Then those earlier speculative theologians thought that these were (1) the Quran’s methods of argument, but that is not so.

Rather, the Quran established (2) Allah’s sole right to worship—which entails His oneness in Lordship—and did so more perfectly than those arguments. Consider this in the words of the Most High:

“Allah has never taken any offspring, nor has there ever been any god with Him. Then each god would have taken away what he created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others.”

[Surah al-Mu’minūn: 91]

In this verse, He set forth two conclusive proofs that it is impossible for there to be any [other] (3) god alongside Allah, in His words:

“Then each god would have taken away what he created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others.”

It is known that it is not the case that each god took away what he created or that some of them overcame others. He left this unstated because those addressed already knew it (4), and because mentioning it would merely prolong the discussion to no benefit (5).

This is the method of the Quran and of eloquent, expressive speech; indeed, it is the method (6) generally followed by people in discourse: they state the premise that requires explanation and omit what requires none.

For example, one might be asked, “Why do you say that every intoxicant is forbidden?” The reply would be: Because it has (7) been authentically reported from the Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—that he said, “Every intoxicant is wine, and every wine