(1–3) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise. * Indeed, We have sent down the Book to you in truth, so worship Allah, devoting your religion sincerely to Him. * Unquestionably, sincere devotion belongs to Allah alone. Those who take allies besides Him say, ‘We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to Allah.’ Indeed, Allah will judge between them concerning that over which they differ. Indeed, Allah does not guide anyone who is a liar and hardened disbeliever.”
Allah Most High tells of the greatness of the Quran and the majesty of the One who spoke it and from whom it came down. It was sent down from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise—that is, the One who alone is God over all creation by virtue of His greatness and perfection; the One whose might subdues every creature and before whom everything is humbled; and the One whose creation and command are governed by wisdom.
Thus, the Quran came down from One whose attributes are such. Speech is an attribute of the speaker, and an attribute accords with the one it describes. Just as Allah Most High ⦗718⦘ is perfect in every respect and has no equal, His speech is likewise perfect in every respect and has no equal. This alone suffices as a description of the Quran and demonstrates its lofty rank.
Beyond this, its perfection is further shown by the one to whom it was sent down: Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, the noblest of creation. It is therefore known to be the noblest of books. Its perfection is also shown by that with which it was sent down: the truth. It came down with truth in which there is no doubt, to bring creation out of darkness into light. It also came containing truth in its accurate reports and just rulings. Whatever it indicates constitutes the loftiest form of truth in every matter of knowledge, and beyond the truth there is only error.
Since it was sent down from the One who is the Truth, contains the truth, guides creation, and was bestowed upon the noblest of creation, the blessing it contains is immense and sublime, and gratitude for it must be duly shown. This is done by devoting religion sincerely to Allah. For this reason, He said: “So worship Allah, devoting your religion sincerely to Him.” That is, devote your entire religion sincerely to Allah Most High, including all its outward and inward aspects—Islam, faith, and excellence—by dedicating them to Allah alone and seeking His countenance through them, with no other objective.
“Unquestionably, sincere devotion belongs to Allah alone.” This reinforces the command to sincerity and explains that, just as all perfection belongs to Allah Most High and He bestows favor upon His servants in every respect, pure devotion, untainted by any impurity, belongs to Him alone. This is the religion He has chosen as His due, chosen for the finest of His creation, and commanded them to follow. It entails devotion to Allah through loving, fearing, and hoping in Him; turning to Him in servitude; and turning to Him to attain all that His servants seek.
This is what sets hearts aright, nurtures them, and purifies them, unlike associating anything with Him in any act of worship. Allah disavows such association, and no part of such worship belongs to Him. He has no need whatsoever of partners. It corrupts hearts and souls, brings ruin in this world and the Hereafter, and plunges souls into utter misery. Thus, after commanding the affirmation of His oneness and sincere devotion, He prohibited associating partners with Him and censured those who do so, saying: “Those who take allies besides Him”—that is, who devote worship and supplication to them—[offering excuses for themselves] (1) and saying: “We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to Allah.” That is, so that they may present our needs to Allah and intercede for us before Him. We know full well that they neither create nor provide sustenance, nor do they possess any authority whatsoever.
In other words, these people abandoned the sincere devotion Allah commanded and dared to commit the gravest prohibition: associating partners with Him. They drew an analogy between the One whom nothing resembles—the Supreme King—and earthly kings. Their corrupt minds and unsound judgment led them to claim that, just as kings can be reached only through influential courtiers, intercessors, and ministers who present their subjects’ needs to them, seek to incline them toward those subjects, and facilitate matters for them, Allah Most High is likewise.
This is one of the most corrupt analogies, for it equates the Creator with the created despite the immense difference established by reason, revelation, and innate nature. Kings need intermediaries between themselves and their subjects because they do not know their circumstances and therefore need someone to inform them. Their hearts may also lack compassion for the person in need, so someone must incline them toward him [and seek his mercy for them] (2). They need intercessors and ministers and fear them, so they fulfill the needs of those for whom they intercede out of regard for them and to placate them. Kings are also needy themselves and may withhold what is requested for fear of poverty.
As for the Lord Most High, His knowledge encompasses the outward and inward aspects of all things. He needs no one to inform Him of the circumstances of His subjects and servants. He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy and the Most Generous of those who give. He needs none of His creatures to move Him to show mercy to His servants. Rather, He is more merciful to them than they are to themselves and than their own parents are to them. He urges them and calls them to the means through which they may attain His mercy, and He wills for their welfare what they do not will for themselves. He is Self-Sufficient, possessing absolute and perfect wealth. Were all creation, from the first to the last, to gather on a single plain and ask Him, and were He to give every one of them all that he asked and desired, they would diminish His wealth and what He possesses no more than a needle diminishes the sea when dipped into it.
All intercessors fear Him, and none of them can intercede except by His permission. All intercession belongs to Him.
These differences make evident the polytheists’ ignorance of Him, their profound foolishness, and their extreme audacity toward Him.
They also make evident the wisdom behind Allah Most High not forgiving the association of partners with Him, for it entails impugning Allah Most High. Therefore, judging between the two groups—the sincere believers and the polytheists—and implicitly threatening the polytheists, He said: “Indeed, Allah will judge between them concerning that over which they differ.”
It is known that His judgment is that the sincere believers will be in the Gardens of Bliss, while whoever associates partners with Allah has been forbidden Paradise by Allah, and his refuge is the Fire. “Indeed, Allah does not guide”—that is, does not grant success in being guided to the straight path—“anyone who is a liar and hardened disbeliever.” This means one whose defining characteristic is lying or disbelief: admonitions and signs come to him, yet the trait by which he is characterized does not leave him. Allah shows him the signs, but he denies them, disbelieves in them, and declares them false. How could such a person be guided when he has barred the door against himself and has been punished by Allah sealing his heart, so that he does not believe?