قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ ﴿۲۸﴾ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَجُلًا فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ مُتَشَاكِسُونَ وَرَجُلًا سَلَمًا لِرَجُلٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿۲۹﴾ إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ ﴿۳۰﴾ ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ ﴿۳۱﴾

﴾28﴿ Qur-aanan 'Arabiyyan ghaira zee 'iwajil la'allahum yattaqoon
﴾29﴿ Darabal laahu masalar rajulan feehi shurakaaa'u mutashaakisoona wa rajulan salamal lirajulin hal yastawi yaani masalaa; alhamdu lillaah; bal aksaruhum laa ya'lamoon
﴾30﴿ Innaka maiyitunw wa inna hum maiyitoon
﴾31﴿ Summa innakum Yawmal Qiyaamati 'inda Rabbikum takhtasimoon

﴾28﴿ It is an Arabic Quran, without any crookedness, so that they may fear (Allah)
﴾29﴿ Allah, the Almighty, has set forth an example: a man belonging to many partners who are disputing, and another man belonging entirely to one master. Are the two equal in comparison? All praise belongs to Allah! But most of them do not know
﴾30﴿ Indeed, you will die, and surely they too will die
﴾31﴿ Then, surely on the Day of Judgment, you will dispute before your Lord

[29] In the previous verse, it was stated that every kind of parable has been mentioned. Now, in this verse, a specific parable is given to illustrate the difference between a polytheist and a monotheist.
(مُتَشَاكِسُونَ) — means quarrelsome and mutually opposed individuals. They do not accept fairness, nor do they cooperate or agree with each other.
The detailed explanation of the example is: a slave who has many masters, but those masters are ill-natured and hostile. One commands him to do one task, while another commands the opposite. They neither agree among themselves nor forgive. If the slave has a need or faces hardship, none of those masters help him due to their bad character. Such a slave’s life becomes extremely difficult and filled with confusion.
In contrast, another slave has only one master—who is noble, generous, just, and possesses manly character. He does not wrong the slave and supports him in times of need and trouble. It is evident that this slave lives a peaceful and content life.
Likewise, a polytheist takes many false gods. He considers each one worthy of worship—believing one removes a particular harm, and another solves a different problem. These deities include saints and religious figures, who are often quarrelsome and greedy. If the polytheist worships one, another is displeased. If he makes a vow or offering to one, the others become angry. And when he has many needs at once, he becomes confused about which shrine to turn to, worried that by choosing one, he neglects another. Thus, his life becomes full of stress and conflict.
On the other hand, the monotheist worships and obeys only one Allah. He can ask all his needs from Him at once. Therefore, his life is calm and harmonious.
So it becomes clear: these two are not equal.
Note: This example does not apply to idol worshippers alone. Therefore, Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī has written that this example is specifically for those who worship saints and scholars with the belief that they will intercede for us—a type of shirk-based intercession.
Each follower believes that his saint or scholar is on the truth, while the others are misguided.
[30,31] Since a severe refutation was made against the polytheists, they, out of anger, would make evil prayers, wishing for the Prophet’s (May Allah bless him and give him peace) death, thinking that they would be saved from him that way. This verse responds by stating: death comes to all, so rejoicing over someone else's death brings no benefit.
From this verse, it becomes clear that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) also passed away, and that is why he was buried.
Qurṭubī writes that Allah the Exalted mentioned this news so that:
1. No one disputes the death of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and
2. It becomes clear that in this aspect, the Prophet is equal to others—that is, he is also subject to human realities like death.