قُل إِنَّما أَنا مُنذِرٌ ۖ وَما مِن إِلٰهٍ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الواحِدُ القَهّارُ

Say: ‘I am just a warner, and there is no god except Allah, the one, the all-paramount.

EXEGESIS

Qahhār (all-paramount) has the meaning of overcoming.^{‎[1]Raghib, p. 687.}

EXPOSITION

After finishing with the descriptions of heaven and hell, the surah moves to a brief exhortation, reminding the reader of the original themes, before moving on to the final story which serves as the conclusion of the chapter.

This short section begins with the command to Prophet Muhammad (s) to say I am just a warner. It is his duty to deliver God’s message to mankind and warn them of the terrible fate that awaits those who rebel against God. The word just is used to indicate that he cannot compel anyone to believe. This is both as clarification to the listeners, but also to comfort the Holy Prophet that he is not to blame if people turn away from the call or ridicule it.

It could also be said that the expression is used to remind that Prophet Muhammad (s) is simply carrying out his task, and he does not ask for any reward for it. As one of the final verses declares, Say: ‘I do not ask you any reward for it’ (verse 86).^{‎[2]Mizan, 17/222.} This is also an appropriate understanding, considering the reason of revelation of the surah, with the Prophet rejecting the attempts of the Meccan elite to bribe him into abandoning his mission. The core of that message and warning is and always has been to tell mankind that there is no god except Allah.

God then uses two attributes to describe Himself. The first is the one (wāḥid). Considering the previous statement there is no god except Allah, there is a double emphasis on the oneness of God. This is significant considering the theme of defiance and the divisive nature of the faithless. It is contrasted to the unity of God that emanates from Him and brings together the faithful.

The next attribute is all-paramount (qahhār), which is again in contrast to conceit, the self-ascribed greatness that the faithless wrongly attribute to themselves and that only truly belongs to God. In a way it is an exclamation, declaring them fools for thinking they can overcome God.

The two attributes of one and all-paramount are paired together. All-paramount appears a total of six times in the Quran, always paired with one. It has been said that they are linked because if God was not one, He would not be all-paramount, as multiple gods would overcome each other and quarrel.^{‎[3]Alusi, 12/210.}

[1] Raghib, p. 687.
[2] Mizan, 17/222.
[3] Alusi, 12/210.