Ghafir (The Forgiver)

66. Say: “I have been forbidden to worship those whom you worship besides Allah, since there have come to me Signs from my Lord and I am commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds.

Believers may not suffice to believe in Allah in their hearts, but they are supposed to express their belief. Association with Allah’s friends and dissociation from His enemies should accompany each other. Having not warded all kinds of polytheism and disbelief, we may not be monotheists in the real sense of the word.

The blessed Verse in question makes a conclusion of the foregoing discussions on Divine Unity and so as to render polytheists and idolaters desperate, the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) is thus addressed:

“I have been forbidden to worship those whom you worship besides Allah, since there have come to me Signs from my Lord and I am commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds.”

The blessed Verse impedes man from idolatry and produces manifest, sensible, intellectual, and narrational arguments which have come to him from his Lord.

It is also an injunction as to submission against

“the Lord of the worlds”

which presents a sufficient argument for total submission against His Pure Essence.

It is worthy of note that injunction (amr) and prohibition (nahy) are distinct in this Verse, injunction toward total submission before God Almighty and prohibition from idolatry.

The reason lying behind the distinction may lie in the fact that in terms of worshipping idols, man worships what he is prohibited from it, but in terms of worshipping God Almighty, man, besides worshipping Him, is supposed to submit to His Commands.

It is attested elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an¹ :

“Say: ‘Indeed I am commanded to worship Allah by obeying Him and doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only. And I am commanded [this] in order that I may be the first of those who submit themselves to Allah as Muslims.”

It is worthy of note that the Verse is saying that I have received injunctions and prohibitions, namely you are supposed to take care of yourselves without provoking their sense of obduracy.

The last word about the preceding Verses is that the Divine Attribute:

“Lord of the worlds”

is reiterated in three consecutive Verses:

“So Bountiful and Exalted is Allah, the Lord of the worlds,” “All the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,” “I am commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds.”

The logical sequence is evident: Divine Immortality and Bountifulness; all praises and thanks are devoted to His Pure Essence; His Sacred Essence as the only Object of worship.