‘Ala’ is a particle that draws attention and affirms the statement. ‘Lahu’—to Him and to none besides Him—

the creation: the bringing of things into existence. He alone is capable of creating; whenever He wills, He brings into being whatever He wishes.

and the command: that is His speech, both the universal command and the legislative command.

His universal command is what He addresses to the created realm, which immediately obeys and responds, as in His words: “Then He said to it and to the earth, ‘Come, willingly or unwillingly’” (Fussilat 41:11). This is a universal decree by which He ordered the heavens and the earth, and they came into being. Likewise, “His command, when He wills a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is” (Ya-Sin 36:82)—a purely universal command.

As for the legislative command, it is the revealed guidance with which He instructs His servants: commanding them to worship Him, to perform the prayer, to give zakat, to honor their parents, and so forth. This legislative command encompasses all the injunctions and prohibitions found in the Noble Quran and in the Prophetic Sunnah; it, too, is part of Allah’s command.

If both the creation and the command belong exclusively to Him, what is left for anyone else? For that reason Ibn ʿUmar, when he recited this verse, said: “If anyone truly possesses anything, let him come forth and claim it.” The verse, therefore, clearly differentiates between creation and command, and in this there is a refutation