His actions toward them and His commands to them. Qatādah said:

“Allah did not command His servants to do what He commanded because He needed them, nor did He forbid them what He forbade out of reluctance to share it with them. Rather, He commanded them to do what would set their affairs right and forbade them what would corrupt them.”

Section

For this reason, He went on to mention these two principles: their righteousness and wickedness—that is, their obedience and disobedience—neither increase nor diminish His dominion; and His granting them the utmost of what they ask bears the smallest proportion to what He possesses. This is unlike kings and others whose dominion increases through their subjects’ obedience and diminishes through their disobedience. If such a ruler gave people what they asked for, he would exhaust what he possessed without satisfying their needs. In all this, they can harm and benefit him, and whatever kindness he shows, pardon he grants, commands he issues, and prohibitions he imposes are motivated by hope of benefit and fear of harm.

Thus He said:

“O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, the humans among you and the jinn among you, were all as pious in heart as the most pious man among you, that would not increase My dominion in the least. O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, the humans among you and the jinn among you, were all as wicked in heart as the most wicked man among you, that would not diminish My dominion in the least.”

For His dominion is His power to dispose of affairs. It neither increases through their obedience nor diminishes through their disobedience, unlike the power of kings, which increases when those who obey them are numerous and diminishes when they are few; for His dominion depends