اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ    

Allah!

There is no Deity but He;

The Ever-Living, By whom all subsist

      This Ayah is called Ayah al-Kursi, or the Ayah of the Throne, and it starts with Allah's name.  This captures our attention to see what Allah (swt) wants to say.  He says:  "There is no Deity but He," to state the fact that He is One, that no Deity is there except He, the One, the Supreme, and the Most High.

Ø   This verse voids any idea but the Oneness of Allah.  It voids the Trinity, idol worship, and any idea of associating others with Him.

Ø   This verse means our devotion, worship, and veneration are for Allah and nothing else.

Ø   Nothing compares with Allah (swt) or shares with Him.

Ø   Allah describes Himself as:  The Alive, by whom all subsist, meaning He has always been and will always be, everyone subsists by Him.

§ Allah is the infinite, everlasting, eternal, never ending, and the boundless Being.

§ Allah is the timeless, imperishable, unceasing, and the permanent.

§ Allah is He who has no beginning nor end; He gives life to anything He pleases.

§ Our lives depend on Allah , and so does everything in the universe.  Our existence, health, happiness, future, well‑being, and welfare totally depend on Him.

Ø   Without Allah's vigilance we perish, and without His Power the universe perishes.  Allah's role in the existence and continuity of the universe is an active role, a positive role, and were it not for this role the universe perishes and disintegrates.

لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ    

Neither Slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep,

      We are made in such a way that rest and sleep are essential for our constitution and welfare, but Allah (swt) is so unique and differ­ent that He never becomes tired or fati­gued nor weary or weak.  Such is the case with Allah through time immemorial.

Ø   To emphasize this, Allah says that He neither tires nor is overtaken by sleep or slumber: neither now, in the past, nor in the future.  Allah (swt) continues to be the same: active, never tiring.

Ø   If Allah stops His active role for even a moment, the universe will immediately disintegrate.  Allah's role is essential for life and existence as it is, be it stars, galaxies, earth, moon, people, or environment.  Allah's presence and active role are an absolute necessity for all.

لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ    

To Him belongs what is in the Heavens and on Earth

      Allah Almighty is the originator and He has created everything, so everything belongs to Him in true terms and is in His Domain.

Ø   Allah put his creation in a balanced order to follow certain laws we call the laws of nature.  The natural laws remain elastic, deliberate, often delicate, and occasionally specific.  They are inter‑related with each other, or interchangeable with one another, but all aim to a balance.

Ø   Allah has endowed man with ingenuity, power of invention and creativity, and a capability to execute.  And to produce anything, man has to:

§ Use his intelligence,

§ Utilize and make use of the natural laws, and

§ extract and shape the material to work with.

Ø   So for us to produce anything we:

§ make use of our intelligence which was endowed to us by Allah,

§ make use of the natural laws which Allah had established for us, and

§ make use of the natural elements which were also created by Allah.

Ø   Therefore, when it comes to absolute terms, we made use of everything that came from Allah and belonged to Him totally and unconditionally.

Ø   Ourselves, our intelligence, our emotions, our environment, our wealth, our oceans, our earth and our universe, all are the invention and productivity of Allah and they belong to Him.

Ø   Man may develop a sense of power, possessiveness, and authority, and this may make him feel powerful and indestructible, but this is temporary and transient.  Once man dies he is never able to take any of his wealth or power with him.  That is why man can possess while alive but it is only on temporary terms.

Ø   Once we know that life is transient and temporary, it will teach us a good lesson not only in humility and in our true worth, but also in defining our relationship to Allah, our Maker.  It makes us avoid megalomania, or feeling indispensable.

 مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ   

Who is he that can intercede with Him

except by His permission?

Once again this verse signifies Allah's supremacy and authority.

§ Any forgiveness, Allah says, comes only through His consent and permission.

§ Allah's forgiveness is conditioned on His consent and permission.

§ Therefore, we can plead and pray to Him, and our Prophets can plead on our behalf, but He has to consent to it before He grants forgiveness; out of His own goodness.

Before Islam and at the time Islam was evolving, people worshipped idols in the belief that the idols interceded with Allah.  There are still many "religions" today which lead to worship of idols in various ways,  some even depict the priests as able to intercede with Allah for forgiveness!  Islam rejects in absolute terms all these ideas.

Ø   Islam puts things in their rightful place.  No one has the power to forgive except Allah (swt), and no call for forgiveness is ever accepted except through His consent.  Favors of His forgiveness will be abundant because Allah has often said:  He is the Merciful and the Compassionate.

يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ    

He knows what lies ahead of them and that of their past,

Allah's knowledge is limitless and His comprehension enormous.  Allah knows all things, and perceives fully.

Ø   Allah (swt) is aware of what everyone does every moment, and He fully knows what everyone thinks and plans to do.  He approves certain things we do but also disapproves others.  Allah perceives what we will do in the future, just as He has full knowledge of whatever we did in the past.

Ø   Imagine how limitless Allah's capacity is: He knows of you, me, and everyone at the same time, all these billions of people!  He knows of what goes on in the earth, galaxies, stars, and the whole universe, all at the same time!

Ø   Allah (swt) knows our emotions, feelings, thoughts, secrets, and plans—we stand bare in His knowledge of us.  Nothing can be hidden from Him.

Ø   If Allah's knowledge of us is so complete won't that behoove us to be sincere in our thoughts and actions, to be upright, people of righteousness and integrity?

وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاء   

While they do not comprehend anything out of His knowledge,

except by what He permits

Compared to Allah's knowledge human knowledge is microscopic in volume and almost insignificant in capacity.  Yet we marvel at our advances, scientific successes, and technical know‑how.  But all our advances and scientific achievements are only a product of our intellect.  This intellect was given to us by Allah!  Our achievements are the result of our intellect in reshaping the elements of the earth, also made available to us by Allah.

      All what is learned and accomplished, even collective­ly by all scientists, is microscopic and minuscule compared to that of Allah (swt).  Can anyone imagine how vast Allah's knowledge is?!

      Allah gave us a tiny share of His knowledge, at the same time He wants us to know how tiny our degree of knowledge is compared to His.

وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ    

His throne extends over the Heavens and the Earth

Once again this describes Allah's Greatness and Power:

Ø   Atoms move with molecules,

Ø   we pulsate with life,

Ø   we see the incessant movement of everything in us and around us,

Ø   we see one thing leading to another and one thing influencing the other,

Ø   we know the earth spins on itself in a meticulous and precise manner,

Ø   that the earth is on its course around the sun and it absorbs the sun's energy,

Ø   we know the earth is nothing but a tiny speck in our galaxy,

Ø   we know our galaxy is small compared to other galaxies,

Ø   we know that the universe consists of billions of stars, and

Ø   we know that some of the stars are so far away from us that it takes several million years of light speed to reach us; yet Allah, Most High, says His throne has extended over all this!  How immense is His authority and power, how infinite is He, and how grand!

      Allah's authority extends over all this and beyond, and our minds are too feeble to comprehend this point.  Allah's authority and power master everything, give it life and movement; feelings and emotions; sensations and taste; actions and reactions; growth and degeneration; and life and death.

      The question is, doesn't this tire Him?  And the answer comes in the next verse.

وَلاَ يَؤُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا   

and their preservation does not fatigue Him

      The maintenance of this world, galaxies, and the billions of stars does not tire Him, Allah does not fatigue, or need rest.

      Allah (swt) has created us in such a way as to need rest and sleep when tired.  But Allah is different from us, He is completely different from anything else; He is distinct, and we are in awe and astonishment that preserving the whole universe does not tire Allah or fatigue Him.  Amazing!

وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ   
and He is the Most High, the All-Supreme.

    Having so described Himself Allah (swt) finishes this Ayah by saying He is the Most High and the All-Supreme.  What a befitting conclusion this is, how wonderful!

      Allah says He is the Most High and the Most Great to remind us of His majesty, authority, distinc­tion, and grandeur.

      Greatness belongs to Allah in its true sense, and rightful worth.

      Allah is the Most High and the Most Great.

 مَا بَيْنَ