A016
Surah: 040 - Ayah: 016
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40:16
In the cycle of Prophethood, all Prophets together are like a living and Speaking Book of God and every Prophet in that book represents a chapter, and whatever was in that chapter is to be found in the Glorious Qur'an and other heavenly Scriptures which are for the sake of guidance. Thus Hazrat Da'ud is that chapter of the Book of Prophethood in which, together with other important subjects, the subject of sacred music is dealt with, and the importance, benefit and attraction of it is such, that when demonstrated by Hazrat Da'ud,in order to participate and hymn with this musical tasbih, the souls of minerals, vegetables, animals as well as human souls and angels gather together. And when it appears from the Sur of Israfil, the souls of the alive and the dead run towards it willingly or unwillingly. This shows the tremendous power of Divine love which can be called the invincible power of the One, the Overwhelming (40:16), which is hidden in sacred music.
Divine wrath is mentioned in numerous sacred verses of the Qur’an, but it is surprising that among His attributive names, there is none which signifies wrath. Thus, in this connection, it is my personal conviction that it is the Vicegerent of God, who is His Embodied Name, from whom His wrath sometimes appears. As for the names, such as Qahir and Qahhar, they do not signify anger and wrath, rather, they mean overpowering, vanquishing, force to conquer, as it is said about the Day of Resurrection: “To whom belongs the kingdom this day? To Allah, the One (Unifier), the Subduer” (40:16).
Mulk (Kingdom)
In verse (40:16) God says: "Whose is the kingdom this day (Day of Resurrection)? (It is) Allah's, the One (wahid), the Overwhelming (qahhar)." Wahid which is on the pattern of facil means one and he who makes all into one, and qahhar means overwhelming, overpowering. That is, when God resurrects the resurrection in the personal world of each of His walis (friends), then simultaneously His kingdom is established there. In a similar way, His kingdom is going to be established in the entire world.
Both "mentioned" and "unmentioned" things are of two kinds, good and bad. Among the bad unmentioned things are those things which are considered as non-existent, such as an infidel who is considered as being nothing or dead, and good things such as a perfect arif (he who has recognised God) who can be called "unmentioned" because he is incomparable and who is given the rank of "annihilation in God", but is not mentioned in the Godhead. However, both the infidel and the arif do exist. Thus with respect to approximation and relationship to the dahr we can say that here being unmentioned is praiseworthy, because it is a proof that man’s reality is always merged in its origin. When God Who is the One and Overwhelming (40:16) brings about a revolution in the personal world by enfolding scattered space and time in His hand (39:67) and demonstrates all realities in the Reality of realities, then not only dahr, but also the concepts of azal (pre-eternity) and abad (post-eternity) become one. For the most fundamental, final and greatest treasure which exists there contains all realities and recognitions. This treasure is both beginning and end of both worlds. Beginning in the sense that everything in the external and internal world is created from it and end in the sense that it is the quintessence of all spatial and temporal things. One special name of this priceless treasure is the kingdom of God, for as it is said: "Blessed is He in Whose hand is the kingdom and He has power over all things." (67:1). In this verse it is alluded that at the place of spirituality where the kingdom ( mulk and malakut, i.e. the treasure of the Pearl of Intellect) is in God’s hand, are centred all blessings and powers of knowledge and recognition. This shows that the light of intellect which is the Reality of realities, represents every most sublime and most difficult concept. Because it is the Divine Pen, the Hidden Book, the Fountainhead of Light, Mount Sinai, Noble Rock and the Mine of knowledge and wisdom.
Divine wrath is mentioned in numerous sacred verses of the Qur’an, but it is surprising that among His attributive names, there is none which signifies wrath. Thus, in this connection, it is my personal conviction that it is the Vicegerent of God, who is His Embodied Name, from whom His wrath sometimes appears. As for the names, such as Qahir and Qahhar, they do not signify anger and wrath, rather, they mean overpowering, vanquishing, force to conquer, as it is said about the Day of Resurrection: “To whom belongs the kingdom this day? To Allah, the One (Unifier), the Subduer” (40:16).
(9) Time; (10) Religion and Resurrection:
On the meaning of “Maliki yawmi’d-din = the Lord of the Day of Resurrection”, one may ask what is the secret in linking the kingdom or lordship of God with the Day of Resurrection, when it is clear that He is the real Lord and unique King of the entire universe and existents? The answer is that there is no doubt that God is the real Lord and unique King of every thing in the universe and existents, nonetheless, He grants partial choice or freewill to the inhabitants of every newly populated planet for a specified time and when this time comes to an end, He imposes upon them spiritual forces and takes this partial choice back into His Hand.
This means that the inhabitants of newly populated planets pass through two phases of time: In the first phase or cycle they are given a limited choice, whereas in the second phase or cycle this limited choice is taken back from them. For, the ultimate meaning of malik is owner or the one who has power or choice. Yawm is used for a specific time or the spiritual cycle. Among the various meanings of din, here the most appropriate is religion, retribution and account. Thus, in the spiritual cycle, which is the day of religion, retribution and account, all the powers of the people that were given to them as a trust, will be returned to the control of God, the True Owner, and this will result in the disappearance of ideological differences which now exist between people, for as God says: “Whose is the sovereignty this day? It is Allah’s, the One, the Overwhelming” (40:16). By Allah’s kingdom, is meant true Islamic rule. The One (al-wahid) alludes to universal unity and national integrity and the Overwhelming (al-qahhar) alludes to the discovery of spiritual forces.
Qahir (peace be upon him):
Root: qaf, ha’, ra’. QÀhir means overpowering, almighty. It is among the attributive names of God, as it is said in the Qur’an: “Whose is the sovereignty this day? It is Allah’s, the One/Unifier (wahid), the Almighty (qahhar)” (40:16). In this name, there is an allusion of unifying all people by force at the final destination. That is to say, His force will unify all the people on the day the spiritual kingdom of God will be established.
The full name of the Imam here is al-Qahir bi-quwwati’llah. That is, the one who becomes overpowering by the force of God; the one who is made mighty by God. This means that the true Imam is the living name of God therefore, he is the locus of manifestation (mazhar) and the luminous mirror of all His attributes.
This verse has been referred 9 times.