16:52 An-Nahl (The Bee)

{ وَلَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا } أي: الدين والعبادة والذل في جميع الأوقات لله وحده على الخلق أن يخلصوه لله وينصبغوا بعبوديته. { أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَتَّقُونَ } من أهل الأرض أو أهل السماوات فإنهم لا يملكون لكم ضرا ولا نفعا

"وله الدين واصبا" قال ابن عباس ومجاهد وعكرمة وميمون بن مهران والسدي وقتادة وغير واحد أي دائم وعن ابن عباس أيضا أي واجبا وقال مجاهد أي خالصا أي له العبادة وحده ممن في السموات والأرض كقوله "أفغير دين الله يبغون وله أسلم من في السموات والأرض طوعا وكرها وإليه يرجعون" هذا على قول ابن عباس وعكرمة فيكون من باب الخبر وأما على قول مجاهد فإنه يكون من باب الطلب أي ارهبوا أن تشركوا بي شيئا وأخلصوا لي الطاعة كقوله تعالى "ألا لله الدين الخالص".

Allah Alone is Deserving of Worship

Allah tells us that there is no god but He, and that no one else should be worshipped except Him, alone, without partners, for He is the Sovereign, Creator, and Lord of all things.

وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا

(His is the religion Wasiba) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Maymun bin Mahran, As-Suddi, Qatadah and others said that this means forever. It was also reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "It means obligatory." Mujahid said: "It means purely for Him," i.e., worship is due to Him Alone, from whoever is in the heavens and on earth. As Allah says:

أَفَغَيْرَ دِينِ اللَّهِ يَبْغُونَ وَلَهُ أَسْلَمَ مَن فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُونَ

(Do they seek other than the religion of Allah, while to Him submitted all creatures in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly. And to Him shall they all be returned.) (3:83) This is in accordance with the opinion of Ibn `Abbas and `Ikrimah, which is that this Ayah is merely stating the case. According to the opinion of Mujahid, it is by way of instruction, i.e., it is saying: You had better fear associating partners in worship with Me, and be sincere in your obedience to Me. As Allah says:

أَلاَ لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ

(Surely, the pure religion (sincere devotion) is for Allah only.) (39:3) Then Allah tells us that He is the One Who has the power to benefit and harm, and that the provisions, blessings, good health and help, His servants enjoy are from His bounty and graciousness towards them.

ثُمَّ إِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فَإِلَيْهِ تَجْـَرُونَ

(Then, when harm touches you, to Him you cry aloud for help.) meaning because you know that none has the power to remove that harm except for Him, so when you are harmed, you turn to ask Him for help and beg Him for aid. As Allah says:

وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الْضُّرُّ فِى الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلاَ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا نَجَّـكُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ وَكَانَ الإِنْسَـنُ كَفُورًا

(And when harm touches you at sea, those that you call upon vanish, except for Him. But when He brings you safe to land, you turn away. And man is ever ungrateful.)(17:67) Here, Allah tells us:

ثُمَّ إِذَا كَشَفَ الضُّرَّ عَنْكُمْ إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِّنْكُم بِرَبِّهِمْ يُشْرِكُونَ لِيَكْفُرُواْ بِمَآ ءاتَيْنَـهُمْ

(Then, when He has removed the harm from you, behold! some of you associate others in worship with their Lord (Allah). So they are ungrateful for that which We have given them!) (16:54-55) It was said that the Lam here (translated as "So") is an indicator of sequence, or that it serves an explanatory function, meaning, `We decreed that they would conceal the truth and deny the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them. He is the One Who bestows blessings and the One Who removes distress.' Then Allah threatens them, saying:

فَتَمَتَّعُواْ

(Then enjoy yourselves) meaning, do what you like and enjoy what you have for a little while.

فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ

(but you will soon come to know.) meaning the consequences of that.

And to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth as possessions creatures and servants. And to Him belongs the religion the obedience that endures the one everlasting wāsiban is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-dīn ‘the religion’ and is operated by the sense of the adverbial clause. Will you then fear any other than God? when He is the True God other than Whom there is no god the interrogative is a statement of rejection and rebuke.

Even the Punishment of the World is Mercy in Disguise

In the verses cited above, after having mentioned various punishments which could seize disbelievers within this world, it was said in the end: فَإِنَّ رَ‌بَّكُمْ لَرَ‌ءُوفٌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ (So, indeed your Lord is Very Kind Very Merciful).

First of all, by using the word: رَبّ (Rabb: Lord) here, the hint given is that all these punishments which overtake human beings in this world are there to warn them as part of the dictates of Divine mercy. After that, by introducing the word: رَ‌ءُوفٌ(Ra uf: Kind) headed by the intensifying particle lam) that is, the lam of ta'kid), and thus by placing stress on the fact that Allah Ta’ ala was Very Kind and Very Merciful, the hint given was that warnings sent during the life of the world were, in reality, called for by His intrinsic Kindness and Mercy so that heedless men and women would learn from the warning and correct their deeds (before comes 'the last spasm of mass extinction' they themselves are talking about at the closing of the twentieth century, but are still not ready to learn, believe and correct).