وَلِلَّهِ ما فِي السَّماواتِ وَما فِي الأَرضِ لِيَجزِيَ الَّذينَ أَساءوا بِما عَمِلوا وَيَجزِيَ الَّذينَ أَحسَنوا بِالحُسنَى

To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, that He may requite those who do evil for what they have done, and reward those who do good with the best [of rewards].

EXEGESIS

The statement, To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, is connected to the previous verse which declared that God knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best those who are [rightly] guided. In other words, how could He not know best, when He is their owner, and indeed the owner of everything.^{‎[1]Mizan, 19/42.}    

The lām in liyajziya (that he may requite) on the other hand begs the question as to what is its connection with God’s ownership of the heavens and earth. Tabatabai proposes that this is an explanation that God’s order to the Prophet to turn away from certain people is not because God has relinquished control of their affairs – His ownership of what is in the heavens and earth indicates that He is constantly managing their affairs – but rather that He may requite each individual based on his actions.^{‎[2]Mizan, 19/42.} More simply put, the objective of God’s ownership of the heavens and earth is the requital of each individual’s actions.^{‎[3]Nemuneh, 22/536.}

Zamakhsharī considers it possible that the statement To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is an interjection between two statements, and the declaration that He may requite those who do evil is actually connected to the previous verse, Indeed your Lord knows best those who stray from His way, and He knows best those who are [rightly] guided.^{‎[4]Zamakhshari, 4/425.} In this case it would mean that God knows who is good and who is bad, so that He may requite them per those actions.

Ḥusnā (best)^{‎[5]It should be noted that the ḥusnā here is different to the ḥusnā in al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, which is the feminine of aḥsan (Lisan, 13/116).} comes from ḥasan which means good, or that thing which is desired and sought after.^{‎[6]Raghib, p. 235.} Ḥusnā means goodness in a more conceptual and abstract level, like in the verse, and speak kindly (ḥusnā) to people (2:83).

It can here be referring to the reward given to the goodly, or it can refer to their actions. In the latter case it would be comparable to the verse, We will surely reward them by the best of what they used to do (29:7),^{‎[7]Razi, 29/268.} which is referring to the fact that the goodly are not taken to task for all their actions, but rather all their actions are rewarded according to their best actions, and this is the mercy of God. In any case, the ḥusnā they are rewarded with is the result of the good that they do and greater than it, not just equal to the good that they did,^{‎[8]Mizan, 19/42.} as per the verse, Those who are virtuous shall receive the best reward (ḥusnā) and an enhancement (10:26).

EXPOSITION

In the previous verse we mentioned that the idolaters have a limited view of reality, not understanding the true nature of the world and hereafter. Here, God explains this further, declaring, To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. The reality of the world is far more that what the idolaters limited view had imagined in their conjectures. All this vast earth and universe and the even vaster heavens, He encompasses all of it in knowledge and is the owner of it all. As He is the owner, He may requite those who do evil for what they have done with the punishments that they deny; although denying the existence of hell now will not make it any less painful then. Similarly, the limited pleasures of the world are nothing compared to what awaits in the hereafter, where God will reward those who do good with the best. The term the best, like so many descriptions in the beginning of the surah, is purposefully vague as it conveys that the pleasures of the hereafter are far beyond what people can now attain or even imagine.

Furthermore, unlike the evildoers being requited with what they do, the goodly are rewarded with more than what they have earned. While the recompense of evil is simply a requital of what they have done, God gives to the good the best from His mercy, which is far more than what they have simply earned through actions.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.^{‎[9]Deuteronomy 10:14.}
2. And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!^{‎[10]2 Samuel 3:39.}
3. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.^{‎[11]1 Kings 8:32.}
4. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth … God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.^{‎[12]Romans 2:2-8.}

[1] Mizan, 19/42.
[2] Mizan, 19/42.
[3] Nemuneh, 22/536.
[4] Zamakhshari, 4/425.
[5] It should be noted that the ḥusnā here is different to the ḥusnā in al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, which is the feminine of aḥsan (Lisan, 13/116).
[6] Raghib, p. 235.
[7] Razi, 29/268.
[8] Mizan, 19/42.
[9] Deuteronomy 10:14.
[10] 2 Samuel 3:39.
[11] 1 Kings 8:32.
[12] Romans 2:2-8.