, and, out of their stupidity (1), they fashioned it in the likeness of the dullest (2) and least intelligent of creatures—an animal held up as the very proverb for dim-wittedness. Reflect, then, on this ignorance and folly that knows no bounds: how could they worship another deity alongside Allah after having witnessed proofs of His oneness and of the Lord’s greatness and majesty such as no other people had ever seen?!

Since they were resolved to adopt a god besides Allah, they went ahead and did so while their Prophet was still alive in their midst, not even waiting for his death!

And once they had acted, they did not choose one of the angels who are near to Allah, nor a living, speaking being; rather, they selected an inanimate object.

And having done so (3), they did not take it from the lofty celestial bodies—the sun, the moon, or the stars—but from earthly substances.

And since they acted thus, they did not fashion it from materials created high above the earth, towering over it like the mountains; instead, they used matter that lies only beneath the earth, while the rocks and stones that rise above it (4) were higher than their idol!

And having done so, they did not make it out of a substance that stands in no need of human workmanship (5)—one that would require neither fire nor repeated smelting, beating with iron, and casting—but from a material that must first be seized by human hands through various processes and then thrust into the fire,