وَلِلّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ {And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.}: Do not think that the ownership of this world is yours, even the will that Allah (swt) made for man, had he not wanted him to have it, man would not have it.
And here there is a doctrine issue; some may say: Since Allah’s (swt) will is released as He willed, then why is there faith? Why is there polytheism? Why is there disbelieving? Why is there punishment and why…? Since that He (swt) punishes whomever he wills and forgives whomever he wills. The answer is: Allah (swt) granted the will for you to choose, and if He (swt) wanted you not to choose any of your affairs, would you have been able to choose? Allah (swt) says:
ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاء وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ اِئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ
(Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, “Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.” They said, “We have come willingly.”} (Fussilat: 11)
And says:
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا
{Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.} (Al-Ahzaab:72)
This is the trust of choice, that is Allah (swt) gave you a free will, which you are responsible for, you are not responsible for His (swt) will. As for the issue that He (swt) had known from eternity what you will choose and what you will want, this has nothing to do with your reckoning, and it has nothing to do with His knowledge of your choice.
You will be responsible for your choice, and Allah (swt) has shown you the way:
إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا
{Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful.} (Al-Insaan: 3)
Accordingly, Allah (swt)’s knowledge is a revealing knowledge, so no one can argue that Allah (swt) by His will has created a person as a polytheist, a sinner, or an unbeliever…etc.
Allah (swt) created a brain for you and left you with free will, He (swt) guided you in matters and left others to your choice, and He only held you accountable for the choice; He (swt) sent you messengers, created for you a brain to ponder upon Allah (swt)’s gifts and miracles of Allah (swt) to guide you to Allah (swt) by the messengers and the heavenly books. However, then if you disobey after that, you have to blame just yourself.
So to Allah (swt) belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, while your ownership to things is very limited:
قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاء وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاء وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاء بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
{Say, “O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, you give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, you are over all things competent.} (Aal-Imran: 26)
You think that you are the owner, but the truth says: Sovereignty belongs to Allah (swt), and this is what will be decided on the Day of Resurrection. Allah (swt) says:
يَوْمَ هُم بَارِزُونَ لَا يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
{The Day they come forth nothing concerning them will be concealed from Allah. To whom belongs [all] sovereignty this Day? To Allah, the One, the Prevailing.} (Ghafir: 16)
Why is this question? Because on the Day of Resurrection, the reasons will end, only then it becomes very clear that the sovereignty belongs to Allah (swt), the One, the Supreme. Whereas in the world of reasons, some people may believe that a person is harmful and beneficial, and that water quenches thirst…etc.; Because the world is linked to the reasons, but we forget the Causer with the existence of the reasons, but on the Day of Resurrection the reason will not exist.
يَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَاء {He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.}: Allah (swt) put forgiveness before the punishment, and then said:
وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ {And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful}: By this, Allah (swt) sends messages of love to mankind. Because Allah (swt) is The Forgiving, He forgives sins, moreover, He is The Most Merciful, because mercy is more comprehensive than forgiveness. Forgiveness means to clean your sins, whereas the mercy indicates that He (swt) does not punish you for your sin and entitle you to get into Paradise, as the Prophet (saws) said:
“There is none whose deeds alone would entitle him to get into Paradise. It was said to him: And, Allah’s Messenger, not even you? Thereupon he said: Not even I, but that my Lord wraps me in Mercy.[1]”
As we know that the Qur’an began the verses of Surah Al-Fatihah by mentioning Allah’s mercy:
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (2) الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيم
{[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds – (2) The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,} (Al-Fatiha: 2-3)
And the mercy is the characteristic of the Prophet (saws) as well:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
{And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} (Al-Anbiyaa: 107)
لَقَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
{There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.} (At-Tawba: 128)
Verily, Islam is not a religion of cruelty and violence. Rather, it is a religion of kindness and love. It is a building for person and life:
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ
{And We have certainly honored the children of Adam} (Al-Israa: 70)
مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا
{Because of that, we decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.} (Al-Maaida: 32)
This call of Islam, and it is clear in the holy Qur’an, and in the Sunnah, guidance, life, behavior, commands and prohibitions of our master and our beloved Messenger of Allah (saws), and in the actions of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them.)
[1] Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Musnad abo Horayra, Hadith No. 7473.