Commentary
His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Say, to whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you should know?" "They will say, 'To Allah.' Say, 'Then will you not remember?'" "Say, 'Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne?'" "They will say, 'To Allah.' Say, 'Then will you not fear?'" "Say, 'In whose hand is the dominion of all things, and He protects while none can protect against Him, if you should know?'" "They will say, 'To Allah.' Say, 'Then how are you deluded?'" (p-316) Allah, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to confront them with these matters that they can only acknowledge. Acknowledging them necessitates that they believe in their Creator and submit to His law and the message of His Messenger.
And all have read in the first: "To Allah" without disagreement. There was a difference in the second and third. Abu Amr read: "To Allah" as a response to the wording, while the remaining seven read: "To Allah" as a response to the meaning, as if he said in the question: To whom belongs the dominion of the seven heavens? For your saying: To whom belongs this house? And your saying: Who is the owner of this house? Is one in meaning.
Then he made the reprimand progressive according to the clarity of the argument, step by step. He paused at the earth and whoever is in it and placed remembrance in contrast to that. Then he paused at the seven heavens and the Great Throne and placed fear in contrast to that, which is more eloquent than remembrance. This is according to the clarity of the argument. And in His saying: "Then will you not fear?" is a warning. Then he paused at the dominion of all things, and in acknowledging this is a commitment to all that can be used in argumentation. Thus, the reprimand occurred afterward in the utmost eloquence with His saying: "Then how are you deluded?" The meaning of "how" is: how? And from where? In this is a confirmation of their delusion, and it is a question about the state in which they were deluded. The delusion here is metaphorical for them, and it is a comparison to what occurred from them of mixing and placing actions and words inappropriately, similar to what occurs with the bewitched. He expressed this about them. And a group said: "You are deluded" means: you are prevented, and some of them narrated this as a dialect.
Ibn Muhaisin read: "the Great" with the raising of the 'mim'. And "dominion" is a source in the form of exaggeration. And "protection" means prevention from a person, and the meaning is that Allah, blessed and exalted is He, when He prevents someone, then they cannot overcome Him. And when He intends someone, then there is no preventer against Him. And likewise in all His power and what He has decreed, nothing opposes that nor does it divert from its course.
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