وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ يَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Wa li'llāhi mulku's-samāwāti wa'l-arḍ; yaghfiru li-man yashāʾu wa yuʿadhdhibu man yashāʾ; wa kāna'llāhu ghafūran raḥīmā
"To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. God is forgiving, merciful."
| Verse | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 4 and 7 | wa li'llāhi جُنُودُ 's-samāwāti wa'l-arḍ — the hosts |
| 14 | wa li'llāhi مُلْكُ 's-samāwāti wa'l-arḍ — the kingdom |
In the first block force is named, in the second ownership. And this suits the subject of each block: in the first block an outcome has been realised, in the second a calculation is under debate. Force settles an outcome; ownership settles a calculation.
The analysis of the root مُلْك was made at al-Mulk, and it was treated the length of the sūra at al-Ḥadīd. I do not repeat it.
- yaghfiru لِman yashāʾ — the verb of forgiving comes with the particle لِ (for)
- yuʿadhdhibu man yashāʾ — the verb of punishing takes its object directly, with no particle
In Arabic the verb ghafara is generally used with li-; this can be explained as a technical difference of usage. But the particle has a meaning as well: لِ conveys benefit — "He covers in his favour".
I record this as an observation and draw no ruling from it; to claim that the difference of particle is a deliberate emphasis here would be to disregard the ordinary usage of the language.
But this datum of word order is beyond dispute: the sentence begins with forgiveness, goes on with punishment, and closes with two names of forgiveness: ghafūrun raḥīm.
Although it states a ruling running in two directions, that is, the verse is tied at both its ends to the side of mercy. This is not a balancing but a distribution of weight.
This order is striking, and I record it as my own reading. What is said through the block is heavy: the invalidity of the excuse, the evil thought in the heart, "a people gone to ruin", the fire. And at the close two names come: ghafūr and raḥīm.
The text does not shut the door. And in the next block this openness will take concrete form: a new call will be made to the same group (16), and the excuse of those who genuinely have one will be accepted (17).
غَفُور — the faʿūl pattern, an intensive form: one who covers much. رَحِيم — root ر-ح-م: the same root as raḥim (the womb). The analysis of the root was made at al-Fātiḥa.