The last three ayahs of al-Hashr (59:22–24): text, translations and tafsir

He is Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him: Knower of the seen and unseen. He is the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

He^[1] is Allah: there is no god but He;^[2] the Knower of the unseen and the manifest,^[3] He is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.^[4]

^[1] These verses explain what kind of God He is, and what are His attributes, Who has sent this Quran to you, Who has placed these responsibilities on you, and before Whom you have to render an account of your deeds in the end. This mention of the divine attributes immediately after the above theme automatically gives man the feeling that he has not to deal with an ordinary being but with Almighty Allah Who has such and such attributes. Here, one should also understand that although in the Quran, the attributes of Allah Almighty have been stated in a unique way, which gives a clear concept of the divine Being, there are two places where the attributes of Allah have been mentioned in a most comprehensive way, in the verse of the Alkursi Al- Baqarah, Ayat 255) and in these verses of Surah Al-Hashr.
^[2] That is, He is the One besides Whom none else has the rank, position, attributes and powers of Godhead so that he may be worshiped and served as god.
^[3] That is, He knows whatever is hidden from the creatures as well as whatever is known and visible to them. Nothing of this universe is unknown to Him. He directly knows whatever has happened in the past, whatever exists at present and whatever will happen in the future. He does not stand in need of any means or medium of knowledge.
^[4] That is, He alone is the Being Whose mercy is limitless, which covers the whole universe and blesses and benefits everything in it. None else in the world is the bearer of such all-pervading, infinite mercy. The mercy of every other being, characterized by the ability of mercy, is partial and limited, and that quality too is not essentially its own, but bestowed by the Creator for a specific need and purpose. He has created the quality of mercy for some other creature. He has created it in order to make one creature a means for the development and well-being of the other creature. This by itself is a proof that Allah’s Mercy is infinite.

He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed.^[1657] He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

^[1657] See footnotes to 673.

GOD IS HE save whom there is no deity: the One who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception, as well as all that can be wit­nessed by a creature’s senses or mind: He, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.

He is Allah; none has the right to be worshiped except Him, Knower of the unseen and the seen; He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

. He is Allāh, the one whom there is no true deity except Him; He is the Knower of the absent and the present: nothing is hidden from Him; the Benevolent of the world and the afterlife and their Merciful: His mercy encompasses the worlds; the Master; the Pure and Sacred from every deficiency; the Faultless from every defect; The Corroborator of His messengers with manifest signs; the Observer of the actions of His servants; the Almighty whom no one can overpower; the Omnipotent who controls everything through His power, the Imperious. Pure and glorified is He from the idols and other things the idolaters ascribe to Him.

He is Allah—there is no god except Him: the King, the Most Holy, the All-Perfect, the Source of Serenity, the Watcher ˹of all˺, the Almighty, the Supreme in Might, the Majestic. Glorified is Allah far above what they associate with Him ˹in worship˺!

He is Allah: there is no god but He: the King,^[1] the Holy,^[2] the All-Peace,^[3] the Giver of security,^[4] the Overseer,^[5] the Most Mighty,^[6] the Overpowering,^[7] the All-Great.^[8] Exalted be He from whatever they associate with Him.

^[1] The word used in the original is al-Malik, which means that He alone is the real Sovereign. Moreover, the word al- Malik in its general sense also gives the meaning that He is King of the entire universe and not of a particular region or of a specific country. His Sovereignty and rule comprehends the entire universe.
^[2] He is Master of everything. Everything submits itself to His command and power and authority, and there is nothing to delimit His Sovereignty. At different places in the Quran all aspects of Allah’s Sovereignty have been presented and explained fully.
^[3] And whoever exists in the heavens and the earth, belongs to Him. All are obedient to Him. Surah Ar-Room, Ayat 26).
^[4] He administers the affairs of the world from the heavens to the earth. Surah As-Sajdah, Ayat 5).
^[5] To Him belongs the dominion of the earth and the heavens, and all matters are referred to Him for decision. Surah Al- Hadid, Ayat 5).
^[6] He has no partner in His sovereignty. Surah Al-Furqan, Ayat 2).
^[7] In His hand is the absolute control of everything. Surah Ya Seen, Ayat 83).
^[8] Doer of whatever He wills.Surah Al-Burooj, Ayat 16).

He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign,^[1658] the Pure,^[1659] the Perfection,^[1660] the Grantor of Security,^[1661] the Overseer,^[1662] the Exalted in Might,^[1663] the Compeller,^[1664] the Superior.^[1665] Exalted is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.

^[1658] And owner of everything in existence.
^[1659] i.e., transcendent above any aspect belonging to His creation. Also, the possessor and grantor of blessings.
^[1660] Literally, "Free" from any imperfection. Also, "Peace" or "Soundness."
^[1661] And safety, i.e., reassurance that His promise is always fulfilled. Also, He who bestows faith.
^[1662] i.e., who observes, guards and protects. Also, "the Criterion."
^[1663] Refer to footnote in 2129.
^[1664] Whose irresistible force is without limitation; the one above all things who compels the creation to be as He wills it. Also, "the Amender" or "the Rectifier" who repairs, restores, completes or sets something right once again, out of His mercy.
^[1665] Supreme, complete and perfect in His essence, attributes and actions.

God is He save whom there is no deity: the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, the One with whom all salvation rests, the Giver of Faith, the One who determines what is true and false, the Almighty, the One who subdues wrong and restores right, the One to whom all greatness belongs! Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!

He is Allah; none has the right to be worshiped except Him, the Sovereign^[15], the Most Holy^[16], the Most Perfect^[17], the Granter of Security^[18], the Watcher over all, the All-Mighty, the Compeller^[19], the Supreme^[20]. Glory be to Allah far above what they associate with Him.

^[15] i.e., the Owner of everything in existence.
^[16] i.e., Transcendent above any imperfection and attributes related to His creation.
^[17] Lit., "Free" from any fault. It also means, "Peace" or "Soundness."
^[18] And grants safety; reassurance; bestows faith.
^[19] Who compels the creation according to His will. Also, "the Amender" or "the Rectifier" Who restores, or sets something right once again.
^[20] i.e., the Complete and Perfect in His essence, attributes, and actions.

. He is Allāh, the one whom there is no true deity except Him; He is the Knower of the absent and the present: nothing is hidden from Him; the Benevolent of the world and the afterlife and their Merciful: His mercy encompasses the worlds; the Master; the Pure and Sacred from every deficiency; the Faultless from every defect; The Corroborator of His messengers with manifest signs; the Observer of the actions of His servants; the Almighty whom no one can overpower; the Omnipotent who controls everything through His power, the Imperious. Pure and glorified is He from the idols and other things the idolaters ascribe to Him.

He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper. He ˹alone˺ has the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Him. And He is the Almighty, All-Wise.

He is Allah, the Planner,^[1] Executer and Fashioner of creation.^[2] His are the names most beautiful.^[3] Whatever is in the heavens and the earth extols His Glory.^[4] He is the Most Mighty, the Most Wise.^[5]

^[1] That is, those who regard a creature as an associate in His powers, authority, attributes, or in His Being, in fact, utter a grave falsehood, for Allah is far exalted that anybody or anything should be an associate with Him in any sense.
^[2] That is, the entire world and everything in it, from the initial plan of its creation till its coming into existence in its final, finished form, is entirely Allah’s work of creation. Nothing has come into existence by itself nor come about accidentally, nor has anyone else the least share in its creation and development. Here, Allah’s act of creation has been described in three separate stages, which take place one after the other. First is the stage of khalq, which means to ordain, or to plan. It is like an engineer’s conceiving the design of a building, which he intends to build for a specific purpose and draws out its detailed diagram and model. The second stage is barr, which actually means to separate, to cut, to split asunder. The Creator has been called Al-barii in the sense that He enforces the plan He has conceived and brings out the thing from non-existence into existence. It is Analogous to the engineer’s putting marks on the ground of the full measurements of the building according to the plan, digging the foundations, raising the walls and completing all the practical preliminaries of the construction work. The third stage is taswir, which means to give shape; here it implies giving something its final complete shape. In all these three stages there is no resemblance whatever between Allah’s work and human works. None of human plans is such as may not have been derived from previous models and plans. But each of Allah’s plans is, unique and His own original creation. Whatever man makes, he makes it by combining the substances created by Allah. He does not bring anything from nonexistence into existence, but composes and constructs by different methods whatever is present and available. Contrary to this, Allah has brought everything from non-existence into creation, and the substance itself of which He has made the universe is created by Him. Likewise, in the matter of giving shape also man is not the inventor but an imitator, and only a poor imitator. The real Maker of forms and shapes is Allah, Who has given a unique and matchless shape to every species and individual and has never repeated exactly the same shape or from.
^[3] Names imply the adjectives, and “His are the excellent names” means that those adjectives which indicate or express some kind of defect are not appropriate for Him. He should be remembered by those names which express His attributes of Perfection. In the Quran these beautiful names of Allah have been mentioned here and there, and in the Hadith 99 names of that Exalted and Pure Being have been enumerated which Timidhi and Ibn Majah have related on the authority of Abu Hurairah. If one studies these names as mentioned in the Quran and the Hadith carefully, he can easily understand what words would be appropriate and suitable if one has to remember Allah in another language.
^[4] That is, everything proclaims with the tongue, or otherwise, that its Creator is free from every fault and defect, weakness and error.
^[5] For explanation, see E.N. 2 of Surah

He is Allāh, the Creator,^[1666] the Producer,^[1667] the Fashioner;^[1668] to Him belong the best names.^[1669] Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.^[1670]

^[1666] i.e., He who destined existence for His creation.
^[1667] i.e., He who brings His creation into existence.
^[1668] i.e., He who gives every creation its particular form.
^[1669] Refer to the final paragraphs of the "Introduction" for a brief discussion of these attributes.
^[1670] Refer to footnote in 618.

He is God, the Creator, the Maker who shapes all forms and appearances! His [alone] are the attributes of perfection. All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!

He is Allah, the Creator^[21], the Maker^[22], the Fashioner^[23]. He has the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and earth glorifies Him, for He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

^[21] i.e., the Creator of everything.
^[22] i.e., the Inventor of everything.
^[23] i.e., He Who gave everything its form.

He is the Creator who created everything; the Originator of things; the Fashioner of His creations according to His wishes. For Him may He be glorified are the most beautiful names which contain His lofty attributes. Everything in the heavens and on earth glorifies Him from every deficiency. He is the Almighty whom no one can overpower; the Wise in His creation, legislation and decree.