Thus He denied that these people were alike, although they shared a common humanity. How, then, can it be said that the Arabic language requires everything that can be pointed to to be like everything else that can be pointed to?

Allah Most High says:

“Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with ‘Ād—
Iram, of the pillars—
the like of which was never created in the lands?”

He thus states that its like was never created in the lands, although both are cities. How, then, can it be said that, in the Arabic language, every body is like every other body, so that His words,

“There is nothing like Him,”

should be understood on that basis?

The poet said:

“None is like the young man Zuhayr.”

And another said:

“No human being among mankind is like them.”

The poet did not intend thereby to deny the existence of any body whatsoever.

Likewise, the term “resemblance” does not mean “being alike” in the language. Allah Most High says:

“And they will be given it in similar form.”

And He Most High says:

“Similar and dissimilar.”

He did not mean thereby that these things are alike in the linguistic sense. The issue here is not whether substances are alike according to reason or not; that is discussed at length elsewhere. Rather, the point is that speakers of the language in which the Quran was revealed do not regard this alone as sufficient grounds for calling things alike, nor do they regard the denial of likeness as a denial of this. To interpret the Quran on that basis is therefore to attribute a falsehood to it.