Surah Al-Hashr (59) — Ayah 22

(Ayah 22) ➊ {هُوَ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ :} In this surah, the mention of Allah’s name, His pronouns, and His attributes occurs forty (40) times: twenty-four (24) times with the word {’’ اللّٰهُ ‘‘} and sixteen (16) times with explicit pronouns or lofty attributes. In short, the entire surah is filled with the mention of Allah’s great power and His wondrous and amazing dealings; therefore, it begins with the glorification of Allah and His attributes of ‘Aziz’ and ‘Hakim’, and it ends as well with such attributes, the mention of which increases the fear and love of Allah in the hearts of the believers and instills fear in the rebellious through His grasp, awe, and majesty. Along with this, these attributes also contain proofs of the truth of monotheism and the falsehood of polytheism. Moreover, each attribute is also related in some way to the events and subjects mentioned in the surah. (Ibn Ashur, summarized)

➋ { هُوَ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ :} Among the attributes of Allah, first the attribute of His being the “One God” is mentioned, because this is the basis of all other attributes. All other attributes are evidence for this attribute, that worship is the right of Him alone; therefore, in the Noble Qur’an, after the blessed name {’’ اللّٰهُ ‘‘}, this attribute is often mentioned, as in Ayat al-Kursi and at the beginning of Surah Al ‘Imran, He said: « اللّٰهُ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّوْمُ » “Allah (is such that) there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence.”

➌ {عٰلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَ الشَّهَادَةِ: ’’ الْغَيْبِ ‘‘} and {’’ الشَّهَادَةِ ‘‘} are verbal nouns (masdar) which are in the meaning of the active participle (ism fa’il), i.e., the absent and the present. For emphasis, the verbal noun is used in place of the active participle, just as instead of {’’ زَيْدٌ عَادِلٌ ‘‘}, for emphasis, {’’ زَيْدٌ عَدْلٌ ‘‘} is said, meaning Zaid is the embodiment of justice. The ‘al’ (definite article) on {’’ الْغَيْبِ وَ الشَّهَادَةِ ‘‘} is for totality, i.e., He is the knower of every unseen and witnessed thing. After oneness, the second attribute of knowledge is mentioned, because being a deity necessarily requires that He has knowledge of everything and that His knowledge is perfect. What kind of deity would it be who does not even know that someone is worshipping Him? (See Ahqaf: 6,5) {’’ الْغَيْبِ وَ الشَّهَادَةِ ‘‘} is said in relation to others, otherwise nothing is hidden from Allah. If someone says that “Alim al-Ghayb” (Knower of the unseen) is indeed only Allah, but “Alim al-Shahadah” (Knower of the witnessed) can be others as well, then the answer is that the knowledge of every “al-Shahadah” is also possessed by none but Him; one who knows a few things cannot be called “Alim al-Shahadah.” See also the commentary of Surah Ra’d (10,9) and Surah A’la (7).

➍ { هُوَ الرَّحْمٰنُ الرَّحِيْمُ :} For its details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Fatiha.