Ṭāhā

الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَي الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَي

لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الاَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَرَي

وإِن تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السّـِرَّ وَأَخْفَي

5. “The Beneficent (Allah Who) dominates on the ‘Arsh (the Throne of existence).”
6. “To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and whatever is between them, and whatever is beneath the ground.”
7. “And if you utter aloud (or whisper, it is no matter): for verily He knows the secret (of yours) and (that which is yet) more hidden.”

In these few verses, four main attributes of Allah are referred to. They are as follows:

1. His Creative Power (Divinity), where it says:

2. His Sovereignty, where it says:

3. His Ownership, where it says:

4. His Omniscience, where it says:

The Sovereignty of Allah over ‘Arsh, which has been mentioned in some other occurrences of the Qur’an with the phrase recited:

denotes to Allah’s authority over the world of existence. As an instance, when it is said that so and so set on the throne, or so and so was taken down from the throne, it means that he gained an authority, or his authority was taken from him. The Qur’anic phrase:

and the like of it, is usually followed with sentence which interprets it. For example, in Surah’A‘raf, No. 7, verse 54, it says:

Or like Surah Yunus, No. 10, verse 3 which says:

Or like Surah Al-Hadid, No. 57, verse 4, which says:

And like Surah As-Sajdah, No. 32, verse 4, where it says:

And in the verse under discussion, the Qur’an implies: the same Beneficent Who dominates on the ‘Arsh (the Throne of existence). The verse says:

The Arabic term /ara/ originally means ‘wet soil’, and since the low level of the ground is often wet in Arabic it is called /ara/. Thus the meaning of the phrase: /matahtaara/ (whatever is beneath the ground) envelops all dead bodies, treasures, and whatever thing is hidden in the depth of the ground. Then, next to the Sovereignty of Allah over the world of existence, the Qur’an refers to His Ownership. It says:

Up to here, three main attributes of Allah have been explained: the first epithet is His Creative Power, the second epithet, is His Sovereignty, and the third epithet is His Ownership. In the next verse, the fourth epithet, His Omniscience, has been pointed out. It implies that His knowledge is so vast that it encompasses every thing you say manifestly or whatever you keep hidden, and He also knows even the more secret than the secret. The verse says:

Imam Sadiq (as) said:

“The secret (thing) is what you hide in your heart, and more secret than that is that which has passed from your mouth but you have forgotten it. That is, not only it is hidden for others but you yourself have neglected it.”

Allah knows everything:

He knows the things which are not seen in the heavens and in the earth:

He knows what is in the womb of every female:

He knows the aim and meaning of glances:

He knows what passes in the hearts:

And there falls no leaf of a tree but He knows it:

However, the domination of Allah over the world of existence is accomplished mercifully, not mightily. And the revelation of the Qur’an has been a sign of His Beneficence and His Authority upon the existence. So, His Sovereignty over the whole existence is alike. He is both the Creator of the world of existence and the Protector and Ruler of it. He has also knowledge about whatever is visible and invisible and has absolute ownership over all things.