Surah al-Nahl
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

[Surah al-Nahl (16): verses 75–76]

“Allah presents a parable: an owned slave who has no power over anything, and someone whom We have granted good provision from Us, from which he spends secretly and openly. Are they equal? All praise belongs to Allah, but most of them do not know. (75)

And Allah presents a parable of two men: one is mute, powerless, and a burden on his master; wherever he sends him, he brings no good. Is he equal to one who commands justice and is himself on a straight path? (76)”

These two parables contain two instances of analogy by contrast, which consists in denying a ruling because its effective cause and grounds are absent.

Analogy is of two kinds: direct analogy, which establishes a ruling for a new case because the effective cause underlying the original case is present in it; and analogy by contrast, which denies a ruling for a new case because the effective cause of that ruling is absent from it.

The first parable is that which Allah, glorified is He, sets forth concerning Himself and the idols. Allah, glorified is He, owns everything and spends as He wills on His servants, secretly and openly, night and day. His right hand is full, undiminished by giving, pouring forth bounty night and day. The idols, however, are owned by their worshippers