“He is Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. (22) He is Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him: the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Giver of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Ever-Watchful, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. (23)”

Allah’s saying, exalted is He: ⦗160/b⦘ “Had We sent down this Quran upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and splitting apart from fear of Allah”—it was said: If the mountain had been given discernment and the Quran had been sent down upon it, it would have humbled itself, cracked, and split asunder out of fear of Allah, despite its hardness and solidity, lest it fail to fulfil Allah’s due in venerating the Quran. Yet the disbeliever turns away from the lessons it contains as though he had never heard them. Thus, Allah describes him as hard-hearted: “Such are the parables We set forth for people, so that they may reflect.”

“He is Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, Knower of the unseen and the seen.” The unseen is that which is hidden from the servants—what they have neither witnessed nor known—while the seen is what they have witnessed and known. “He is the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.”

“He is Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him: the Sovereign, the Most Holy.” The Most Holy is the One free from every flaw, exalted above all that does not befit Him. “The Giver of Peace” is the One free from all deficiencies. Regarding “the Granter of Security,” Ibn Abbas said: He is the One from whose injustice people are safe, and by whom those who believe in Him are safe from His punishment. It is derived from security, the opposite of fear, as He says: “and made them safe from fear” (Quraysh, 4). It was also said that it means the One who confirms His messengers by manifesting miracles, fulfils for the believers what He has promised them of reward, and fulfils for the disbelievers what He has threatened them with of punishment.

“The Ever-Watchful” means the Witness over His servants and their deeds. This is the view of Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, al-Suddi, and Muqatil. One says haymana yuhaymin, meaning that he is watchful over something. It was also said that it was originally muʾaymin, with the hamzah changed to hāʾ, as in the paired forms araqtu and haraqtu (“I poured out”); thus, its meaning is the Granter of Security. Al-Hasan said: the Trustworthy. Al-Khalil said: the Watcher, the Preserver. Ibn Zayd said: the Confirmer. Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab and al-Dahhak said: the Judge. Ibn Kaysan said: It is one of Allah Most High’s names found in the revealed Books, and Allah knows best its interpretation.

“The Almighty, the Compeller.” Ibn Abbas said: “The Compeller” is the Great One, and Allah’s might is His greatness; according to this view, it is an attribute of Allah’s Essence. It was also said that it derives from mending, which is restoration. One says, “I mended the matter,” and, “I set the bone,” when one restores it after it has been broken. Thus, He enriches the poor and restores the broken. Al-Suddi and Muqatil said: He is the One who subdues people and compels them to what He wills. One of them was asked about the meaning of “the Compeller,” and he replied: He is the Irresistible One who, whenever He wills a matter, brings it about; no barrier can prevent Him from it.