entered it, but all will remain there forever.” [al-Anbiyā’: 98–99]

this was proof that they were not divine, for a god does not enter the Fire. Yet the implication does not hold in reverse: it does not follow that whoever does not enter the Fire is a god. Whoever enters the Fire is not a god, but not everyone who avoids it is a god.

However, the objection of al-Ziba'rā and those like him rested on meaning, analogy, and comparison. That is: if our gods entered the Fire because they were worshipped, then everything worshipped must enter the Fire; Christ is worshipped, so he must enter it. They thus challenged the statement by analogy. But an analogy involving a relevant distinction between the cases is invalid. Allah therefore clarified the distinction: Christ is a living servant who obeys Allah, for whom it is not appropriate