Al-Baqarah: (171) And the likeness of those who disbelieve...

Know that when the Almighty recounted how the disbelievers, upon being called to follow what God has revealed, abandoned reflection and contemplation, clinging instead to mere imitation, saying: {Nay! We shall follow that which we found our fathers following} (Al-Baqarah: 170), He struck this similitude for them. This serves as a warning to the listeners that their error stems from neglecting to listen attentively and lacking concern for religion. Thus, in this regard, they are likened to cattle.

This parable increases the hearer's knowledge of the disbelievers' state, and it diminishes the disbeliever's self-worth upon hearing it, causing distress and constriction in their chest, as they are equated with beasts. This serves as the ultimate deterrent and restraint against treading the path of imitation.

Herein lie several issues:

The call of the shepherd to his flock is a "na'iq" (crying out/bleating). As for the caw of the crow, it is with the letter bā' (i.e., ghurāb).

The scholars of exegesis (Mufassirun) have two approaches regarding this verse:

1. Validating the meaning by supplying an implied word (Iḍmār) in the verse.
2. Interpreting the verse literally without supplying any implied word.

Regarding those who supply an implied word:

They mentioned several interpretations:

First View (The view of Al-Akhfash, Al-Zajjaj, and Ibn Qutaybah): It is as if the verse means: "And the likeness of those who call the disbelievers to the truth is like the likeness of one who cries out (to cattle)." In this interpretation:

• The one crying out (Al-Nā'iq), who is the shepherd, is likened to the caller to truth (the Messenger, peace be upon him, and all callers to truth).
• The disbelievers are likened to the cattle being called. The basis for this comparison is that the beast hears the sound but does not understand the intended meaning. Similarly, these disbelievers heard the voice and words of the Messenger but did not benefit from them or their meanings. Thus, the basis for the comparison is established.

Second View: "The likeness of those who disbelieve in their calling upon their idols is like the likeness of one crying out to that which does not hear, such as cattle, and speech directed toward them. Beasts do not understand." Here, the idols are likened to these beasts because they do not understand. If this is the case, the implied word that is being called upon (Al-Mad'ū) is what is omitted. This contrasts with the previous view where the caller (Al-Dā'ī) was omitted. However, this view faces a challenge because the subsequent phrase {except as a call and a cry} does not support it, as idols hear nothing.

Third View (Ibn Zayd's view): "The likeness of those who disbelieve in their calling upon their idols is like the likeness of one crying out near a mountain. He hears nothing except the echo of his own voice. If he says, 'O Zayd,' he hears the echo: 'O Zayd.' Likewise, when these disbelievers call upon these idols, they hear nothing except what they themselves uttered of calling and crying out."

The Second Approach: Interpreting the verse literally without supplying an implied word.

This approach has two interpretations:

1. It means: "The likeness of the disbelievers in their lack of intellect when worshipping these idols is like a shepherd speaking to beasts. Just as one judges that shepherd to be deficient in intellect, so too is the case here."
2. It means: "The likeness of the disbelievers in following their fathers and imitating them is like a shepherd speaking to beasts. Just as speaking to beasts is a futile, useless act, so too is imitation a futile, useless act."

Know that when God likened them to cattle, He intensified the rebuke by saying: {Deaf, dumb, blind}.

They have become like the deaf because what they heard was as if they had not heard it. They are like the mute because they do not respond to what they are called toward. They are like the blind because they turned away from the proofs, as if they had not witnessed them.

The grammarians state that {Deaf} (ṣumm) is in the nominative case (raf') as a form of condemnation (i.e., they are deaf).

As for {so they do not reason} (fa-hum lā ya'qilūn), the intended meaning is the acquired intellect (al-'aql al-iktisābī), because the innate intellect (al-'aql al-maṭbū') was present in them. It is said: Intellect is of two types: innate and acquired (learned).

Since the path to acquiring the acquired intellect is by utilizing these three faculties (hearing, speaking/responding, and sight), when they turned away from them, they lost the acquired intellect. This is why it is said: "Whoever loses a sense, loses a piece of knowledge."

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