12597 - From Mujahid regarding His saying: "Allah sets forth a parable: a slave under the ownership of another with no power over anything... and one whom We have provided from Ourselves a good provision... and two men, one of them dumb, and [the other] who commands justice?" He said: All of this is a parable for the true God, and what they call upon besides Him is falsehood (1).

12598 - From al-Hasan regarding His saying: "Allah sets forth a parable: a slave under the ownership of another with no power over anything," he said: The idol (2).

12599 - From al-Rabi’ ibn Anas, he said: Indeed, Allah set forth parables according to deeds; there is no good deed except that it has a good parable, and no evil deed except that it has an evil parable. He also said: The likeness of the learned scholar is like a path between trees and a mountain, for it is straight, and nothing deviates it; that is the likeness of the believing servant who read the Quran and acted upon it (3).

12601 - From Ibn Abbas, he said: This verse, "Allah sets forth a parable: a slave under the ownership of another with no power over anything," was revealed regarding a man from Quraish and his slave, regarding Hisham ibn Amr, who is the one who spends his wealth secretly and openly, and his slave Abu al-Jawza', who used to forbid him (4).

12602 - From Ibn Abbas, he said: The slave has no right to divorce except with the permission of his master. And he recited: "A slave under the ownership of another with no power over anything" (5).

12603 - From Ibn Abbas regarding His saying: "Allah sets forth a parable: two men, one of them dumb..." to the end of the verse. He means by the dumb man—who is a burden upon his master—the disbeliever. And by His saying: "and [the other] who commands justice," the believer. This parable is regarding deeds (6).

His saying, the Almighty: "And [the other] who commands justice"

12604 - From Ibn Abbas regarding His saying: "And who commands justice," he said: Uthman ibn Affan (7).

12605 - From al-Suddi regarding the verse, he said: This is a parable also set forth by Allah for the deities. As for the dumb one, it is the idol, for it is dumb and does not speak, and it is a burden upon its master; they spend on it and on whoever comes to it, while it does not spend on them nor does it provide for them. "Are they equal... and [the other] who commands justice?" and that is Allah (8).