بَلِ اللَّهَ فَاعبُد وَكُن مِنَ الشّاكِرينَ

Rather, worship Allah, and be among the grateful!’

EXEGESIS

In the Arabic text, the word allāh has appeared before faʿbud (worship), which means only worship Allah and no one else. This is confirmed by the word bal (rather) at the beginning of the verse, which contrasts the idea of polytheism discussed in the last two verses.

Letter fāʾ (meaning ‘then’ or ‘so’, but not translated in this translation) at the beginning of faʿbud (worship) is for emphasis. It could also be that it means: if you are to worship anyone, then worship God alone.^{‎[1]Mizan, 17/291.}

EXPOSITION

This verse shows that associating partners with God (discussed in the previous verses) is a form of ungratefulness, as it involves attributing God’s bounties and blessings to others. Hence, if one wants to be grateful, he must Rather, worship Allah.^{‎[2]Qaraati, 8/198.}

The verse shows a clear connection between sincerity and gratitude, because the verse implies that the former is a direct consequence of the latter. These two concepts have been used interchangeably in the Quran: give thanks for Allah’s blessing, if it is Him that you worship (16:114). This equivalence can be seen in Satan’s pledge to misguide everyone save God’s most sincere servants (15:39-40, 38:82-83), which are also identified as the grateful ones elsewhere in the Quran (7:16). The reason behind this equivalence is that gratefulness is to acknowledge God as the absolute owner of everyone and everything. The result of this acknowledgement is that the person will dedicate himself and all of the resources that he is endowed with in the cause of their only and real owner. This is what is meant by making religion pure for Him (verse 11).

TOPICAL ARTICLES

See Topical Article: Bounty and Gratitude.

[1] Mizan, 17/291.
[2] Qaraati, 8/198.