and are powerless, unable to do anything. How, then, can they make them partners with Allah and worship them besides Him, despite this immense disparity and evident difference? This is the view of Mujāhid and others.

Ibn ‘Abbās said: “It is a parable Allah has set forth of the believer and the disbeliever. The believer is depicted with the good he possesses; Allah then grants him good provision from it, which he spends on himself and others, secretly and openly. The disbeliever, however, is like a powerless, owned slave who has no power over anything, because he possesses no good. Would any rational person consider the two men equal?”

The first interpretation is closer to the intended meaning. It demonstrates more clearly the falsity of associating partners with Allah, is more readily understood by those addressed, establishes the proof more forcefully, and is more closely connected with His words:

“They worship besides Allah those who have no power to provide them with anything from the heavens or the earth, nor are they capable of doing so. So do not draw comparisons for Allah. Indeed, Allah knows and you do not know.”

Then He says:

“Allah presents a parable: an owned slave who has no power over anything.”

Among the necessary implications and conclusions of this parable is that the believer who worships Allah alone is like someone whom Allah has granted good provision, while the disbeliever who associates partners with Him is like the owned slave who has no power over anything.

This is something to which the parable draws attention and directs us. Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, mentioned it to indicate that it was intended, not that the verse was confined to this meaning.

Reflect on this, for you will find it frequently in the words of Ibn ‘Abbās and other early Muslims concerning their understanding of the Quran. Someone may suppose that this is the verse’s sole meaning, admitting no other, and then report it as that scholar’s interpretation.

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As for the second parable, it too is one that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, sets forth concerning Himself and what is worshipped besides Him. The idol worshipped besides Him is like a mute man who neither understands nor speaks; indeed, he is mute in both heart and tongue, lacking both inward speech and spoken expression. Moreover, he is powerless, utterly incapable of anything. Beyond this, wherever you send him, he does not bring you