وَأَنَّ إِلىٰ رَبِّكَ المُنتَهىٰ

That the terminus is toward your Lord.

EXEGESIS

Muntahā (terminus), means the end or the ultimate point of something. The exegetes usually take this to mean the terminus is toward the reward or punishment of your Lord.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 9/436; Tabrisi, 9/276; Tabari, 27/44.} However, it may have a much deeper meaning than that. This is similar to many other verses, such as, O man! You are labouring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him (84:6), and, Indeed to your Lord is the return (96:8), and, To Allah will be the return of you all, whereat He will inform you concerning what you used to do (5:105). In this latter sense it could mean that God’s servants will have to stand in the court of God to be judged.^{‎[2]Alusi, 14/67.} Of course, these two are very closely linked, as the recompense of actions is given as a result of accounting.

EXPOSITION

This verse marks the beginning of another grouping of several verses that describe qualities of God. They all relate to life and death and how both come from God. God is the terminus towards which the servants must move and stand in judgement.

Looking at it from another perspective, if we examine the causal chain, we shall see that there is no one who came before God; He is the cause of everything and the necessary being.^{‎[3]Razi, 29/278.} In addition to the creational link of every being ending with God, He is the terminus in all matters related to governance and execution. Allah is creator of all things, and He watches over all things (39:62), and all creation and command belong to Him (7:54). In this sense there are two terminuses that the verse is alluding to: the terminus of the causal chain, and the other terminus being what we mentioned earlier regarding all creation having to come to God to be judged.^{‎[4]Mizan, 19/47-48.}

In this sense, God is the terminus of both, as He is the creator and He is judge in whose court all must stand on the Day of Judgement, and man is labouring towards his encounter with God. This all links to the surah’s main theme, to emphasise the utter nothingness of man and all creation in comparison with the awesome majesty of God. It is God who is the source of all eminence, as He is the source of all things.

We may also observe that this verse grouping uses anaphora (the repetition of the phrase wa anna/wa annahu in the beginning of each verse) to both give rhythm and make the passages more memorable. Also noteworthy is the use of opposites: life and death, beginning and end, male and female, laughter and tears. This ties into the earlier theme of the oneness of God and the rejection of idols, the notion that different things – especially opposing ones – should have their own gods, and that death and life, and joy and sorrow, should not come from the same source. Here, God underlines that He is the source of all things.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Sulaymān ibn Khālid, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘God has said That the terminus is toward your Lord, so when the discussion reaches God, stop.’^{‎[5]Kafi, 1/92; Tawhid, p. 456.}
2. From Anas ibn Mālik, that the Prophet said: ‘When God is mentioned, cease.’^{‎[6]Baghawi, 9/155; Razi, 29/278; Qurtubi, 17/115.}
3. From Abū Dharr, that the Prophet said: ‘Ponder the creation of God and do not ponder God, for you will be destroyed.’^{‎[7]Suyuti, 6/130; Haythami, 1/81.}
4. From Zurārah, that he asked Imam al-Bāqir (a): ‘People have been engaging in debate about the attributes [of God], what is your say in this matter?’ He said: ‘It is better not to do so. Have you not heard God – mighty and glorious – say That the terminus is toward your Lord? Speak of matters other than that.’^{‎[8]Tawhid, p. 458.}
5. From Abū ʿUbaydah, that Imam al-Bāqir (a) said: ‘O Ziyād, be wary of argumentation, for it brings about doubt and destroys action and causes the downfall of the one engaging in it. It may be that a person talks about something and will not be forgiven [for doing that]. In the past there were people who abandoned the knowledge that they were entrusted with and sought the knowledge of what they were told to withhold from, until they began to debate about God. They became confused to the extent that a man would call upon the one in front of him and would be answered by someone behind him, and call upon someone behind him and be answered by one in front of him.’^{‎[9]Kafi, 1/92; Barqi, 1/238; Amali.S, p. 503; Tawhid, pp. 456-457.}

As explicated by the final two narrations, these hadiths intend those arduous discussions regarding the nature of God, His names and attributes and His essence, about which some early Muslims became entangled in heated debate. Many of them were not capable of properly coming to conclusions regarding these matters. To avoid the spread of false notions and wrong ideas, it was instructed for people not to engage in debates about matters in which they did not have the necessary qualifications.^{‎[10]Mizan, 19/53.} Furthermore, the essence of God is something that cannot be truly or completely comprehended by limited human faculties.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.^{‎[11]Revelation 22:12-13.}

[1] Tibyan, 9/436; Tabrisi, 9/276; Tabari, 27/44.
[2] Alusi, 14/67.
[3] Razi, 29/278.
[4] Mizan, 19/47-48.
[5] Kafi, 1/92; Tawhid, p. 456.
[6] Baghawi, 9/155; Razi, 29/278; Qurtubi, 17/115.
[7] Suyuti, 6/130; Haythami, 1/81.
[8] Tawhid, p. 458.
[9] Kafi, 1/92; Barqi, 1/238; Amali.S, p. 503; Tawhid, pp. 456-457.
[10] Mizan, 19/53.
[11] Revelation 22:12-13.