God’s is the Kingdom of the (Universe), Death and life caused to prove the goodness and the evil of the souls, Perfection obvious in God’s creation, The confessions of those committed to hell, God knoweth everything hidden and manifest.

Al-Mulk Verses 1 – 14

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful”

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“Hallowed is He in Whose hand is the kingdom (of the heaven and the earth), and He, over all things is All-Powerful1” (67:1).

الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ

“Who created death and life that he may try you (to prove) which of you is best in deeds2; He is the Ever-Prevalent, the Oft-Forgiving” (67:2).

الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا مَا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ مِنْ تَفَاوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِنْ فُطُورٍ

“Who created the seven heavens layer above layer3: thou seest not in the creation of the Beneficent (God) any defect or incongruity. Then look thou again; Seest thou any gap4?” (67:3).

ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ

“Then repeat thou (thy) gaze again and again, thy gaze shall return unto thee dulled, being Wearied5” (67:4).

وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ

“Indeed, have We adorned the lower heaven nearest to the world with lamps (i.e., the stars), and We have made them (as) missiles to repulse away the Satans, and We have prepared for them the chastisement of the flaming fire” (67:5).

وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ

“And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the chastisement of the hell, and evil is the destination” (67:6).

إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ

“When they shall be flung into it, they shall hear its roaring as it boileth up6” (67:7).

تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ

“As it would burst with rage; Whenever a group is flung into it, its keepers shall ask them; “Came not there unto you a warner7?”” (67:8).

قَالُوا بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ

“They shall say: “Yea! Indeed, a warner did come unto us, but we belied (him) and said we: “God hath sent not down aught, ye are in naught but a vast delusion8!”’ (67:9).

وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ

“And they shall say: “Had we but hearkened (unto them) or pondered (over what they said), we would not have been amidst the fellows in the flaming fire” (67:10).

فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ

“So shall they confess their sins, but far will be (from mercy) the fellows in blazing fire” (67:11).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَيْبِ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ

“Verily, those who fear their Lord in secret, for them shall be forgiveness and a great recompense9” (67:12).

وَأَسِرُّوا قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ اجْهَرُوا بِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

“And conceal ye your word or declare it; Verily, He is the Knower of whatsoever is in the breasts (hearts)” (67:13).

أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ

“What! Knoweth not He that created? and He is the Subtle10, the All-Aware11” (67:14).

Commentary

Verse 1

The word i.e., ‘Hand’ stands for authority, power or might and ‘Mulk’ means the Kingdom or the Dominion, both visible and invisible to us that which is within the limits of the conception of space and even beyond it. The word ‘Mulk’ is a very wide and a comprehensive expression which covers anything and everything of matter or energy in the conceptive limits of human intellect and beyond it. This truth about the universal authority of the Lord Creator and the Owner of the Universe is given to educate the human minds against the imaginary or the conjectural dogmas about the existence of multiple or the manifold number of deities or gods, wielding authority over the destinies of the people.

To neutralise the confusion or the chaos created by the mistaken belief, mankind has been informed that there is none but the One and the only One, Who owns the Absolute and the Supreme Authority over the Universe and adoration in any sense and gratitude in any way is due only to Him and to none else. The basic or the fundamental demand of Islam is the conviction that Kingdom in any meaning and in any form, belongs only to God. Compare this most powerful assertion of the Lord’s authority to what the daily prayer prescribed by the church established by Constantine the pagan Emperor of Rome, in the name of Christ, teaches man to believe:

“Our father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” Math. 6/9

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” Math. 6/10.

In the first place the above Christian prayer marks man’s belief that God is only in heaven and not in earth or elsewhere, and such a god could never be Omnipotent and Omnipresent, while these are the attributes of God, universally accepted by every creed and every school of thought in the world. The second clause of the prayer means to say that the kingdom of the authority of God, is limited to heaven and does not extend beyond that and in the earth God’s authority is yet to come. What a blasphemy it is to believe that someone else other than God, holds the authority in the earth in which case what can any amount of prayer or supplication or imploration to God would bring from Him for man in the dominion (on earth) over which (according to the prayer) He has no authority?

Far be such misconceptions about God the Omnipresent and the Omnipotent Lord Who owns and holds the supreme and the exclusive absolute authority over every part and every particle of the world visible and the invisible, known and yet unknown to us12.

Verse 2

Note - Death is mentioned before life, and it is said to be created. If death is to mean the cessation of existence, how could it take effect before the existence itself taking its effect. In 2:28, mankind is told:

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنْتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

“How disbelieve ye in God when ye mere dead and He gave life to you! Then He will give you death, then life again, and then unto Him ye will return” (2:28)

Thus death would mean not the cessation of the existence but a turning point in it. The word ‘Kuntum’, (i.e., you were) in the Verse 2:28 means that we did exist though not in the commonly known present form but in a state beyond it. It would mean that we were held in a latent existence meaning our absence from the manifest creation and then brought to life, (i.e., to be with the others, and in choosing the right or the wrong way of life we are given a trial or a chance either to rise up from the abyss of the material degradation to the heavenly heights of the eternal bliss or to get lost in the deceptive delusion of the satanic attractions and get condemned for ever.

A trial is made by one who lacks knowledge or who needs to know certain unknown properties or the results of some actions, but this could never be true in the case of God whose knowledge comprehends everything of the past, the present and even the future. Trial here means a chance for the individuals to unfold themselves the native endowments using them either to their own profit or loss. The individuals have been granted the power of discretion and the property of conscience so as to act either at the dictates of the conscience and rise above or forfeit the gift of discretion and get the condemnation as the natural consequence or the reaction of one’s own deeds.

It must be remembered that death is not the cessation of the existence of any human being. It is only a turning point in a state of existence. Death in this life on the earth is only the transfer of the existence from one state to the other. With the phenomenon of death, mankind has been kept alert and made to be mindful of the other subsequent state which would be nothing but the resultant stage of life consequent to the mode of the life led on earth. Thus, the life after death is only the continuation of this life, presenting to each individual the fruits, good and bad, earned by his or her own efforts in this life.

This life and the world on the earth, is only the cultivation ground to grow the crops of good and evil at our own choice, the harvest of which has to be reaped immediately at death and then to abide with the earnings of this life, during the state of ‘Barzakh’, i.e., the stage or the state of existence between death and the Day of the Final Judgment13. During this state or stage, i.e., of ‘Barzakh’ every individual shall be for himself and no intercession on behalf of any one, shall be of any avail at all. The question of intercession would arise when the souls are brought to account at the Final Judgment. This stage is known as the ‘Purgatory’, i.e., the process through which each soul shall pass with the turning points until the soul reaches the final point of its destiny earned by itself.

The nature law of cause and effect’ is always active with a universal currency granted to it, in the life, individual as well as collective14 . As we conduct our life today or this moment, so shall we live tomorrow or the next moment. This law is equally active in the life collective, i.e., the community or the national life of the people, or life individual, be the persons or person, believers or the disbelievers in God. As long as a nation behaves duly, they are allowed to hold power, otherwise the power or the authority granted, is snatched away. When the people hold the given power in equity and goodness, they are not only allowed to hold it but also helped against their enemies15. Jews were given the help against their enemies and given the respite to prove how they behave and when they misbehaved and betrayed the trust, they were removed from the power and brought low. When a nation earns a fall, they are destroyed, and another people are given their place.

However, man is warned of God’s Ever-Triumphant Might, sufficient to execute His will and to punish the offenders and at the same time, the hope is given of availability of God’s forgiveness and His pardon for those who sincerely seek it.

Verse 3

The heaven has been created into seven regions and the regions are said to have been arranged as layers one above another16.

The arrangement of the heavenly regions and everything in each region is in such perfect order and harmony with one another and the motions of each body in the space is so marvellously regulated by the Universal law that nowhere in the Kingdom of God, i.e., in the Universe, there is the least flaw of any irregularity or failure or a gap. There is neither any incongruity in the working of the laws of nature nor there is any disorder or laxity. This proves the absolute unity of the One singular and supreme authority ruling the whole world, visible and invisible to us. The inconceivably vast space is one continued state that there is no gap between one region and the other.

The idea is to point out the continuity of the Universe and that one region is in complete touch with the other. Whether ‘the seven heavens’ here means physical sphere or physical and spiritual spheres, in either case there is no gap or break whatsoever, between one and the other. This unity and the continuity is one of the signs of the unity of the Creator. (A.P.)

Verse 4

It is almost a challenge to man to see, scrutinise or examine not once but repeatedly, for the eye in its travel to examine this fact would only exhaust itself to return dejected. Note, that Islam does not impose any dictated faith but invites every individual to study minutely as might be possible to each one individually, again and again. Even the region which could be seen, are so vast and stretching so far beyond our ken that even with the aid of the most powerful of the implements, our eyes would not help acknowledging their defeat or failure to penetrate even the space to its nearest extent.

To prove the unity, Qur’an advises to refer to the experimental method of repeated observation. (A.P.)

Verse 5

The physical world is divided into seven regions called the seven heavens and the heaven in which is situated the earth, is said to be the lowest heaven which is lighted with the stars17. All these stars, the nearest and the farthest of them and this earth, the sun the moon and the galaxies put together are accommodated in the lowest of the heavens or the regions, the knowledge about the vastness, i.e., the extent of each of these heavens and the beings in them, is beyond the conception of the human intellect.

The stars are sometimes used as missiles to drive away the evil ones18. The starred space is presented as the lowest heaven which indicates that the other heavens are non-material in nature. (A.P.)

Verse 9

Here the signs of God, mean the apostles as well as their divinely commissioned deputies the Holy Imams who were also not only rejected but also equally persecuted, mocked and martyred19.

Verse 10

This Verse refers to the failure of man in using his conscience and the discretionary powers, which failure draws the individual to the blazing fire.

Verse 11

When passing through the punishment, the disbelievers in the apostles of God and the Holy Imams would not help confessing their folly and their wickedness but that would not be of any avail to them at all for repentance must be with the necessary amendment and then the time or respite for the amendment would have been long over and thus the chance will have long been lost.

Verse 12

The fear of God means not only dreading His displeasure and the consequent wrath of His, but also loving Him so heartily and so intensely at heart though He is not seen by the physical eyes or perceived through any of the bodily senses20.

Indicates that what is valued with God, is the sincerity in faith and the purity of intention whether declared or not. (A.P.)

Verse 14

‘Man’, i.e., who, or whom - here may be in nominative case meaning who - i.e., What! He Who created - and may also be an objective case meaning - What, whom He has created - and the nominative understood - the latter seems to be more appropriate as a proof in the favour of the statement made in Verse 13.

‘Lateef’ may be used to mean ‘‘kind’ - and also as ‘Subtle’ - Penetrating - the latter is more appropriate here. (A.P.)

• 1. Qadeer.
• 2. Refer to Verses 10:14, 11:7, 18:7, 21:35, 29:3, 38:27, 51:56, 2:28, 40:11.
• 3. Refer to Verses 65:12, 71:15.
• 4. To prove the unity, Qur’an advises to refer to the experimental method of repeated observations.
• 5. Refers to the impossibility of the sight passing through the heavens.
• 6. Refer to Verse 11:106.
• 7. Refer to Verse 39:71.
• 8. Refer to Verse 36:30.
• 9. Refers to the last clause of Verses 35:18, 31:16, 36:11, 50:33.
• 10. Lateef.
• 11. Refer to Verses 6:18; 6:103; 11:1; 17:30; 22:59; 24:18; 31:16; 33:34; 35:14; 67:14.
• 12. For ‘Malakut’ the authorities, i.e., the powers Refer to Verse 36:83.
• 13. See Verse 23:100.
• 14. Refer to Verses 99:7; 99:8.
• 15. See 7:129
• 16. See 65:12
• 17. Refer to Verse 37:6.
• 18. See 37:7, 15:17.
• 19. See 36:30.
• 20. See 35:18, 36:11, 50:33.