Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:52
And to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him is [due] worship constantly. Then is it other than Allah that you fear?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: And to Allah belongs the dominion over all that is in the heavens and on the earth; He has no partner in any of it. He it is who created them, and He it is who provides for them, and in His hand lie their life and their death. And His word وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا (and to Him belongs the religion perpetually) — He, exalted is His praise, says: and to Him belongs obedience and sincere devotion, continually, steadfastly, and obligatorily. Of this one says: waṣaba al-dīnu yaṣibu wuṣūban wa-waṣban (the religion endured), as al-Dīlī said:
I do not strive for a praise whose endurance is slight, on a day, by reproach against all of time, lasting (wāṣiban). (9)
And from this comes the word of Allah وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ (and for them is a perpetual punishment), and the word of Ḥassān:
The wind has changed it, while it blows dust over it, and a cloud whose thunder is persistent (wāṣib). (10)
As for the meaning of pain, of this one says: waṣiba al-rajulu yawṣabu waṣaban (the man became weary), and that is when he becomes exhausted and tired, and from this comes the word of the poet:
He does not wince in his shin from fatigue nor from exhaustion (waṣab), and the ṣafar does not bite upon the cartilage of his ribs. (11)
The exegetes differed concerning the interpretation of al-wāṣib. Some said: its meaning is what we have said.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of al-Agharr ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ, on the authority of Khalīfa ibn Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Naḍra, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا (and to Him belongs the religion perpetually), he said: continually.
Ismāʿīl ibn Mūsā related to me, saying: Sharīk informed us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: continually.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Yaʿlā ibn al-Nuʿmān, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: continually.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa informed us, saying: Shibl related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: continually.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: continually.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbda and Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: continually.
Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn informed us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, the same.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا: that is, continually, for Allah, blessed and exalted is He, has left nothing of His creation but that it has served Him, willingly or unwillingly.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: وَاصِبًا (perpetually), he said: continually; do you not see that He says عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ (a perpetual punishment), that is, continually?
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: continually, and al-wāṣib is the continual.
And others said: al-wāṣib in this place means: the obligatory.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Yaʿlā ibn al-Nuʿmān, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: obligatory.
And Mujāhid used to say: the meaning of al-dīn in this place is: sincere devotion. And we have already mentioned the meaning of al-dīn elsewhere in a manner that makes repetition unnecessary.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa informed us, saying: Shibl related to us; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا, he said: sincere devotion.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: al-dīn: sincere devotion.
And His word أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَتَّقُونَ (Will you then fear other than Allah?) — the Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: Will you then, O people, fear other than Allah? That is: do you fear and guard yourselves against His stripping from you the favor of Allah upon you, through your sincere devotion in worship to your Lord and your devoting of obedience to Him alone? While nothing benefits you except Him.