And when he established for them the proof of what he is upon of the true religion, following the essence of creation, by what has been firmly established in minds that Allah, the Exalted, is the sole bestower of blessings, glorified is He, and that gratitude to Him is necessary, after he affirmed to them the matter of his prophethood and established its proof by what he informs them of from the unseen, and called them to what is obligatory upon them from the oneness of Allah, which is Islam. Most of creation, except for the rare individual, acknowledges the true deity, but they associate with Him some of His creation. He followed this with the proof of the contradiction against the corruption of every religion other than Islam, which all the prophets and messengers agree upon, supporting the evidences of transmission with decisive reason. [He said -] calling to them by the name of companionship with the tool that is said when there is a great impact in souls in the place where affection is purified, advice is made sincere, hearts are cleared, and sincerity is intended in hope of salvation: "O companions of the prison." And companionship is the constant association of specialization, like the companions of Al-Shafi'i, for example, due to the constant association with his school of thought, which is contrary to the association of connection.

And when their minds were finished with the call to what he was conveying, the ringing in their ears with denial along with affirmation, he said: "Are there lords?" meaning deities, "divided?" distinct in essence and realities, you see them in need of the place while they are lifeless. If they were alive, their contradiction would be possible, which leads to the possibility of the incapacity of each one of them, which is conclusive by the lack of their suitability for divinity. (p-88) "Better" meaning greater in the attribute of praise and more deserving of obedience, "or is Allah" meaning the Most High King, "the One" in essence, for He does not need anything at all, "the All-Prevailing" over everything, His overpowering continues to recur forever. This is a proof without error as he thought, and he presented it ﷺ in the form of a question to attract the listener's attention back to him, and he called them lords based on their claim, and likewise the participation in the comparative superlative, because that is closer to fairness, as it is softer in speech, and thus more likely to be accepted.