Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:19

(And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth): This is an inception intended to confirm what preceded it regarding His—Exalted is He—creation of all His creatures based on profound wisdom and a perfect order, and that He, Glory be to Him, establishes the truth and obliterates falsehood. It has been said that it is a parallel to His saying, "Woe to you," but that is as you see. It means that to Him, Exalted is He, exclusively belongs every creature in terms of creation, sovereignty, governance, management, giving life, punishing, and rewarding, without anyone having any influence in that, whether independently or subordinately.

It is as if the intention here is to manifest greater magnificence; thus, "heavens" (al-samawat) is brought in the plural form, signifying that He possesses everyone who is in each of the heavens. In the previous passage, the intention was merely to show that this visible ceiling, the leveled earth, and what is established between them contain countless instances of wisdom; hence, "heaven" (al-sama') was brought in the singular form rather than the plural. In Al-Itqan, it is stated that where number is intended, "heaven" is brought in the plural, and where direction is intended, it is brought in the singular.

(And those who are near Him): They are the angels, without exception, peace be upon them, according to what has been narrated from Qatada and others. The intended meaning of "nearness" (al-'indiyya) is the nearness of honor, not the nearness of location. Proximity of rank and status has been likened to proximity of location and distance; thus, the object of the comparison was expressed using a term indicating the thing it is compared to, making it an explicit metaphor (isti'ara musaraha). It has also been said that they are described thus as a representation, due to their honor before Him—Mighty and Majestic is He—equivalent to the status of those brought near to kings, by way of analogy.

The relative pronoun is the subject (mubtada'), and its predicate (khabar) is His saying, (do not wax proud against His worship), meaning they do not consider themselves too great for it, nor do they regard themselves as arrogant.

(And do not grow weary): meaning they do not become exhausted or tired. It is said, "The camel became hasara (exhausted)," and "he became istahsara," meaning he became tired and fatigued. "I caused him to become hasara"—it is both transitive and intransitive. It is also said, "I caused him to become ahsartuhu" with a hamza.

It appears that istihsar (growing weary), where there is no request—as is the case here—is more emphatic than husur (exhaustion), for an increase in the structure of a word indicates an increase in its meaning. The intended meaning of the unity between them, as indicated by the words of the scholars, is unity in the root meaning; the expression is used to alert [the reader] that their worship, with its weight and continuity, is of a nature that one might weary of, yet they do not weary. It is not intended to negate hyperbole in exhaustion while affirming its existence in principle generally. A parallel to this is His saying, "And your Lord is not ever unjust to the servants," according to one of the well-known interpretations of that verse.

Abu al-Baqa and others allowed that this may be a conjunction linked to the first "whoever" (referring to all creatures), while the interpretation of it as the angels remains as it is. He mentioned that this conjunction is because the coordinated clause is, in the nature of reality, more specific than the one to which it is linked, similar to the conjunction in His saying, "The angels and the Spirit descend," indicating the loftiness of the status of the coordinated entity, as it is singled out for mention despite being included in the general scope of what preceded it.

It has been said that it is singled out because it is more general from one perspective; for "whoever is in the earth" includes humans and their likes, while "those who are near Him" includes those surrounding the Throne who are not of that category.

It has also been permitted that "those who are near Him" refers to a type of angel who is transcendent above [the need for] space and being established in the heavens and the earth. This seems to be an inclination toward the view regarding the immateriality of a type of angel. You know that the majority of the people of Islam do not say that any of the contingent beings are immaterial, and the view famous among those who hold it is the immateriality of the angels in general, not the immateriality of some to the exclusion of others.

Furthermore, Abu al-Baqa permitted regarding His saying, "do not wax proud," under this interpretation, that it could be a circumstantial clause (hal) from the first or second [group], according to those who raise [the noun] via the prepositional phrase, or from the pronoun in the prepositional phrase which serves as the predicate, or from the pronoun in "near Him." One of the latter two becomes necessary for those who parse "whoever" as a subject, as it is not permissible for the circumstantial clause to originate from a subject. This is not hidden.

Some scholars permitted the sentence to be an inception, but the most apparent view is to make it a predicate for "those who are near Him." Regarding some of the interpretations of it being a circumstantial clause, there is that which is not hidden.