[22–24] “He is Allah—there is no god but Him—the Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. * He is Allah—there is no god but Him—the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Flawless, the Confirmer of Truth, the Overseer, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supremely Great. Glory be to Allah, far above what they associate with Him. * He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. His are the Most Beautiful Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
These noble verses contain many of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names and loftiest attributes, which are of immense significance and supported by wondrous proofs. He informs us that He is Allah, the God who is worshiped, and that there is no god but Him. This is because of His sublime perfection, all-encompassing kindness, and universal governance. Every deity besides Him (1) is false and deserves not even an atom’s weight of worship, for it is needy, powerless, and deficient, possessing nothing for itself or anyone else. He then describes Himself as possessing all-encompassing knowledge of both what is hidden from creation and what they witness, and all-encompassing mercy that embraces everything and reaches every living being.
He then repeated [the mention of] His universal divinity and His exclusive right to it, and stated that He is the Sovereign of every realm. The upper and lower realms and all who inhabit them belong to Allah; they are needy and subject to His governance.
“The Most Holy, the Flawless”: that is, the One who is holy and free from every defect, affliction, and deficiency, and who is exalted and glorified. The name Most Holy signifies His transcendence above every deficiency and His exaltation in His attributes and majesty.
“The Confirmer of Truth”: that is, the One who confirms the truthfulness of His messengers and prophets regarding what they brought, through clear signs, decisive proofs, and manifest evidence.
“The Almighty” is the One whom none can overpower or resist. Rather, He has subdued everything, and everything submits to Him. “The Compeller” is the One who has subdued all His servants and to whom all creation yields; He mends the broken and enriches the poor. “The Supremely Great” is the One to whom all grandeur and greatness belong and who is far above every defect, injustice, and oppression.
“Glory be to Allah, far above what they associate with Him.” This is a universal declaration of His transcendence above everything ascribed to Him by those who associate partners with Him and oppose Him.
“He is Allah, the Creator” of all creatures, “the Originator” of all created beings, and “the Fashioner” of all forms. These names pertain to creation, governance, and ordainment, all of which belong exclusively to Allah, without any partner sharing in them.
“His are the Most Beautiful Names”: that is, His names are exceedingly numerous; no one can enumerate or know them all except Allah Himself. Moreover, they are all beautiful—that is, they denote attributes of perfection. Indeed, they signify the most perfect and sublime attributes, without any deficiency whatsoever. One aspect of their beauty is that Allah loves them, loves those who love them, and loves His servants to invoke Him and ask Him by them.
A further aspect of His perfection and of His possessing the Most Beautiful Names and loftiest attributes is that all who are in the heavens and the earth remain in constant need of Him. They glorify Him with praise and ask Him to fulfill their needs, whereupon He gives them from His bounty and generosity as His mercy and wisdom require. “And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise”: whatever He wills comes to be, and nothing comes to be except for a wise purpose and benefit.
Thus ends the commentary on Sūrat al-Hashr.
To Allah belongs all praise for that,
and all grace and beneficence.