Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL MU'MINUUN [84]

84. Say: ”Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein If you know!'' 85. They will say: ”It is Allah's!'' Say: ”Will you not then remember'' 86. Say: ”Who is (the) Lord of the seven heavens, and (the) Lord of the Great Throne'' 87. They will say: ”Allah.'' Say: ”Will you not then have Taqwa'' 88. Say: ”In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything And He protects, while against Whom there is no protector, if you know'' 89. They will say: ”(All that belongs) to Allah.'' Say: ”How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth'' 90. Nay, but We have brought them the truth, and verily, they are liars. Allah states that the fact that He is One and that He is independent in His creation, control, dominion and guides one to realize that there is no God except Him and that none should be worshipped except Him Alone, with no partner or associate. He tells His Messenger Muhammad to say to the idolators who worship others besides Him, even though they admit His Lordship, that He has no partner in Lordship. But despite this they still attributed partners in divinity to Him, and worshipped others besides Him even though they recognized the fact that those whom they worshipped could not create anything, did not own anything, nor do they have any control over anything. However, they still believed that these creatures could bring them closer to Allah,

(We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah) ï´¿39:3ï´¾. So Allah says:

(Say: ”Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein'') meaning, ”Who is the Owner Who has created it and whatever is in it of animals, plants, fruits and all other kinds of creation''

(”If you know!'' They will say: ”It is Allah's!'') means, they will admit that this belongs to Allah Alone with no partner or associate. If that is the case,

(Say: ”Will you not then remember'') that none should be worshipped except the Creator and Provider.

(Say: ”Who is Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the Great Throne'') means, ”Who is the Creator of the higher realm with its planets, lights and angels who submit to Him in all regions and in all directions Who is the Lord of the Great Throne, which is the highest of all created things'' Allah says here:

(and Lord of the Great Throne), meaning the Mighty Throne. At the end of the Surah, Allah says:

(the Lord of the Supreme Throne!) ﴿23:116﴾, meaning splendid and magnificent. The Throne combines the features of height and vastness with splendor and magnificence. This is why it was said that it is made of red rubies. Ibn Mas`ud said, ”There is no night or day with your Lord, and the light of the Throne is from the Light of His Face.''

(They will say: ”Allah.'' Say: ”Will you not then have Taqwa'') meaning, since you admit that He is the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the Mighty Throne, will you not fear His punishment for worshipping others besides Him and associating others with Him

(Say: ”In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything'') i.e., sovereignty is in His Hands.

(There is not a moving creature but He has grasp of its forelock) ï´¿11:56ï´¾. meaning, He has control over it. The Messenger of Allah used to say,

(By the One in Whose hand is my soul.) When he swore an oath, he would say,

(By the One Who turns over (controls) the hearts.) He, may He be glorified, is the Creator, the Sovereign, the Controller,

(And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector, if you know) Among the Arabs, if a leader announced his protection to a person, no one could go against him in that, yet no one could offer protection against that leader. Allah says:

(And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector, ) meaning, He is the greatest Master, and there is none greater than Him. His is the power to create and to command, and none can overturn or oppose His ruling. What He wills happens, and what He does not, will not happen. Allah says:

(He cannot be questioned about what He does, while they will be questioned.) ï´¿21:23ï´¾ He cannot be asked about what He does because of His greatness, Pride, overwhelming power, wisdom and justice, but all of His creation will be asked about what they did, as Allah says:

(They will say: ”(All that belongs) to Allah.'') means, they will admit that the Almighty Master Who protects all while against Him there is no protector is Allah Alone, with no partner or associate.

(Say: ”How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth'') means, how can your minds accept the idea of worshipping others besides Him when you recognize and acknowledge that Then Allah says:

(Nay, but We have brought them the truth,) which is the declaration that there is no god worthy of worship besides Allah, and the establishment of clear, definitive and sound proof to that effect,

(and verily, they are liars.) means, in their worship of others alongside Allah when they have no evidence for doing so, as Allah says at the end of this Surah:

(And whoever invokes, besides Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof; then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely, the disbelievers will not be successful.) ï´¿23:117ï´¾ The idolators have no evidence for what they are doing, which has led them into lies and misguidance. Rather they are following their forefathers and predecessors who were confused and ignorant, as Allah describes them:

(”We found our fathers following a certain way and religion, and we will indeed follow their footsteps.'') ﴿43:23﴾