(1–4) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth glorifies Allah. His is the dominion and His is all praise, and He has power over all things. * He is the One who created you; some of you are disbelievers and some are believers. Allah sees all that you do. * He created the heavens and earth in truth, and He fashioned you and perfected your forms. To Him is the final return. * He knows all that is in the heavens and earth. He knows what you conceal and what you disclose, and Allah knows what lies within hearts.”
These [noble] verses encompass a vast array of the Creator’s magnificent attributes. He mentions the perfection of His divinity, the boundlessness of His self-sufficiency, the dependence of all creation upon Him, and how those in the heavens and on earth glorify their Lord with praise. All dominion belongs to Allah, and no created being lies beyond His sovereignty. All praise belongs to Him: praise for His attributes of perfection, praise for the things He has brought into existence, and praise for the rulings He has prescribed and the blessings He has bestowed.
His power encompasses everything that exists; nothing lies beyond it, and nothing He wills is beyond His ability.
He also mentions that He created His servants and made some of them believers and others disbelievers. Their faith and disbelief alike occur by Allah’s decree and predestination. He is the One who willed this of them by granting them ability and will, through which they are capable of doing whatever they choose, whether it is something commanded or prohibited. “Allah sees all that you do.”
After mentioning the creation of the accountable human being, who is subject to commands and prohibitions, He mentions the creation of all other creatures, saying: “He created the heavens and earth”—that is, their physical forms and [all] that they contain—and perfected their creation. “In truth,” meaning according to wisdom and for the purpose intended by Him, Exalted is He. “He fashioned you and perfected your forms,” as He, Exalted is He, also says: “Indeed, We created man in the finest form.” The human being is thus the most finely formed of creatures and the most splendid in appearance.
“To Him is the final return”—that is, you will return to Him on the Day of Resurrection, when He will recompense you for your faith or disbelief and question you about the blessings and comforts He bestowed upon you (1): did you give thanks for them or not?
He then mentions the all-encompassing nature of His knowledge, saying: “He knows all that is in the heavens and earth”—that is, all that is hidden and manifest, and all that is unseen and witnessed. “He knows what you conceal and what you disclose, and Allah knows what lies within hearts”—that is, the wholesome secrets, malicious things hidden away, righteous intentions, and corrupt aims they contain. Since He knows what lies within hearts, every person of sound mind and insight must earnestly strive to guard his inner self against base character traits and ensure that it is adorned with noble qualities.