Surah Al-Muminoon (23) — Ayah 86

(Ayah 87,86) ➊ { قُلْ مَنْ رَّبُّ السَّمٰوٰتِ السَّبْعِ …:} After the earth, the command was given to ask them about the higher realms, because the sky is much greater than the earth, and then each sky is greater than the one below it, and above them all is the Throne which encompasses all of them, which the Lord Almighty has called "Azim" (possessor of great magnificence), and which existed before the earth, the heavens, and everything in them. It is said: "Ask, who is the Lord of these?" It is said: "They will answer, all this belongs to Allah." It is said: "Then do you not fear?" Previously it was said: « اَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُوْنَ» (Then do you not take heed?) Now, in harsher words, it is said: « اَفَلَا تَتَّقُوْنَ » (Then do you not fear?) Because the more a person knows about the greatness and power of Allah Almighty, the more he will fear Him. For example, a child who knows nothing about how powerful a king is, will not fear him. But the more someone knows about the king's power, the more he will fear him. That is why it is said: « اِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللّٰهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمٰٓؤُا » [ فاطر : ۲۸ ] "Only those of His servants fear Allah who have knowledge." Here it is said that even after knowing that the Lord of the seven heavens and the Great Throne is Allah, you associate partners with Him and deny His power to resurrect, so do you not fear?
➋ { سَيَقُوْلُوْنَ لِلّٰهِ :} Here is a question: after saying, who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne? The apparent answer is: {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} that it is Allah, but instead it is said: {’’ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘} that all this belongs to Allah. What is the wisdom in this? The answer given by Tabari and other commentators is that {’’ مَنْ رَّبُّ السَّمٰوٰتِ السَّبْعِ ‘‘} (Who is the Lord of the seven heavens?) means {’’لِمَنِ السَّمٰوَاتُ السَّبْعُ‘‘} that is, to whom do the seven heavens and the Great Throne belong? That is why the answer came: {’’ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘} that all this belongs to Allah.
➌ All the reciters of Hijaz, Iraq, and Sham agree on reading this word as {’’ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘}, because in the copies of the Quran sent by Amir al-Mu'minin Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) to them, this word is written in this way. However, the Basran reciter Abu Amr (may Allah have mercy on him) reads it as {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘}, because in their copy it is written in this way. In this case, the meaning is clear: "He is Allah." Tabari has preferred the recitation of {’’ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘}, because in all the copies of the Quran in the Islamic lands except Basra, this word is written in this way.
➍ Ibn Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned a point in {’’ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘} that the question was: who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Great Throne? In response, it is mentioned that (instead of saying that their Lord is Allah) they will say that all this belongs to Allah, because they considered Allah Almighty to be the owner of the earth, the heavens, the Great Throne, and everything, but they had made partners and other lords as well. Thus, while saying labbayk for Hajj and Umrah, they used to say: [ لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَكَ … إِلَّا شَرِيْكًا هُوَ لَكَ تَمْلِكُهُ وَمَا مَلَكَ ] [ مسلم، الحج، باب التلبیۃ وصفتھا و وقتھا : ۱۱۸۵ ] "(O Allah!) I am present, You have no partner... except one partner of Yours, You are also his owner, he owns nothing." The polytheists of Arabia considered the angels, and the polytheists among the Jews and Christians considered Uzair and Isa (peace be upon them) as lords. Yusuf (peace be upon him) said to his fellow prisoners: « ءَاَرْبَابٌ مُّتَفَرِّقُوْنَ خَيْرٌ اَمِ اللّٰهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ » [ یوسف : ۳۹ ] "Are separate lords better or Allah, the One, the All-Powerful?" In short, the polytheists considered only Allah as the owner, but accepted others as lords as well, that is why it is said: «اَفَلَا تَتَّقُوْنَ » meaning,, after accepting Allah as the owner of everything, you still worship other lords, so do you not fear His anger? What will the owner of the entire universe do with you?