Al-Buruj · Makki · ayah 9 of 22

Al-Buruj 85:9

ٱلَّذِى لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

“To whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And Allāh, over all things, is Witness.[1897]”

Saheeh International

Essence

The king owned streets, soldiers and boats; the One the believers trusted owns the heavens and the earth, and saw every moment.

A reflection

'Where are the kings of the earth?'

Think about what the king in the story owned. Soldiers to march a boy up a mountain. Boats to row him out to sea. A courtier's loyalty, until the courtier found a better Lord. The mouths of the streets, where he cut his trenches. A whole people gathered on one plain at his command. He owned everything except the one thing he wanted: a boy's heart.

Now read the ayah: to Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. The root pictures a thing held in your grip, within your power. From that grip grow two branches. Milk is ownership: a thing that is yours to keep or give away. Mulk is rule: people and lands under your command. Every king owns, but not every owner is a king. The ayah uses mulk. He does not merely possess the heavens and the earth. He rules them.

And every human hold on anything is partial and lent. It was given after it was not, and it will be taken from the hand. Sahih al-Bukhari reports how that will look. Allah will grip the earth and fold the heavens in His right hand. Then He will say: I am the King. Where are the kings of the earth? The king of the trench will be somewhere in that silence.

Our kingdoms are smaller: a department, a household, a following, a portfolio. The ego treats them as ours and wants more. This ayah does not scold. It simply sets the true Owner in view, and our pride in our holdings starts to look like a lodger boasting about the house.

Does Allah need to announce His ownership? A hadith qudsi in Sahih Muslim answers. If every person who ever lived had the most devout heart among them, it would add nothing to His dominion. If all had the most wicked heart, it would take nothing away. The announcement is for us, so that we hold what we hold lightly.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.