Al-Najm (The Star): (42) And that to your Lord is the [final] limit...

The famous reading opens the hamza (أَنَّ) with fath (a), connecting it to the preceding statement (i.e., this [truth] is also in the scriptures, and it is the truth). It is also read with kasr (i) as a new, independent sentence. In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue One: What is meant by the verse?

We have two interpretations:

1. The famous view: It explains the Hereafter (Ma'ād). This means that people will stand before God. This connects to what preceded it, as God, after saying, "Then He will recompense him," implies the question: When will the recompense occur? The answer is: The final return is to God, at which point the grateful will be rewarded and the ungrateful punished.

2. The intended meaning is Monotheism (Tawḥīd). Philosophers often interpret verses involving "return" (al-intihā') and "end point" (al-rujū') in this manner, though their interpretation is sometimes obscure in other verses. Here, however, it is clear. We say: It is a demonstration of God's existence and His Oneness.

When you observe contingent beings, you find they must have a Creator. Furthermore, one might assume this Creator is another contingent being, like how heat might be attributed to the sun's shining or to fire. But then one asks: What created the sun and the fire? If they are traced back to another contingent being, reason finds no end except in a necessary being (Wājib al-Wujūd). Therefore, the ultimate end point (al-intihā') is Him—the Lord (al-Rabb).

This interpretation is clear, rational, and aligns with transmitted reports (al-manqūl). It is narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "And to your Lord is the final limit (al-Muntahā); there is no contemplation concerning the Lord." Meaning, the matter ends with the Necessary Existent, whose existence requires no prior cause, and from whom all existence originates. Anas narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) that he said: "When the Lord is mentioned, stop." This supports our interpretation.

Some people exaggerate and interpret every verse containing "return" (al-ruj‘ā) or "final limit" (al-muntahā) this way. For instance, they interpret: "To Him ascends the good word" (Fatir: 10) in this sense, claiming it proves God's existence.

As for the proof of Oneness (al-Waḥdāniyyah): Reason concludes that the ultimate end point must be the Necessary Existent qua Necessary Existent. If there were no Necessary Existent, there would be no final limit, but rather another creator for that limit. Thus, the final limit is the Necessary Being precisely because it is necessary. This concept is singular in reality and in reason. If there were two necessary beings, each would require a creator before the final limit, because the combination would precede the necessary being, which is the final limit. This implies that if there were two necessary beings, the final limit would precede them, which is impossible. Therefore, there can only be one Necessary Being. These are two proofs mentioned briefly.

Issue Two: Regarding the addressee in "To your Lord is the [final] limit" (ilā rabbika al-muntahā).

There are two views on who is being addressed:

1. It is general: The meaning is, "To your Lord, O hearer, or O rational being, is the final limit."
2. The address is specifically to the Prophet (PBUH). In this case, it validates his religion. Everyone else claimed to be a Lord or a god, but when the Prophet (PBUH) said, "My Lord is the One, the Self-Sufficient," whom every contingent being needs, then your Lord is the ultimate limit—the Lord of lords and the Cause of causes. Under this view, the suffix pronoun (ka) is particularly eloquent.

If we adopt the first view (general address), it serves as a severe warning to the wrongdoer and strong encouragement to the righteous. Saying, "O hearer, whoever you are, to your Lord is the final limit," conveys both meanings perfectly.

If we adopt the second view (addressing the Prophet), it is a consolation to his heart, as if saying: "Do not grieve over their words, for the final return is to God," similar to His saying: "So let not their speech grieve you. Indeed, We know what they conceal and what they declare publicly..." (This theme is repeated elsewhere, such as in the end of Surah Ya-Sin: "...and to Him you will be returned.").

Issue Three: The function of the definite article (al-Lām) in "the limit" (al-muntahā).

1. On the first view (general address): The Lām denotes convention (al-'ahd), referring to the return mentioned previously by the Prophet (PBUH) and promised in the Quran: "Indeed, your return is to God." Thus, it refers to the promised final limit mentioned in scripture and the Prophet's speech.
2. On the second view (addressing the Prophet): The Lām denotes generality (al-'umūm), meaning: To the Lord is the final limit for everyone. On this view, we say that the final limit of all perceptions (al-idrākāt) is God. A person first perceives manifest things, then contemplates deeply, eventually reaching God, where he stops.

Then God Almighty said:

{ And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and makes [one] weep }