His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Allah! There is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what will be after them.﴾

This verse is the master of the verses of the Qur'an. This has been mentioned in the hadith, and it has been reported that it is equivalent to one-third of the Qur'an. It has also been reported that whoever recites it at the beginning of his night, no devil will approach him, and likewise for whoever recites it at the beginning of his day. This verse contains the concept of Tawhid and the sublime attributes. "Allah" is the subject, and "there is no deity" is a second subject, and its predicate is omitted, which can be understood as: "Worshipped" or "Exists." And "except Him" is a substitute for the place of: "there is no deity." And "the Ever-Living" is a self-referential attribute of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. Al-Tabari reported from a group that they said: Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is alive without a life. This is the saying of the Mu'tazilah, and it is an undesirable saying. It has been reported from a group that He is alive with a life that is an attribute of Him. It has also been reported from a group that it is said: He is alive as He described Himself, and they accept that without examining it.

And "the Sustainer" is a form derived from the root of standing, its original form is: Qayyum. The letters yā and wā were combined, and one of them was preceded by a sukoon, so the first was assimilated into the second after converting the wā into yā. Qayyum is a form of exaggeration, meaning: He is the one who stands over every matter with what is necessary for it. With this meaning, Mujahid, Al-Rabi', and Al-Dahhak interpreted it.

Ibn Mas'ud, Alqamah, Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i, and Al-Amash read: "the Ever-Living, the Sustainer" with an alif.

Then, exalted and majestic is He, negated that drowsiness or sleep overtakes Him. In the wording of taking, there is a predominance, and for this reason, it was appropriate in this context to be in the negative. Drowsiness is the beginning of sleepiness, which is a fatigue that overcomes a person and causes heaviness in his eyes, and he does not lose all of his mind with it. Sleep is the heavy state in which the mind departs.

What is meant by this verse is that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is not affected by any affliction, nor does He experience any deficiency in any state. This has been made an example of that, and this mentioned affliction has been placed in the position of all afflictions. This is the understanding of the address as He, exalted is He, said: ﴿So do not say to them a word of disrespect.﴾ [Al-Isra: 23]. And what distinguishes between drowsiness and sleep is the saying of Adi ibn Al-Riqaa:

Drowsiness is what sleep has aimed for, and in his eye is drowsiness, yet he is not sleeping.

With this meaning, Al-Dahhak and Al-Suddi interpreted drowsiness. Ibn Abbas and others said: Drowsiness is sleepiness. Ibn Zayd said: Drowsiness is the state of one who rises from sleep and does not comprehend, so perhaps he draws his sword upon his family.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this which Ibn Zayd said has some consideration, and that is not understood from the words of the Arabs. Abu Huraira narrated that he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, recounting about Musa on the pulpit, saying: Musa had in his heart the thought, 'Does Allah, glorified and exalted is He, sleep?' So Allah sent to him an angel who disturbed him three times. Then He gave him two glass containers, one in each hand, and commanded him to keep them safe. He said: So he began to sleep, and his hands were almost meeting. Then he would wake up and hold one of them back from the other until he slept a sleep, and his hands met, and the two containers broke.

He said: Allah set forth an example that if He were to sleep, the heavens and the earth would not remain."

And His saying, the Exalted: "To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth" means in ownership. He is the owner of all and its Lord - and the expression came with 'what' even though in the sentence there are those who possess understanding in terms of the intended meaning and what exists.

Then He affirmed and stated that no one may intercede with Him except by His permission, glorified and exalted is He.

And Al-Tabari said: This verse was revealed when the disbelievers said: 'We do not worship these idols except that they may bring us closer to Allah.' So Allah said: "To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth," and it is established in this verse that Allah permits whom He wills in intercession, and they are the prophets and scholars and others.

And the permission here refers to the matter in what is specified, like Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, when it is said to him: "Intercede, and you will be granted intercession" and to the knowledge and empowerment if someone from the prophets or scholars intercedes before being commanded - and it appears that the scholars and the righteous intercede for those who have not reached the fire while they are between two abodes, or they have reached but have good deeds.

And in Al-Bukhari in the chapter of a portion from the chapter of vision: "Indeed, the believers will say: 'Our Lord, our brothers used to pray with us, and fast with us, and work with us.' So this is intercession for one whose matter is close, and just as the child who is beloved intercedes at the gate of Paradise." This is the hadith.

And this is only for their relatives and acquaintances - and that the prophets intercede for those who have fallen into the fire from the sinners of their nations due to sins without closeness or acquaintance except by virtue of faith. Then the intercession of the Most Merciful of the merciful remains for those who are engulfed in sins and have not received the intercession of the prophets.

As for the intercession of Muhammad in hastening the reckoning, it is specific to him. It is the fifth that is in his saying: "And I was given intercession," and it is general for the people. The intent of it is to relieve the believers, and the disbelievers hasten to the destination of punishment from it. Likewise, it is only sought by the believers for the prophets. The two pronouns in his saying: "their hands and what is behind them" refer back to everyone who has understanding from those included in his saying: ﴿To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth﴾. Mujahid said: What is between their hands is the world, and what is behind them is the Hereafter. This is correct in itself at the time of death, because what is between the hands is everything that has preceded a person, and what is behind him is everything that comes after him. And in a manner similar to the saying of Mujahid, this was said by Al-Suddi and others.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿And they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not burden Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.﴾

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And they do not encompass anything of His knowledge﴾ means: of His information. This is like the saying of Al-Khidr to Moses, peace be upon them both - when the bird pecked at the edge of the ship: "My knowledge and your knowledge of the knowledge of Allah is nothing but like what this bird has taken from this sea." So this and similar statements refer back to the information, because the knowledge of Allah, exalted is He, which is a quality of His essence, does not divide. And the meaning of the verse is: there is no known thing for anyone except what Allah wills for him to know.

People have differed regarding the Kursi that Allah, exalted is He, described as extending over the heavens and the earth.

Ibn Abbas said: His Kursi is His knowledge. Al-Tabari preferred this and said: From it is the record for the pages that contain knowledge. From it, it is said to the scholars: the Kursi, because they are relied upon, just as it is said: the pegs of the earth.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: These words indicate what has been suggested, that the Kursi is knowledge. Al-Tabari said: And from it is the saying of the poet:

They are surrounded by those with white faces, and a group ∗∗∗ Kursis in times of calamities when they befall.

He means by that scholars of the incidents of affairs and their calamities.

Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari said: The Kursi is the place of the two feet, and it has a creaking sound like the creaking of a saddle.

And Al-Suddi said: It is the place of His two feet, and the expression of Abu Musa is explicit because he means by it the place of the two feet in the Throne of the Most Merciful, as the place of the two feet on the beds of kings. It is a great created thing before the Throne, its relation to it is like the relation of the Kursi to the king's throne, and the Kursi is the place of the two feet. As for the expression of Al-Suddi, it is ambiguous, and Al-Mundhir Al-Baluti inclined towards it and interpreted it in the sense of what has preceded from the created things in a manner similar to what was interpreted in the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Then the Compeller places His foot in it." And this, in my view, is a burden, because interpretation is not necessitated except in the words of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and in the Book of Allah. As for the expression of a commentator, it is not.

And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: The Kursi is the Throne itself.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: What the hadiths necessitate is that the Kursi is a great creation between the Throne and the Throne is greater than it. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The seven heavens in the Kursi are nothing but like seven dirhams thrown into a shield." And Abu Dharr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: "The Kursi in relation to the Throne is nothing but like a iron ring thrown into a vast desert."

And this verse informs about the greatness of Allah's creations, and what is derived from that is the greatness of His power, as He is not burdened by the preservation of this great matter.

And "y'uduhu" means: it burdens him. It is said: The thing has burdened me, meaning it has made me heavy and I have endured hardship from it. And with this, Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and others interpreted the word.

It has been narrated from Al-Zuhri, Abu Ja'far, and Al-A'raj - with a difference among them - that they softened the hamzah on the first waw, making it between the two, neither a complete waw nor a confirmed hamzah, as has been said in "lu'mun luwm."

And "the Most High" refers to the exaltation of rank and status, not the elevation of place, for Allah is exalted above being confined.

Al-Tabari reported from a group that they said: He is the Most High in relation to His creation by the elevation of His place above the places of His creation.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is the saying of ignorant anthropomorphists, and it was appropriate that it should not be reported. Likewise, "the Great" is an attribute meaning the greatness of rank and significance, not in the sense of the greatness of masses.

Al-Tabari reported from a group that "the Great" means the revered, as it is said: the ancient means the aged. And he quoted the words of Al-A'sha:

As if the ancient wine is mixed with pure water.

And he mentioned that a group denied that, saying: If it meant revered, it would have to be not great before He created the creation and after their demise, as there would be no one to revere Him then.