the report about the parable of the hypocrites is the report about the parable of their seeking illumination through what they expressed with their tongues of affirmation while concealing something else—namely their corrupt beliefs, and their mixing their inner hypocrisy with the affirmation of outward faith. Seeking illumination—even if the individuals possessing it differ—is a single concept, not multiple concepts. Thus, a parable for it is in the meaning of a parable for a single person among things whose individuals differ.

The interpretation of that is: The parable of the hypocrites' seeking illumination through what they expressed of affirmation in God, in Muḥammad peace and blessings of God be upon him, and in what he brought, in speech while disbelieving in it in belief, is like the parable of the illumination of one who kindled a fire. Then the mention of seeking illumination was dropped, and the parable was annexed to them, just as Nābigha of Banū Jaʿda said: And how can you maintain friendship with one whose friendship has become like Abū Marḥab? (1)

He means: "like the friendship of Abū Marḥab," so he dropped "friendship," since there was in the speech he expressed an indication for his listeners of what he omitted from it. Likewise is the statement regarding His saying: {Their parable is as the parable of one who kindled a fire}: when it was known to its listeners through the speech expressed that the parable was only struck for the people's seeking illumination through affirmation rather than their individual physical bodies, it was proper to omit the mention of seeking illumination and to annex the parable to its people. The intended meaning of the parable is what we have mentioned. So based on what we described, His statement {Their parable is as the parable of one who kindled a fire} was permissible and good, and the parable of a group resembles in wording that of a single individual, since what is intended by the single parable is unified in meaning.

As for when it is intended to liken a group of individual human beings—or individual entities possessing forms and bodies—to something, the correct speech is to liken a group to a group, and an individual to an individual, because the physical entity of each one of them is distinct from the physical entities of the others.

For that reason, the rule differed regarding the likening of actions versus nouns: so it was permissible to liken the actions of a group of people and others—when they share a single meaning—to the action of a single individual,