contradiction in the Qur’an regarding the guidance of parables to people

 Content of the doubt:

Some sophists imagine that there is a contradiction between the words of Allah the Almighty: “And these parables We present to mankind, but none will comprehend them except those of knowledge (43)” (Al-Ankabut), and His words the Almighty: “And these parables We present to mankind that perhaps they will give thought (21)” (Al-Hashr). They ask: How does the Qur’an mention parables in the first place for the scholars among the people only, then indicate in the other place that it presents parables for all people?! They aim from this to say that there is a contradiction in the Qur’an; to prove their claim that the Qur’an was made by humans, as long as it contains such a contradiction.

Two ways to refute the doubt:

1) Allah the Almighty presented parables for all people, but it was previously known to Him the Almighty that only a specific group would comprehend those parables.
2) The purpose of Allah the Almighty presenting parables for people in the two verses is:
· Either to be a call to think And contemplation.
Or it may be a rebuke to them for their lack of humility.

Details:
First: The basic principle of striking examples is that they are for all people; however, it was previously known in Allah’s eternal knowledge that only the learned and knowledgeable people will understand those examples, and no one else:
Allah, the Almighty, strikes examples for all people in the first place, and it is known that there are those who understand those verses, and there are those who do not understand them, from those with sick hearts and minds, and it was previously known in Allah’s eternal knowledge that only a specific group will understand those verses, namely the knowledgeable, that is, those who know the truth from falsehood, who want guidance and not misguidance, who take heed from those who came before them. As for the tyrants, the deified rulers, their hearts are like stones or even harder, such as: Pharaoh, Haman, Abu Jahl... and others who transgressed on earth and spread corruption in it. Allah’s verses are revealed to them and they hear them, then they deny them and disavow them; Fearing for their interests and being stubborn against their messengers, their hearts are obscured by their injustice, so they do not understand or believe[1].

Second: The purpose of giving examples in the two verses:
1. Calling for contemplation and reflection:
Allah - Glory be to Him - gives examples for all people, so that they may hear them and understand them, and believe in Him, the Most High, and enter His party. Among those examples: What He gave for those who worshipped guardians other than Him, for they do not benefit them due to their insignificance and weakness, like the spider’s web. Allah the Almighty said: “And indeed, the flimsiest of houses is the spider’s web, if they only knew (41)” (Al-Ankaboot), for it neither covers nor benefits, and does not repel heat or poverty, and so does every deity other than Him - Glory be to Him - meaning that the disbeliever is stripped of Allah’s covering, he goes out to Him naked, so he is not clothed, and his ugliness is apparent in front of all witnesses.
Regarding the wisdom behind this parable, Professor Musa Al-Ibrahim says: “This is a great parable in which God represents the state of those people who have taken guardians other than God, seeking from them honor, support, power, wealth, and protection. God Almighty depicts their state - to humiliate and rebuke them - as the state of that weak animal, the spider, which has made a home and thought that it has taken refuge in a strong fortress and has begun to move back and forth inside it, perhaps boasting of the speed of its construction: “And indeed, the flimsiest of houses is the spider’s house, if they only knew (41)” (Al-Ankabut). These people will not find from their weak, feeble human guardians any protection or support except to the extent that the spider’s house protects that weak animal.[2] 2. Rebuking people for their lack of faith:

Allah - the Almighty - gives an example of the hardest thing and the least affected by what strikes it, which is the mountain. He said: If the one addressed by the Qur’an were a mountain, and the mountain understood the speech, it would be affected by the speech of the Qur’an with an effect arising from the fear of Allah, which the meanings of the Qur’an arouse in it. Allah gave the example of cracking as an example of the intensity of emotion and affect; because the ultimate effect of hard objects is to split and crack; as this does not happen to them easily. Allah the Almighty wants from these examples that people think about them, and if they do not think about them, then their stubbornness and obstinacy are recorded against them, and thus the heart of the stubborn person will be harder than a mountain.

Conclusion:
There is no contradiction between the passages before us, and this is for the following:
Allah - the Almighty - gave examples for all people, but those who understood Allah’s intention from them are few, and they are the scholars, not the rest of the common people.
The purpose that God Almighty intended by using examples in the two verses is to call people to think and reflect on the Kingdom of God Almighty, or to rebuke people for their lack of reverence in the remembrance of God Almighty.

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[1] Al-Durr Al-Manthur, Al-Suyuti, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, 1st ed., 1983 AD, Vol. 4, p. 121. Tanzih Al-Qur’an from Objections, Judge Abdul Jabbar, edited by: Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahim Al-Sayeh, Counselor Tawfiq Ali Wahba, Al-Nafiza Library, Cairo, 1st ed., 2006 AD, p. 429.

[2] Methodological Research in the Sciences of the Holy Qur’an, Musa Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim, Dar Ammar, Jordan, 2nd ed., 1996 AD, p. 191.