بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

تَبارَكَ الَّذي بِيَدِهِ المُلكُ وَهُوَ عَلىٰ كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَديرٌ

Blessed is He in whose hand is all kingdom, and He is powerful over all things.

EXEGESIS

Tabāraka: blessed, with abundant permanent good. There are two elements involved in the root term of baraka: abundance and durability. It is also used to express the continuity and subsistence of goodness.^{‎[1]Tahqiq; Raghib, under b-r-k.} A number of things have been identified as blessed (mubārak, tabāraka) in the Holy Quran: God (7:54, 23:14, 25:1, 25:10, 25:61, 40:64, 43:85, and this verse), the name of God (55:78), the Holy Quran (6:92, 6:155, 17:50, 38:29), the prophets (19:31, 37:113), Mecca (3:96), Al-Aqsa Mosque (17:1), the Night of Ordainment (44:3), the tree and place where God spoke to Prophet Moses (a) (24:35, 28:30), and rain (50:9). What seems to be common among all of them is that they are all sources of diffusion of goodness, benefit, and prosperity. It has also been mentioned that the primary meaning of tabāraka is that God deserves to be exalted and glorified.^{‎[2]Tibyan, 10/57; Tabrisi, 10/69.}

Al-mulk: the kingdom, the sovereignty. The definite article al- implies that an unconditional sense of kingdom is meant here, which means that God has an absolute dominance and sovereignty over the kingdom of every realm and everything.

Having something in one’s hand (bi-yadihi) is used when a person has total power and authority over that thing. He has the right and power to direct and control it, and to turn it in any way that he wants. Thus, all realms and all beings are fully under His control and are precisely following His plan – such as the realms of nature and matter, forms, immaterial intellects, divine names and attributes, the hereafter, eternity, angels, prophets and messengers, minds and thoughts, emotions and feelings, dispositions and intentions, the living, the dead, spirits, earth, heavens, provisions, wealth, and power.

God has real sovereignty over all things, as opposed to conventional or legal sovereignty. Real sovereignty means that the essence, attributes, actions, and properties of that which is possessed depends on the owner and possessor.

The sovereignty of God and its results have been elaborated in these verses: Say: ‘O Allah, master of all sovereignty! You give sovereignty to whomever You wish, and strip of sovereignty whomever You wish; You make mighty whomever You wish, and You abase whomever You wish; all good is in Your hand. Indeed You have power over all things. You make the night pass into the day and You make the day pass into the night. You bring forth the living from the dead and You bring forth the dead from the living, and You provide whomever You wish without any reckoning’ (3:26-27). God is the owner of the kingdom – all kingdom – and His ownership and kingdom will manifest to everyone on the Day of Judgement (1:4, 6:73, 22:56, 25:26, 40:16).

EXPOSITION

There are basically three statements being made in this verse: 1. God is blessed, meaning that He has abundant and persistent good. 2. In His hand is the kingdom of all realms. 3. He is powerful over all things. Tabāraka would be a sentence by itself, meaning ‘He is blessed’, but referring to the subject by a name or pronoun, the verse provides a description of the one who is blessed: He in whose hand is all kingdom, and He is powerful over all things. Therefore, the second and third statements serve as proofs for the first one: God is blessed because in His hand is the kingdom, and because He is powerful over all things.

Furthermore, He is powerful over all things is an implication of in whose hand is all kingdom. That is, He is powerful over all things because in His hand is the kingdom. That is the case if He is powerful over all things describes God’s power as one of the attributes of action (ṣifāt al-fiʿl). However, if it describes God’s power as an attribute of essence (ṣifāt al-dhāt) then it would be the other way around: in His hand is the kingdom (in terms of action) because He is powerful over all things (by essence).^{‎[3]Mizan, 19/349.} In this case, the and in and He is powerful over all things would be ḥāliyyah (i.e. ‘and’ here would mean ‘while’).

By speaking about God’s kingdom and power, the verse also establishes the possibility of the hereafter, which is discussed later on in the chapter.^{‎[4]Mizan, 19/349.} Therefore, this verse sets the ground for the verses to come.

The blessedness of God refers to His positive attributes (al-ṣifāt al-thubūtiyyah), which are the perfections that He has. Then there is the glory of God, which indicates that no imperfections shall be ascribed to Him, and are called His negative attributes (al-ṣifāt al-salbiyyah). His kingdom and His power over all things do not only prove His blessedness, but they also prove His glory: Whatever there is in the heavens glorifies Allah and whatever there is in the earth; to Him belongs all kingdom and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things (64:1). By pointing to God’s blessedness or glory alongside His absolute kingdom and power, these verses may allude to the fact that His kingdom is not like the kingdom of the unjust kings of this world, and His power is not one accompanied by oppression or aggression. He is glorified of all such defects. Not only that, but His kingdom and power are accompanied by blessedness (abundant and permanent good).

Things (shayʾ) is the most general of all concepts. In one usage, shayʾ is equal and concomitant (musāwiq) with existence (wujūd). In a more general sense, shayʾ also includes things that do not exist but can exist. In this sense, shayʾ would be equal and concomitant with quiddity (māhiyyah), which includes mental existence as well as external existence. Thus, one can say that shayʾ is applicable to anything that exists, as well as anything that does not exist but whose existence is possible – i.e. there is no rational impossibility or contradiction involved with its existence. In other words, a thing is that which has some existence at some level, either external or mental, and thus it does not encompass pure non-existence (ʿadam). Non-existence is no-‘thing’ to exist.

The verse says that God is powerful over all things. Therefore, the verse does not include non-existential matters that cannot ever exist. If the existence of something is impossible and inconceivable – for it would entail a contradiction – then it cannot be called a thing. It would only be an empty and senseless term or expression. This does not mean a limitation to God’s power, but it is due to the limitation of the receiver to adopt existence. God gives and diffuses upon anything that can receive His diffusion, but the capacity and capability of the receiver is also a condition for what comes into being.

Though there is no doubt in the purity of rain,

The garden grows tulips, and the desert has no gain.^{‎[5]Saʿdī, Gulistān.}

An example of this is a strong man that wants to throw a piece of paper far away. He cannot do so, not because he does not have the power, but because the paper is incapable of manifesting that power.^{‎[6]ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-Falāḥ, p. 91.} Events that entail a logical impossibility cannot occur, and the argument that they can occur because God is powerful over all things is flawed.^{‎[7]See Razi, 30/52-53.} Therefore, He is powerful over all things means He has influence over anything that can be influenced.^{‎[8]Tibyan, 10/57.}

This clarifies whether God can create evil (such as ignorance, injustice, vanity, or lie). The answer is that evil is not a thing (shayʾ), for it is the lack of perfection (which is an existential matter). Ignorance is the lack of knowledge; injustice is the lack of justice; lie is the lack of truth; and vanity is the lack of wisdom and purpose. So again, one cannot claim that if God is powerful over all things then He should be able to create evil. One may bring up the cases of certain evils that have been ascribed to God in the Quran, such as the misguidance of the wrongdoers. In these cases, God does not create or give some thing to someone, but He merely withholds His grace and diffusion. Therefore, these are not the creation of non-existential matters, but they are the lack or withdrawal of existential matters.^{‎[9]Razi, 30/53-54.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It is reported through Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) that Imam Ali (a) was once asked: ‘Can your Lord fit this world in an eggshell without either making the world smaller or the eggshell bigger?’ He replied: ‘Truly no incapability can be attributed to God, blessed and exalted is He. However, what you asked me cannot be.’^{‎[10]Tawhid, 130.}

Note: In this tradition, the Imam clarifies that God’s power is applicable to anything that is possible. But, if the occurrence of something is impossible, that does not implicate any limit on God’s power. Moreover, since the realm of possibility and impossibility is defined by God, He would have contradicted Himself if He were to create impossible things.

2. Imam Ali (a) wrote in his will to Imam al-Hasan (a): ‘And sincerely plead to your Lord, for truly it is in His hands to give or take away … And know that He, in whose hand are the treasures of the heavens and the earth, has indeed given you permission to supplicate, and has taken on Himself to answer you.’^{‎[11]Nahj, letter 31.}

Note: Here, the Imam describes one practical implication of God’s kingdom and ownership over all things. If everything is in His hands then one should devote himself to his Lord, only ask Him, and not hope or fear anything or anyone other than Him. So where are you going? (81:26).

3. Imam al-Bāqir (a) supplicated to God, saying: ‘O God, I ask Thee by the most glorious of Thy kingdom, and all Thy kingdom is glorious.’^{‎[12]Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid, p. 761.}

Note: This supplication clarifies that God’s kingdom and dominance should bring about passion and inclination to Him, not horror or repulsion. The glory of God’s kingdom refers to the fact that there is no injustice in His kingdom, and no flaw or defect in His creation (as we shall see in verses 3-4).

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The Asharites have argued that according to this verse, God is the only cause in the universe, and anything that happens is directly caused by Him. This can be proven by contradiction as follows: suppose that some event occurs due to a cause other than God. This means that 1. That event is possible and therefore it is a ‘thing’ (shayʾ), for it has occurred. 2. God’s power has been blocked from preventing the occurrence of that event. That is a contradiction to this verse. Thus, every thing and every event is directly caused by God.^{‎[13]Razi, 30/53.}

This argument is sound in terms of its premises, but it does not entail that every thing and every event is directly caused by God. Indeed, God is the only and absolute cause of everything that occurs; however, His causation unfolds through means and instruments. Setting any cause parallel to God would be limiting God’s absolute power – and that would be a contradiction to this verse. However, there is no contradiction in claiming some influence and impact for the means and instruments that are within God’s power and will. In fact, it is very intuitive and evident that there are infinite forces that cause things in the world, and this has been explicated for a variety of events in the Holy Quran. The Quran explicitly ascribes the rainfall, the growth of the plants, the movement of the clouds, revelation, death, intercession, reward, punishment, and a variety of worships and sins to material and immaterial causes. What a monotheist should watch for, however, is not to mix these near causes with the ultimate cause. In fact, a monotheist is one who sees the hand of God and His kingdom in every thing and every event, not one who buries his head in the sand in order to establish his monotheism. The system of means and instruments in the universe are to be taken as a vertical or longitudinal (ṭūlī) chain as opposed to a horizontal or latitudinal (arḍī) one.

Another argument presented by the Asharites in confirmation of their beliefs is that good and bad are defined by what God does, and there is absolutely no law or definition that would confine God’s actions. Otherwise, that law or definition would be something incumbent upon God, and He would have no choice but to follow it. That would be against He is powerful over all things.^{‎[14]Razi, 30/54.}

It is true that nothing can be incumbent upon God, for that would delimit His infinite power over all things. However, because of His infinite power, God can set and declare certain laws as His customs and traditions that He would adhere to. The distinction to be made here is between something made incumbent upon God versus something made incumbent by God. The former cannot be true, but the latter can. God’s perfection – as established by Him being blessed and having all kingdom in His hands – entails that He does certain acts and does not do other acts. Lying and injustice are things that cannot emerge from a blessed being that is powerful over all things, for ‘it is only a weak being that would resort to injustice’.^{‎[15]Sahifah, supplication 48.} Thus, in terms of creation (takwīn), God’s perfection entails that anything that emanates from Him is good, for nothing emerges from absolute good but good. Then in terms of His laws and legislation (tashrīʿ), His commands are completely in line with the good and bad that have been defined by His creation.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

God’s kingdom and power over all things have been mentioned in the following passages of the Bible:

1. David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.^{‎[16]1 Chronicles 29:10-12.}
2. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.^{‎[17]Psalms 24:8.}
3. The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.^{‎[18]Psalms 93:1-2.}
4. …For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.^{‎[19]Matthew 6:13.}

[1] Tahqiq; Raghib, under b-r-k.
[2] Tibyan, 10/57; Tabrisi, 10/69.
[3] Mizan, 19/349.
[4] Mizan, 19/349.
[5] Saʿdī, Gulistān.
[6] ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-Falāḥ, p. 91.
[7] See Razi, 30/52-53.
[8] Tibyan, 10/57.
[9] Razi, 30/53-54.
[10] Tawhid, 130.
[11] Nahj, letter 31.
[12] Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid, p. 761.
[13] Razi, 30/53.
[14] Razi, 30/54.
[15] Sahifah, supplication 48.
[16] 1 Chronicles 29:10-12.
[17] Psalms 24:8.
[18] Psalms 93:1-2.
[19] Matthew 6:13.