One of the most comprehensive verses of the Quran on doctrine of Tawhid

Tawḥīd is the basic essence of Islam. It means "oneness of God."  Tawḥīd  in fact is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the Islam's central and single-most important concept, upon which a true believer's entire faith rests. It unequivocally holds that God is One (Al-ʾAḥad) and The Manifestation of Unity (Al-Wāḥid).

There are many verses in the Qur'an that explicitly hinge on the concept of Tawḥīd. But one of the most comprehensive verses of the Quran with regard to the doctrine of Tawhid is the second verse of Sūrah Al-Furqān, the 25th Chapter of the Holy Qur'an:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

اۨلَّذِىۡ لَهٗ مُلۡكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ وَلَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا وَّلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ شَرِيۡكٌ فِى الۡمُلۡكِ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ فَقَدَّرَهٗ تَقۡدِيۡرًا‏

"He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and who has not taken a son and has not had a partner in dominion and has created each thing and determined it with [precise] determination."

“To Him belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth.” That is, He alone has an exclusive right to it, and no one else has any right to it nor any share in it.

That is, He has neither any relation of direct parenthood to anyone, nor has He taken anyone as a son. Therefore, none else in the universe is entitled to worship. He is Unique and there can be no partner in His Godhead. Thus all those who associate with Him angels or jinns or saints as His offspring, are ignorant. Likewise, those who believe that someone is His son, are also ignorant. They have no true conception of the Greatness of Allah and consider Him to be weak and needy like human beings, who require someone to become their inheritor. It is sheer ignorance and folly. 

The Arabic word mulk means Sovereignty, Supreme Authority, and Kingship. Thus the sentence will mean: Allah is the Absolute Ruler of the whole universe and there is none other who may have any right to authority; therefore He alone is God. For, whenever a man takes anything else as his lord, he does so under the presumption that his deity has the power to do good or bring harm and make or mar his fortune; nobody will like to worship a powerless deity. Now when it is recognized that none but Allah has the real power and authority in the universe, nobody will bow before anyone other than Him in worship, nor will sing anybody else’s hymns, nor commit the folly of bowing in worship before anything else except his real God, or recognize any other as his ruler, because “To Allah belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and to Him alone.”

There may be other translations of this also: He has ordained it in due proportion; or He has appointed an exact measure for everything. But no translation can convey its real meaning, which is: Allah has not only created everything in the universe but also determined its shape, size, potentialities, characteristics, term of existence, the limitations and extent of its development and all other things concerning it. Then, He has created the means and provisions to enable it to function properly in its own separate sphere.

According to traditions, the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself taught this verse to every child of his family as soon as it was able to speak and utter a few words. Thus, this verse is the best means of impressing the doctrine of Tawhid on our minds, and every Muslim should use it for educating his children as soon as they develop understanding.

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:

( He for Whom is the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth; ) The implication is that no one should think that this Book is a request from a requester. It is the royal decree of the king of the universe that has to be obeyed. If it is denied no one will be able to save people from God’s grasp. 

( He has not made any children for Himself.) Those who have ascribed sons and daughters to God necessarily claim that they will save them from God’s grasp. This a refutation of this false claim.

( No one shares His sovereignty. He has created everything and prescribed a due measure for it.) Stated here is the argument for the oneness of God: when He has created everything and it is He Who has prescribed bounds and limits for the form, body, power, potential, traits and attributes, rise and development and existence and downfall, then how can someone else share His divinity? Is it possible for anyone to even slightly increase or decrease the measure in which God has created a thing?

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: 

(He to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Who has begotten no son and for Whom there is no partner in the dominion.) Allah states that He is above having any offspring or partner.

Then He tells us: (He has created everything, and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements.) meaning, everything apart from Him is created and subject to Him. He is the Creator, Lord, Master and God of all things, and everything is subject to His dominion, control and power.

Qur'an Wiki:

The One who revealed to His Messenger this standard is “He to whom belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth, and who begets no offspring, and has no partner in His dominion. It is He who has created all things and ordained them in due proportions.”

Once more God is not mentioned here by name, but a relative pronoun is used instead to emphasize certain suitable attributes of His: “He to whom belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth.” He has absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth: a dominion that signifies ownership, control and ability to change and transform.

“Who begets no offspring.” Procreation is one of the natural laws God has set in operation to ensure the continuity of life, but God is Eternal and able to accomplish His purpose, whatever that may be.

He “has no partner in His dominion.” Everything in the heavens and the earth testifies to the unity of design, nature, law and control.

“It is He who has created all things and ordained them in due proportions.” He determines the size, shape, function, time and place of everything as well as all their interactions and harmonization.

The nature of the universe, its make up and constitution fill us with wonder. It makes nonsense of any suggestion that the universe came into being by chance. It demonstrates the meticulous and detailed proportioning of creation, which human knowledge can hardly manage to fathom even in one area of the vast universe. With every scientific progress made, more aspects of the harmony and balance in the universe and its natural laws are discovered. Consequently, we can better appreciate the meaning of this wonderful statement: “It is He who has created all things and ordained them in due proportions.”

Day by day, human knowledge uncovers more and more of the elaborate system that gives every creature their measure, proportion and balance. With such increased knowledge we appreciate even better the significance of the Qur’ānic statement: “It is He who has created all things and ordained them in due proportions.”

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Posted in: Chapter 25,Selected Verses from Quran,Surah Al Furqan,Tawhid,Understanding Islam,Verse 2