'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, the Exalted, said: "O mankind! A parable has been struck, so listen to it. Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah will never create a fly, even if they all gather together for it. And if the fly should steal from them a thing, they could not recover it from it. Weak is the seeker and the sought." "They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Strong and Exalted." The address with His saying, "O mankind!" It is said: It is an address that encompasses the world. It is also said: It is an address to the believers at that time, whom Allah, the Exalted, intended to clarify the error of the disbelievers to them. There is no doubt that they are the addressed ones, but it is an address that encompasses all people. Whenever someone looks into the matter of idol worship, the address is directed to him. The interpreters have differed regarding the subject of "struck"; who is it? A group said: The meaning is that the people of disbelief have been made a parable for Allah regarding their idols and their false gods. So listen, you people, to the matter of these deities. Another group said: Allah, the Exalted, struck a parable for these idols, saying it is such and such. So in the first saying, the parable and the example are the idols, and the one for whom the parable is made is Allah, the Exalted. In the second interpretation, it is about the fly and its matter, and the one for whom it is made is the idols. The meaning of "struck" is established and made obligatory, and this is like His saying, "The humiliation was struck upon them" [Al-Imran: 112], and our saying: The tribute was struck and the summons was struck. It is possible that "the parable was struck" is from the striking that is the parable, and from your saying: "This is a striking of this," as if he said: Like a parable. A group read: "They invoke" with a ya beneath, and the pronoun refers to the disbelievers. Another group read: "They are invoked" with the ya being pronounced and the 'ayn opened, regarding what its doer has not been named, and the pronoun refers to the idols. And He, the Exalted, began by negating creation and invention from them, as it is a characteristic that is firmly established for Him, exclusive to Him. (p-274) It is as if He said: They do not have My characteristic. Then He proceeded to the matter that reached them to the utmost of incapacitation, and He mentioned the matter of the fly stealing because it was something very tangible to the Arabs. This is because they used to perfume their idols with various types of perfume, and the fly would take that away. They were pained by this matter, so it was made a parable. And "the fly" has its plural as "adhubba" in the few and "dhuban" in the many, like "the raven" and "the ravens" and "the crow". It is not said "flies" except in the context of tails, not in the context of the creature. The interpreters have differed regarding His saying, "Weak is the seeker and the sought." A group said: By the seeker, He meant the idols, and by the sought, He meant the fly - meaning that they should be seeking what has been stolen from their perfume, as is customary with the nobility of animals. Another group said: Its meaning is that the disbelievers are weak in their seeking the truth and virtue from the idols, and the idols are weak in giving that and providing it. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad said - may Allah have mercy on him:

It is possible that he means by saying the weakness of the fly, which is the one that takes from the idols, and the weakness of the idols in that they have no protection for themselves. In any case, the weakness of the fly, which is something tangible and agreed upon, and the weakness of the idols in that they have no protection from this agreed-upon weakness indicates that the idols are in the lowest rank and the most despicable position.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿They did not appraise Allah with true appraisal﴾ is addressed to the mentioned people, and the pronoun in 'appraised' refers to the disbelievers. The meaning is that they did not give Him His due in terms of glorification and monotheism. Then He informed about the might of Allah - glorified and exalted is He - and His honor, and these are two attributes that contradict the impotence of the idols.