The Believers: (84 - 90) Say: To Whom Belongs the Earth...

It should be known that the intent of these verses can be:

1. A refutation of those who deny the Resurrection (re-creation).
2. A refutation of the idol worshippers.

This is because the people acknowledged the existence of God Almighty, yet they claimed: "We worship these idols so that they may bring us nearer to God."

Then, God Almighty established His proof against them using three points:

First: His saying: {Say: To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it?}

• Argument for Re-creation: Since God is the Creator of the earth and all living beings upon it, and the Creator of their life, power, and so on, it logically follows that He is capable of bringing them back after He has annihilated them.
• Argument against Idol Worship: The worship due is to the One who created you and created the earth and all the blessings therein, not to that which neither benefits nor harms.
• {Will you not then remember?} This means an encouragement to reflect so that they may realize the falsehood of their current state.

Second: His saying: {Say: To whom belongs the seven heavens and the Great Throne?}

• The argument for both the Resurrection and the rejection of idol worship follows the same logic as above.
• He said {Will you not then fear?} as a reminder that avoiding God's punishment is only achieved by abandoning the worship of idols and acknowledging the possibility of re-creation.

Third: His saying: {Say: To whom belongs the dominion (Malakūt) of all things?}

Since God first mentioned the earth and then the heavens, He generalized the ruling here by saying {To whom belongs the dominion of all things}. Malakūt includes both kingship (Mulk) and sovereignty (Malak) as a form of emphasis.

{And He it is Who gives protection, and none gives protection against Him.} It is said, Ajartu fulānan ‘alā fulānin (I granted protection to so-and-so against so-and-so) meaning, I rescued him and defended him. Thus, the meaning is: He grants refuge to whomever He wills, from whomever He wills, and no one grants refuge from Him to anyone.

As for His saying: {How then are you deluded?} The meaning is: How are you deceived away from His Oneness and obedience? The deceiver is Satan and base desires.

Then, the Almighty clarified by His saying: {Nay, We have brought them the Truth}, meaning He has exhausted the arguments against them with these verses and others, yet they remain liars. This serves as a warning and a threat.

(It was also recited as Ataynāhum (We brought them) and Utīnahum (We gave them) with both ḍamm and fatḥ on the first letter.)

Here are some questions:

First Question: The reading of {Say: To God} in the first response uses the definite article al- (the), while in the latter two responses, some manuscripts from the people of the Two Sanctuaries (Mecca and Medina), Kufa, and Sham omit the al-, whereas the manuscripts of the people of Basra include it. What is the difference?

Answer: There is no difference in meaning, because your saying, "To whom belongs [it]?" and "To whom is it?" carry the same meaning.

Second Question: How can He say {If you know} and then recount that they will say, "God," implying a contradiction?

Answer: There is no contradiction, because His saying {If you know} does not negate their actual knowledge. Alternatively, such phrasing can be used in argumentation as a means of emphasizing their knowledge and compelling them to confess what is being presented.

{God has not taken a son, nor is there any god with Him. If there were, then each god would have taken what he created, and each would have tried to overcome the other. Exalted is God above what they describe! (88) [He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed; and exalted is He above what they associate with Him. (89) Say, "My Lord, if You should show me what they are promised, (90) My Lord, then do not place me among the wrongdoing people." (91) And indeed, We are able to show you what We have promised them. (92) Repel evil with that which is best. We are most knowing of what they describe.}