Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:63
To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. And they who disbelieve in the verses of Allah - it is those who are the losers.
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: لَهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ("To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, and those who disbelieved in the signs of Allah, they are the losers") (39:63).
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: to Him belong the keys of the treasuries of the heavens and the earth; He opens of them for whom He wills, and keeps them locked against whomever He wishes of His creatures. The singular of it is "miqlīd." As for "iqlīd": that is the singular of "aqālīd."
And in the sense of what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: ( لَهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ ) ("to Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth"): the keys of them.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: ( لَهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ ) ("to Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth"): that is to say the keys of the heavens and the earth.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying: ( لَهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ ) ("to Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth"), he said: the treasuries of the heavens and the earth.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: ( لَهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ ) ("to Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth"), he said: the "maqālīd" are the keys; he said: to Him belong the keys of the treasuries of the heavens and the earth.
And His saying: ( وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ) ("and those who disbelieved in the signs of Allah, they are the losers"). The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: and those who disbelieved in the proofs of Allah, denied them and rejected them, they are the ones who have squandered their share in the good of the heavens, whose keys are in His hand, for they have been denied all of that: in the Hereafter through their everlasting abode in the Fire (al-nār), and in the worldly life through their being forsaken with respect to faith in Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He.
