Let us now resume our commentary on Āyat al-Kursī. We had reached His words, “No drowsiness overtakes Him, nor sleep.” Drowsiness (sina) is the light doze that precedes sleep, while sleep itself needs no explanation.

“To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.” This sentence affirms the absolute scope of Allah’s dominion and that He alone possesses true ownership. Its universality is indicated by the relative pronoun ma (“whatever”) in the phrase “whatever is in the heavens,” for a relative pronoun conveys comprehensiveness. Its exclusivity is underscored by placing the predicate first—“To Him belongs”—which in Arabic confines ownership to Him alone. Thus no one owns anything in the heavens or on earth except Allah.

As for what a human being “owns” of clothing, real estate, and the like, such ownership is restricted; a person may not dispose of it however he wishes. Were someone to try to burn his own garment, he would be stopped. Hence, even in what I call “my property,” I am not free to act except within the limits set by the Sharīʿah. For the same reason, we are forbidden to deal in usury with our wealth, even if the party paying interest is fully willing and content, because our ownership is conditional, not absolute. Absolute, unrestricted ownership—where the possessor does whatever He wills—belongs solely to Allah: “To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.”

“Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?” Here the interrogative particle man (“who”) functions as a negation, meaning that no one at all may intercede with Allah unless He grants permission. The reality of intercession (shafāʿah) is well known.