(73–76) “Yet they worship besides Allah those who have no power to provide them with anything from the heavens or the earth, nor are they able to do so. * So do not draw comparisons with Allah. Allah knows, while you do not know. * Allah sets forth the parable of a slave who is owned and has no power over anything, and another 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. * And Allah sets forth the parable of two men: one of them is deaf and mute, has no power over anything, and is a burden upon his master. Wherever he directs him, ⦗445⦘ he brings no good. Is he equal to one who commands justice and follows a straight path?”
Allah Most High tells of the ignorance and injustice of the polytheists: they worship other gods besides Him, taking them as partners with Allah, although these gods have no power to provide them with anything from the heavens or the earth. They send down neither rain nor provision, nor do they cause any vegetation to grow from the earth. They do not possess even an atom’s weight in the heavens or the earth, nor would they be able to do so even if they wished. Someone who does not own a thing might nevertheless possess the strength and ability to benefit those connected to him, but these gods neither possess nor have any power.
Such are the attributes of their gods. How, then, could they place them alongside Allah and liken them to the Sovereign of the heavens and the earth, to whom all sovereignty, all praise, and all power belong?!
Hence He said, “So do not draw comparisons with Allah”—comparisons that imply equality between Him and His creation. “Allah knows, while you do not know.” We must therefore not speak about Him without knowledge, but must listen to the parables set forth by the All-Knowing.
For this reason, Allah Most High set forth two parables concerning Himself and those worshipped besides Him. The first is that of an owned slave—that is, a bondsman who does not even own himself and possesses nothing of wealth or worldly goods—and that of a free, wealthy man whom Allah has granted good provision of every kind of wealth. He is generous and loves to do good, so he spends from it secretly and openly. Are these two equal?! They are not, even though both are created beings and there is nothing inherently impossible about their being equal.
If these two are not equal, how could the created servant—who possesses neither sovereignty, power, nor ability, but is poor and needy in every respect—be equal to the Lord and Creator, the Sovereign of every dominion, who has power over all things?!
For this reason, He praised Himself and reserved every kind of praise for Himself, saying, “All praise belongs to Allah!” It is as though someone asked: If this is so, why did the polytheists equate their gods with Allah? He replied, “But most of them do not know.” Had they possessed true knowledge, they would not have dared to commit such grave polytheism.
The second parable is that of “two men: one of them is deaf and mute”: he neither hears nor speaks and “has no power over anything,” whether little or much. “He is a burden upon his master”—that is, his master must serve him, while he cannot even serve himself. He is therefore deficient in every respect. Can such a man be equal to one who commands justice and follows a straight path, whose words are just and whose deeds are upright? Just as these two are not equal, neither can one worshipped besides Allah—who has no power to secure any of his own interests and could do nothing at all were Allah not to sustain them—be the equal or rival of the One who speaks nothing but the truth and does nothing except what is praiseworthy.