An objection may assume that every illustrative comparison requires both sides to be expressed as visibly multiword phrases. But a composite similarity is determined by the structure of the resemblance, not only by the number of words naming the subjects.
مثلهم كمثل الذي استوقد ناراً
Their likeness is that of a person who kindled a fire.
The similarity concerns a dynamic scene: kindling, illumination, and subsequent loss or deprivation. It is not exhausted by one simple property of “fire” or “person.” Analysis therefore must attend to the represented configuration.