and it can mean “religion” and “creed”; and it can mean “a leader in goodness.”
The word istawā has three senses in the Quran. When followed by the preposition “over,” it means elevation and rising above: “Then He rose over the Throne.”
When followed by “to,” it means turning toward, as in His words: “Then He turned toward heaven and fashioned them into seven heavens.”
When not followed by a preposition, it means “became complete,” as in the words of the Most High: “When he reached full strength and attained maturity.”
“Repentance”: Many verses command it and praise those who repent and state their reward. It means turning away from all that Allah dislikes, outwardly and inwardly, to all that He loves, outwardly and inwardly.
The straight path, which Allah has commanded people to adhere to and for which He has praised those who remain steadfast upon it, is the balanced path that leads to Allah’s pleasure and reward. It consists in following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his words, deeds, and every circumstance.
The remembrance of Allah—which He has commanded and for which He has praised those who remember Him, mentioning their reward in this world and the Hereafter—when used without qualification, encompasses everything that draws one near to Allah: sound belief, beneficial reflection, noble character, deeds of the heart or body, praise of Allah, glorification and the like, learning the foundational or subsidiary rulings of the sacred law, and anything that assists in these. All of this falls within the remembrance of Allah.
Section
Many of Allah’s most beautiful names recur throughout the Quran in contexts appropriate to them. There is therefore a need to draw attention to their comprehensive meanings. We say:
The name “the Lord” recurs in many verses.
“The Lord”: He is the One who nurtures all His servants through His governance and every kind of blessing. More particularly, He nurtures His chosen servants by rectifying their hearts, spirits, and character. This is why they so often call upon Him by this majestic name: they seek this special nurturing from Him.
“Allah”: He is the Deity who is worshipped, possessing divinity and the right to be worshipped by all His creation because of the divine attributes He possesses, all of which are attributes of perfection.
“The King, the Master”: He to whom all dominion belongs and who possesses the attribute of kingship, which entails grandeur, majesty, irresistible power, and governance. He has unrestricted authority over creation, command, and recompense. Everything in the upper and lower realms belongs to Him. All are His servants and possessions, and all are utterly dependent upon Him.
“The One, the Unique”: He alone possesses every perfection, with no one sharing in any of them. His servants are therefore obligated to affirm His oneness in conviction, word, and deed: they must acknowledge His absolute perfection and that He alone is One, and devote every kind of worship exclusively to Him.
“The One upon whom all depend”: He whom all creatures seek in all their needs, necessities, and circumstances because of His absolute perfection in His essence, names, attributes, and actions.
“The All-Knowing, the All-Aware”: His knowledge encompasses outward and inward things, secrets and what is public, necessary, impossible, and possible things, the upper and lower realms, and the past, present, and future. Nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him.
“The All-Wise”: He possesses supreme wisdom in His creation and command. He is the One who “perfected everything He created.” “Who is better than Allah in judgment for people of sure faith?” He creates nothing in vain and prescribes nothing without purpose. Judgment belongs to Him in this world and the Hereafter. His alone are the three forms of judgment, in which no one shares with Him: He judges between His servants through His sacred law, His decree, and His recompense.