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Allahu ta’ālā strikes a similitude (mathalan, this is substituted by [the following, 'abdan mamlūkan]) a slave who is a chattel (mamlūkan, an adjective to distinguish him [this type of slave] from a free man, who is the servant of Allahu ta’ālā [alone]) having no power over anything, since he has no mastery, and one on whom (man, is an indefinite [noun], adjectivally qualified, in other words, a free man) We have bestowed a fair provision from Us, such that he spends thereof secretly and openly, that is, disposing of it as he wishes: the first similitude is for the idols, while the second is His, exalted be He. Are they equal?, the powerless slaves and the dispensing free men? No. Praise belongs to Allahu ta’ālā, alone. But most of them, that is, the people of Mecca, do not know, the chastisement they will come to, and so they associate others with Allahu ta’ālā.