Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:21
And he had over them no authority except [it was decreed] that We might make evident who believes in the Hereafter from who is thereof in doubt. And your Lord, over all things, is Guardian.
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: وَمَا كَانَ لَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِالآخِرَةِ مِمَّنْ هُوَ مِنْهَا فِي شَكٍّ وَرَبُّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَفِيظٌ (34:21) (And he had no authority over them, except that We might know who believes in the Hereafter, as distinguished from who is in doubt about it. And your Lord is, over all things, a Guardian.)
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Iblīs had over this people, whose nature He has described, no proof by which he could lead them astray, except in that We granted him authority over them; so that Our party and Our protected ones might know مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِالآخِرَةِ (who believes in the Hereafter), He says: who holds the resurrection and the reward and the punishment to be true, مِمَّنْ هُوَ مِنْهَا فِي شَكٍّ (as distinguished from who is in doubt about it), who therefore has no certainty about the return, and holds neither reward nor punishment to be true.
And in accordance with what we have said about it, the exegetes spoke.
* The mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying وَمَا كَانَ لَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ (And he had no authority over them), he said: al-Ḥasan said: by Allah, he did not strike them with a stick, nor with a sword, nor with a whip, but only with desires and deceit to which he invited them.
He said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying إِلا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِالآخِرَةِ مِمَّنْ هُوَ مِنْهَا فِي شَكٍّ (except that We might know who believes in the Hereafter, as distinguished from who is in doubt about it), he said: it was only a trial, so that Allah might distinguish the believer from the unbeliever. And it has been said: by His saying إِلا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِالآخِرَةِ (except that We might know who believes in the Hereafter) is meant: except that We might know it as something existent and visible, so that thereby one might deserve the reward or the punishment.
And His saying وَرَبُّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَفِيظٌ (And your Lord is, over all things, a Guardian) — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and your Lord, O Muhammad, is over the deeds of these unbelievers toward Him, and over all the rest of things, حَفِيظٌ (a Guardian); the knowledge of none of it escapes Him, and He will requite them all on the Day of Resurrection for the good and the evil they earned in the worldly life.
