And it is likewise impossible for anything to come into existence without a creator. It necessarily follows that all things have a God who created them and who has no partner in His creation, for He is the One, the All-Subduing. Absolute oneness and subduing power belong to Allah alone. Among created beings, above every creature is another creature that subdues it, and above that subduer is yet another, higher than it, until all subduing power culminates in the One, the All-Subduing. Thus, subduing power and oneness necessarily go together and belong exclusively to Allah. This compelling rational proof establishes that whatever is invoked besides Allah has no share whatsoever in creating anything, and worshipping it is therefore false.
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(17) “He sends down water from the sky, and valleys flow according to their capacity, while the torrent carries rising foam. Similar foam appears from that which they heat in the fire to make ornaments or utensils. Thus does Allah illustrate truth and falsehood: as for the foam, it vanishes as refuse, while that which benefits people remains on the earth. Thus does Allah set forth parables.”
Allah likens the guidance He sent down to His Messenger to give life to hearts and spirits to the water He sends down to give life to bodies. He likens the immense and universal benefit contained in that guidance, which His servants cannot do without, to the universal and indispensable benefit contained in rain. He also likens the hearts that bear guidance, with their differing capacities, to the valleys through which floodwaters flow. A large valley can hold much water, just as a heart of great capacity can hold much knowledge; a small valley takes in little water, just as a small heart can hold little knowledge—and so on.
He likens the desires and doubts present in hearts when the truth reaches them to the foam that rises above water and above metal heated in the fire to be purified and smelted into ornaments. The foam continues floating on top, clouding the water, until it disappears and vanishes, while the clear water and pure metal that benefit people remain.
Likewise, the heart continues to abhor doubts and desires and to struggle against them through sound proofs and resolute intentions until they disappear and vanish. The heart then remains pure and clear, containing nothing but that which benefits people: knowledge of the truth, preference for it, and desire for it. Falsehood passes away, for the truth obliterates it: “Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish.” Here He says, “Thus does Allah set forth parables,” so that truth may be clearly distinguished from falsehood, and guidance from misguidance.