ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا عَبْدًا مَّمْلُوكًا لَّا يَقْدِرُ عَلَىٰ شَىْءٍ وَمَن رَّزَقْنَٰهُ مِنَّا رِزْقًا حَسَنًا فَهُوَ يُنفِقُ مِنْهُ سِرًّا وَجَهْرًا هَلْ يَسْتَوُۥنَ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Ḍaraba'llāhu mathalan ʿabdan mamlūkan lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾin wa man razaqnāhu minnā rizqan ḥasanan fa-huwa yunfiqu minhu sirran wa jahrā, hal yastawūn, al-ḥamdu li'llāh, bal aktharuhum lā yaʿlamūn
"God has coined a likeness: a slave owned by another, with power over nothing; and a man to whom We have given a good provision from Ourselves, and who spends of it in secret and openly. Are they equal? Praise belongs to God. No, most of them do not know."
| Side | Attribute | His act |
|---|---|---|
| ʿAbdan mamlūkā | Owned by another | Lā yaqdiru ʿalā shayʾ — he has power over nothing |
| Man razaqnāhu … rizqan ḥasanā | Given to him | Yunfiqu minhu sirran wa jahrā — he spends |
And at the axis of the contrast there is one word: power. The first lā yaqdiru, the second is in fact spending. The comparison is thus built not on ownership but on the power to dispose.
سِرًّا وَجَهْرًا — at al-Baqara, 2/271, it was treated that both secret and open giving are counted lawful, and at Fāṭir, 35/29, it was recorded that the two are named with a wāw, no distinction being drawn. I rely on those treatments. Here too they are named together with a wāw.