and the evenings.” And His words:

“Have you not seen that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on earth, as do the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many people?”

And His words, exalted is He:

“To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth; all are obedient to Him.”

“And He is the One who originates creation, then repeats it, and that is easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest attribute in the heavens and the earth.”

And His words:

“Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

“Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth glorifies Allah, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

These and similar passages express His divinity, the humility and submission of created beings before Him, their need for Him, their requests of Him, and creation’s invocation of Him—through worship, through petition, or through both together.

As for those who turn away from Him when free to choose:

“When harm touches you at sea, all those you invoke vanish except Him.”

“Who answers the distressed when he calls upon Him?”

We witness that every object of worship other than Him, from His Throne to the depths of His earth, is false, except His noble Face. Just as we witness that all created things depend on Him for their beginning, we witness that they depend on Him for their end; otherwise, they would be without reality. These are the meanings that express created beings’ worship of Him and their attachment to Him.

These meanings, together with the earlier meanings expressing His lordship over them and His creation of them, require us to recognize that He is the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind, and the Lord of all worlds. There is no deity worthy of worship except Him. Created beings possess nothing of themselves; rather, they are pure nonexistence and utter negation. Whatever existence they possess is from Him and through Him.