the argument as a whole. He, glorified be He, says:
“He sets forth an example for Us, forgetting his own creation. He says, ‘Who will give life to bones when they have crumbled to dust?’”
He means that no one can revive them once they have crumbled to dust. In this denial, he likens the Creator to the created being, treating the former like the latter as incapable of reviving them. This holds whether he formulates his argument as an analogy or a categorical syllogism. This has been discussed at length elsewhere, where it has been explained that these two forms of reasoning—categorical and analogical—and the example set forth in the Quran convey the same meaning.
Thus, if you say, “Nabīdh is intoxicating, and every intoxicant is forbidden,” and establish the major premise through his saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—
“Every intoxicant is forbidden,”
this is equivalent to his saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—by analogy with wine; for wine was prohibited only because it intoxicates, and this quality is also present in nabīdh.
In His saying:
“An example has been set forth, so listen to it,”
He makes one of the smallest created beings an example and a counterpart from which a lesson may be drawn. If they cannot create even the lowliest of Allah’s creatures or contend with it, then they cannot create anything else. Through this, something of the Creator’s greatness becomes known, as does the fact that everything they worship besides Allah, in heaven and on earth, is powerless even before the smallest of His creatures.
It has also been said: “They made their gods counterparts to Allah, so listen to the mention of them.” This interpretation arose because its proponents did not understand the example Allah had set forth: they made the polytheists the ones who had set forth this example.
Allah has set forth examples like this in the Quran to show that a created being must not be compared to the Creator and made His rival and equal, as in His saying:
“Say, ‘Who provides for you from heaven