The obvious answer is that they cannot. The implication is equally clear: if even these two kinds of man cannot be deemed equal, how could any created being, with its intrinsic, utter dependence on other created beings, or any force of nature conceivable or imaginable by man, be thought of as possessing powers comparable with those of God, who is almighty, limitless, unconceivable-the self-sufficient fount of all that exists? (This argument is continued and further elaborated in the subsequent parable.)

The term abkam signifies "dumb" both in the literal, physiological sense and (as in colloquial English) in the sense of being "unable to speak properly" on account of intellectual weakness: i.e., "dull-witted" or "stupid". Both these meanings are contained in the above Qur'anic description.

Or: "wherever he sends him".

I.e., who is not only wise and righteous but also has the strength and authority to enjoin a righteous way of living upon others. Thus, while in the first parable the main issue is the contrast between freedom and bondage or - more generally - between dependence and independence, in the second parable we are given the antithesis of dumbness and incompetence, on the one hand, and wisdom, justice and competence, on the other; and in both parables the implication is the same (see note 85 above).

This passage connects with the second sentence of verse 74 - "Verily, God knows [all], whereas you have no [real] knowledge."

As may be inferred from the sequence, the term ghayb - rendered here as the "hidden reality" - alludes in this context to the coming of the Last Hour, the time whereof is known to God alone (Zamakhshari). Parallel with this, it may also relate to God's Own existence, which cannot be directly established by the testimony of our senses (Baydawi) but, as the Qur'an consistently points out, may be inferred from the observable effects of His creativeness.

Lit., "the case (i.e., the manifestation] of the [Last] Hour will be like...", etc. - implying that it will be characterized by utter suddenness and unpredictability, both of them an outcome of the absence of any time-interval between God's decreeing it and its materialization: and this explains the phrase "or closer still" at the end of the above sentence.

Lit., "subservient [to God's laws] in the air of the sky".

The term julud (sing. jild) denotes, literally, "skins", but apparently comprises here also the wool which grows on the skins of domesticated animals. It is to be noted that in Arabian usage the noun bayt ("house") signifies not only a solid building but also a "tent" - in brief, every kind of dwelling, whether permanent or temporary.

Wabar (here given in its plural, awbar) is the soft wool growing on the shoulders of camels ("camel-hair"), used in the weaving of fine cloths and sometimes also of bedouin tents.

Lit., "out of that which He has created".

. Lit., "shades (zilal. sing.,;ill). Metonymically, this term is occasionally used to describe anything that "shades" one in the sense of protecting him; and since the sequence clearly refers to means of protection, I believe that this derivative meaning of zilal is here preferable to the literal.

According to almost all the classical commentators, the mention of "heat" implies here its opposite as well, namely "cold"; hence my interpolation.

According to most of the commentators, the second incidence of the term "garments" (sarabil) in this verse is to be understood as "coats of mail" or "armour", in which case it would allude to wars and other instances of mutual violence. But although this interpretation cannot be ruled out, it seems to me that the second mention of "garments" can be understood in a much wider sense, perhaps metonymically denoting all manner of "coverings" (i.e., devices meant to protect the body) which man may be constrained to use in dangerous situations of his own making: hence the stress on "your violence" (ba'sakum).

I.e., although they are aware of the many blessings which man enjoys, they refuse to attribute them to God's creative activity, thus implicitly denying the truth of His existence. My rendering of al-kafirun as "[such as] are given to denying the truth" is conditioned by the definite article al which, in the above construction, is meant to stress the quality of deliberate intent.

An allusion to the Day of Judgment, when the prophets whom God has called forth within every community - or, in the wider sense of the term ummah, within every civilization or cultural period - will symbolically bear witness to the fact that they had delivered God's message to their people and explained to them the meaning of right and wrong, thus depriving them of any subsequent excuse.

According to Zamakhshari, their being "refused permission" to plead is a metonym for their having no valid argument or excuse to proffer. (Cf. also 77:35-36.)

See 2:286.

God expects humans to use their faculties in the best manner

You must give thanks by using your faculties to actualize your potentials and help others

24:71. It is God Who has designed the law that creatures heavier than air can fly, and objects heavier than water can float

16:84

16:71

4:41, 16:77, 16:89, 41:24