5:120

Salaam all,



Lillahi mulku alssamawati waalardi wama feehinna wahuwa AAala kulli shayin qadeerun

The Aya says:
To Allah belongs authority over the heavens and the earth and what is in them, and He is, upon every entity, capable.

My personal note:
This Aya is the closing statement of this Sura. It reminds us that the authority over the heavens and earth and everything in there belongs to God.

I translated QADEER as capable and it is correct. However, lately I have been looking at the term in terms of limits and was very tempted to translate it as Imposing limits, which would be correct since every created entity has limits set by it’s creator and the setting of limits takes ability to impose those limits. So, in a sense the capability here is in the form of ability to impose limits upon the entity and so on, and Allah knows best.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Lillahi : to Allah belong
Mulku: authority of/ ownership of
Note: the root is M-L-K and it means ownership or authority over something. One concrete meaning is the fruit when it becomes strong and held together. So, in a sense MULK has the meaning of holding things together in a strong bond and that is the authority. MULKU means authority of ownership of.

Alssamawati: the aboves / the heavens/ the beyond the earth
Note: the root is S-M-W and it means rising. This word is used to mean many things that are related to that meaning. One of the meanings is name because when a person’s name is called, he or she would rise and respond. ALSSAMAWATI are the aboves or what are above, that is the skies or the heavens or any entity from the atmosphere to beyond that.
Waalardi: and the earth
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. ALARDI is derived from the root Hamza-R-Dhad and it means earth or land. ALARDI is the earth/ the land.

Wama: and what/ including what
Feehinna: inside them
Wahuwa: and He
AAala: upon/ on
Kulli: every/ each
Note: KULLI is derived from the root K-L-L and it means the parts put together. This is the concrete and it means all or every or each. It can also be extended conceptually to mean the parts surrounding an entity. KULLI means every, or each.
Shayin: entity/ thing
Note: the root is SH-Y-Hamza and it means entity. SHAYIN means entity. It is taken here to mean a thing or entity

qadeerun: capable/ limiting/ imposing limits
Note: the root is Qaf-D-R and it means in concrete cooking the meat in the pot. Conceptually it takes the meaning of measuring, putting limits on an entity and capability to cover the exact need and task. QADEERUN means: an entity that puts limits, measures and is capable to perform accordingly. This takes the meaning of all capable in this context and this includes imposing limits.


Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein