with 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.”

He thus makes clear that being owned and powerless is a deficiency, whereas power, ownership, and beneficence are attributes of perfection, and that the two are not alike. These perfections belong to Allah, while those deficiencies belong to what is worshipped besides Him.

And He, Most High, says:

“Allah sets forth another parable: two men, one of whom is mute, unable to do anything, and a burden on his master. Wherever he sends him, he brings back no good. Is he equal to one who commands justice and follows a straight path?”

This is another parable. The first represents one who is incapable of speech or action and has no power over anything. The other speaks, commands justice, and follows a straight path: he is just in his commands and upright in his actions. He thus makes clear that superiority lies in speech that embodies justice and in upright action. For speech and action in themselves may be either praiseworthy or blameworthy. What is praiseworthy is that for which a person deserves praise; such a person is not equal to one who is incapable of speech and action.

And He, Most High, says:

“He sets forth for you a parable drawn from your own lives: do you have, among those whom your right hands possess, any partners who share equally in what We have provided for you, so that you fear them as you fear one another? Thus do We explain the signs for people who reason.”

He, Most High, is saying: If you yourselves are unwilling for a slave to share equally with his owner, because of the deficiency and injustice this entails, how can you accept that for Me, when I am more entitled to perfection and self-sufficiency than you?