For example, someone judging at first glance may suppose that the “interrogative form” has no place in a syllogism, since only declarative propositions enter into it, whereas an interrogative expresses a request. Upon reflection, however, he realizes that most Quranic questions—or many of them—are rhetorical questions expressing rejection. They convey censure and prohibition when the rejection concerns divine law, or negation and denial when it concerns the existence or occurrence of something. Examples include His words:

“He presents an example for Us, forgetting his own creation. He says, ‘Who will give life to bones when they have crumbled away?’”

“He presents an example for you from among yourselves: do you have, among those whom your right hands possess, any partners in what We have provided for you?”—and the rest of the verse.

Likewise, He says:

“Is Allah better, or what they associate with Him?”

And, when enumerating His signs:

“Is there a god alongside Allah?”

That is: did a god alongside Allah do these things? The meaning is that none but Allah did them. He also says:

“Or were they created by nothing, or are they themselves the creators?”

The same applies to the accompanying verses.

What we have described as the Quran’s practice is the presentation of likenesses in terms of meaning. In linguistic usage, however, “presenting a likeness” or “the likeness presented” may refer to a kind of verbal expression. Such an expression supplies a way of saying something, just as language does, but, unlike Quranic likenesses, it does not furnish evidence for a judgment. This occurs when someone utters something in verse or prose prompted by a particular occasion, and it becomes so widespread in usage that it comes to express anything resembling that original meaning, even though the wording was not originally coined for those other instances. It is as though customary usage has transferred that proverbial sentence from its particular meaning to