Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:62

The reference [in the demonstrative pronoun dhalika] is to the attribute described in the words of Allah, the Exalted: "That is because Allah is the Truth."

The meaning is: That attribute of complete power—which is indicated by His saying: "He causes the night to enter the day," and so on—and complete knowledge—which is indicated by "All-Hearing, All-Seeing"—is because Allah, the Exalted, is the Necessary Existent in His essence, established in His Self alone. Indeed, the necessity of His existence and His oneness necessitate that He, the Glorified, be the creator of all other created things. In His creation of them, as it is in the most wondrous and precise manner, He must possess complete knowledge, as has been explained in its proper place. It has been said: The necessity of existence alone is sufficient to account for every perfection, even oneness.

Alternatively, the meaning is: That attribute [is so] because Allah, the Exalted, is the only One established as the [true] Deity, and none is fit for Divinity except One who is perfect in power and perfect in knowledge.

"And that what they call upon other than Him is the Falsehood": meaning that which is nonexistent in its essence, or that which is false in its divinity. The restriction [implied by the definite article al- in al-batil] may not be intended, and it may have been brought for the sake of mushakala (stylistic correspondence). It is also possible that it is intended, in the sense that all that they call upon other than Him is the falsehood, not some of it to the exclusion of others. It has been said: It is with regard to the perfection of its falsehood.

The pronoun "He" (huwa) is added here—unlike the parallel to this verse in Surah Luqman—because the verse here occurs amidst ten verses, each of which is emphasized once or twice. For this reason, the particle lam was also added in His saying: "And indeed, Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy," unlike its parallel in that Surah. It may be said: The mention of the Devil preceded in this Surah, and therefore these emphases were mentioned, unlike in Surah Luqman, for the Devil was not mentioned there in the way he was mentioned here; this was stated by al-Naysaburi. It is also permissible that the addition of "He" in this place is because the thing being justified is greater here than in that place; so contemplate this.

"And that Allah is the Most High": above all things. "The Most Great": beyond having any partner, for there is nothing higher than Him in status or greater in authority.

Al-Hasan read "wa-inna ma" with a kasra on the hamza. Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Ibn Amir, and Abu Bakr read "tad'una" (you call upon) with a ta (second person), addressing the polytheists. Mujahid, al-Yamani, Musa al-Aswari, and others read "yud'awna" (they are called upon) with a ya (third person), in the passive voice, since the relative pronoun ma refers to the idols. The matter of using ma (usually for non-rational beings) and then referring back to them with the pronoun for rational beings is clear, so do not neglect this.