Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:189
And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is over all things competent.
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 explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (And to Allah belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and Allah has power over all things) (3:189).
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a refutation from Allah — exalted be His praise — of those who said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَقِيرٌ وَنَحْنُ أَغْنِيَاءُ (Indeed, Allah is poor and we are rich). The Exalted — He whose remembrance is exalted — says, refuting them: to Allah belongs the sovereignty over everything that the heavens and the earth contain. How then, O you who fabricate lies against Allah, can the One to whom the sovereignty over that belongs be poor?
Then He — exalted be His praise — made known that He is able to hasten the punishment for those who said that, and for every denier of Him and every fabricator of lies against Him, and to other than that of what He wills and is pleased with. But He has, out of grace, shown forbearance toward His creatures. Therefore He said: "and Allah has power over all things" — that is to say: over the destruction of those who said that, and the hastening of His punishment upon them, and over matters other than that.
