Memorize Surah al-Mulk Ramadan 2021 | Verse 1

Verse 1: Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion, and He is Able to do all things.

The word “Tabāraka” is an Arabic verb on the pattern “tafāʿala” that comes from the word barakah, blessing. The word barakah means an increase in goodness and blessings and its abundance. So if something is blessed it means that every single aspect of it is good. Allah ﷻ is exalted, blessed and praised. It means that Allah ﷻ is exalted above all His creation; He’s perfect, free from any imperfections, blemishes, or deficiencies. He’s perfect in every way possible. Every single aspect of perfection belongs to Allah ﷻ alone and He is the source of all good and every single blessing that exists in this world. Allah ﷻ starts the Surah by teaching us how to praise Him. 

“In Whose Hand is the dominion.” Meaning Allah ﷻ alone is the Master, Lord, Owner and Sustainer of the heavens and the Earth in this world and the next. The word “yad” is attributed to Allah ﷻ in many places throughout the Quran. It’s important for us to understand that Allah ﷻ doesn’t resemble His creation in any way, shape or form. He’s beyond having a body, limbs or organs. So this word is from among the Mutashābihāt. We believe in its reality but can’t understand its true nature. We say and believe that Allah ﷻ has a hand as is befitting to His majesty.

The word “Mulk” literally means dominion, kingship, and ownership. It comes from the root letters meem-lām-kāf, which convey the meanings of possession, ownership, control, rule, authority, dominion, power, sovereignty, and kingship. Allah ﷻ alone has the right to ownership, possession, sovereignty, and power of governance and dispensation. Allah ﷻ does as He wills. Ibn ʿAbbās (ra) mentioned, “In His hand is the dominion, he honors whom he wills and disgraces whom he wills, gives life and gives death, makes people wealthy and makes people poor, He gives and prevents.” Ibn Kathir (r) writes, “This means that He deals with all of His creatures however He wishes and there is none who can reverse His decree. He is not questioned concerning what He does because of His force, His wisdom and His justice.”

Allah ﷻ alone is the One who controls this entire universe and every single thing it contains. Everything that exists belongs to Him and Him alone and He does with it what He wills. He controls the amazing solar system that is full of billions of galaxies, stars, planets, the sun, the moon, and all other celestial bodies. He alone is the One who controls all of the natural and precise systems and cycles that allow this world to work and function making it suitable for human life. 

One of the Divine Names of Allah ﷻ is Malik, which can be translated as King. Allah ﷻ is the King of all Kings. The lives and destinies of all earthly kings are in His hands. Another Divine Name of His is Mālik, or the Owner. Allah’s authority, control, and sovereignty are absolute; they have no limits or boundaries.

“And He is Able to do all things.” Meaning Allah ﷻ is all-powerful, omnipotent, and all capable. Allah ﷻ is capable of all things and nothing He intends fails to take place. Whatever He determined and decrees comes to pass according to His Divine decree will, command, and wisdom. The Divine Name of Allah, al-Qadeer, appears 45 times in the Quran. His power is infinite, limitless, and beyond human comprehension. With it He brought the entire universe into existence. By His power all of creation is maintained, the cycle of life and death unfold, and hearts are turned to the truth. By His power He recompenses His Servants.

This one single verse is telling us about four divine attributes of our Lord and Creator; 1) His existence 2) that He’s perfect exalted and honored above all His creation. 3) He alone owns and controls everything in this world and the next. 4) He is All-Powerful. One of the main themes or topics of Surah al-Mulk is Allah ﷻ Himself; the Surah introduces us to Allah ﷻ through some of His unique Divine names and attributes.

The absolute most important and central concept of our faith and way of life is to believe in the existence and oneness of Allah ﷻ. Our entire system of belief is built upon this one foundational pillar; that Allah ﷻ exists and that He alone is the One who created the entire universe and everything it contains. He Created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between. He created this amazing canopy above our heads that contains millions of galaxies that are beyond human reach and imagination. He alone created the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, and all of these amazing celestial bodies. He alone is the One who created all of these amazing things we see around us; the mountains, valleys, plains, rivers, lakes, oceans, trees, flowers, fruits, and animals. Everything is this universe, every single thing around us, is an undeniable proof of the existences, oneness, magnificence, glory, might, and power of Allah ﷻ.

Oftentimes when we speak about Allah ﷻ, we speak about Him in very abstract and distant terms. Our discourse regarding Allah ﷻ sometimes makes Him feel very distant and that we aren’t connected to Him. However, Allah ﷻ Himself tells us that He is near to us. Allah ﷻ tells the Prophet ﷻ in Surah al-Baqarah, “[Prophet], if My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.”

The most important relationship we have as human beings is our relationship with our Lord and Creator. The foundation of this relationship is love; we are supposed to love Allah ﷻ and His messenger more than anyone and anything in this world. Love is an interesting word. Because of the way we have been cultured oftentimes when we think about love we think about it in a romantic way. Love is something that exists between a man and a woman or a husband and a wife. But love is very unique; it has several different levels and layers. There is a type of love we have for our children, our spouses, our teachers, our relatives, certain possessions, and even certain foods. Our love for Allah is one that is built upon knowledge, recognition, and understanding. It then expresses itself in two primary ways; hope and fear. We have hope in His forgiveness, mercy, rewards, blessings, and grace. At the same time we fear displeasing Him. We fear the Day we are going to stand in front of Him and be held accountable for our statements and actions.  Imam al-Ghazāli (r) compares our love for Allah ﷻ to a bird. The bird represents love itself and the two wings are hope and fear.

The only real way for us to love Allah ﷻ, to have hope in His infinite mercy, grace, forgiveness, and blessings and to have fear, is to know Him. We have to be able to connect to Allah ﷻ with both our hearts and minds. Allah ﷻ Himself tells us, “It is those of His servants who have knowledge who stand in true awe of God.” The only way for us to truly be in awe of our awesome and majestic Creator is to know Him. And that is part of what Allah ﷻ does here at the beginning of Surah al-Mulk.