Surah Al-Faatiha (1) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ {مٰلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ: ’’ الدِّيْنِ ‘‘ ’’دَانَ يَدِيْنُ‘‘} is derived from, to give recompense, to give reward. After Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem, the attribute of being the Owner of the Day of Recompense is mentioned. One recitation is «مٰلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ », meaning the Owner of the Day of Recompense, and the other is {’’مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ ‘‘}, meaning the King of the Day of Recompense. In the script of the Noble Qur’an, {’’ مٰلِكِ ‘‘} is written, and it can be read both as {’’ مَالِكِ ‘‘} and {’’مَلِكِ‘‘}, and both recitations are established in a Mutawatir manner from the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ. Allah Almighty is both the Owner and the King of the Day of Resurrection. The relevance of being the Owner and King of the Day of Resurrection with {’’ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ ‘‘} is that sometimes someone is very merciful, but he owns nothing, so even if he wants to, he cannot show mercy. Then, sometimes a person owns a lot, but the king is someone else, so even though he is an owner, he does not have full authority. The meaning of {’’يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ ‘‘} is the Day of Recompense. In this world as well, the process of recompense, that is, the reward for deeds, continues, but since the complete manifestation of this recompense will occur on the Day of Resurrection, that day is specifically called {’’يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ ‘‘} (the Day of Recompense), and the meaning of Allah Almighty being the {’’مَالِك‘‘} and {’’مَلِك‘‘} (King) of that day is that on that day, even outwardly, the chain of ownership and kingship will come to an end. He said: «يَوْمَ لَا تَمْلِكُ نَفْسٌ لِّنَفْسٍ شَيْـًٔا وَ الْاَمْرُ يَوْمَىِٕذٍ لِّلّٰهِ » [ الانفطار : ۱۹ ] “The Day when no soul will possess anything for another soul, and the command on that Day will be entirely Allah’s.” And He said: « لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلّٰهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ» [ المؤمن : ۱۶ ] “To whom does the dominion belong today? To Allah, the One, the Dominant.” On that day, Allah Almighty will be the Owner, He will also be the King, and the command will be only His. The relevance between the attribute of mercy and the ownership of the Day of Recompense is clarified by this hadith in which the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said: “Allah Almighty has one hundred mercies, of which He has sent down one mercy among the jinn and mankind, animals, and insects. With it, they show compassion to one another, and with it, they have mercy on one another, and with it, wild animals show compassion to their young, and Allah Almighty has kept ninety-nine mercies in reserve, with which He will have mercy on His servants on the Day of Resurrection.” [ مسلم، التوبۃ، باب فی سعۃ رحمۃ اللہ تعالٰی… : 2752/19۔ بخاری : ۶۰۰۰، عن أبی ھریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ]

➋ According to the Hadith Qudsi about the division of Salah, when the servant says «مٰلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ », Allah Almighty says (1): [ مَجَّدَنِيْ عَبْدِيْ ] "My servant has glorified Me (declared My greatness)." (2) According to another narration, He says: [ فَوَّضَ اِلَيَّ عَبْدِيْ ] "My servant has entrusted everything to Me." [ مسلم، الصلوۃ، باب وجوب قراءۃ الفاتحۃ … : ۳۹۵ ] All the verses in the Noble Quran that contain the glorification of Allah and the themes of entrusting and reliance are details of {’’ مٰلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ ‘‘}.