Surah al Mulk: The Illusion of Ownership Verse: 5

[Tahira Fatima]

Verse: 5

وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ

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وَلَقَدْ (Wa Laqad)

The particle “Wa” is used for oath and emphasis, while “Laqad” is a combination of lam and qad, which removes all doubt from a past statement and makes it absolute and undeniable.

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Lexical meaning: Surely, without doubt, with full certainty.

This word does not merely inform — it extracts doubt from the heart.

It is as though Allah is declaring with an oath: This reality is exactly as it is being stated.

💡 Ask your heart:

Do I truly place Allah’s words at the level of absolute certainty?

When I hear “Wa Laqad”, is my heart ready to listen attentively?

Does my soul tremble with awareness — or do these words merely pass by?

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زَيَّنَّا (Zayyannā)

Root: ز ي ن

Lexical meaning: To beautify, to adorn, to make something pleasing to the heart.

This is not mere decoration — it is a beauty that draws the heart toward itself.

“Zayyannā” is a past-tense verb in the plural form: “We adorned.”

Adornment is of two kinds:

1. Intrinsic beauty — that which exists within.

2. Bestowed beauty — that which is granted from outside.

Here, “Zayyannā” makes it clear:

The beauty of the sky is not inherent — it is a gift from Allah.

💡 Ask your heart:

Do I believe that my beauty, abilities, and blessings are truly my own?

In the nights of Ramadan, when you look up at the sky after Tarāwīḥ —

do the stars appear to you as mere “burnt-out bulbs”?

Or do you witness the brilliance of “Zayyannā” —

the divine harmony with which they have been arranged?

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السَّمَاءَ (As-Samāʾ)

Root: س م و

Lexical meaning: To rise, to be elevated.

Samāʾ is not merely “the sky” —

it refers to everything that is above the human being.

Allah teaches us to look upward so that our hearts do not remain trapped in the earth.

Earlier, Allah mentioned the seven heavens (verse 3).

Here, He speaks specifically about the lowest heaven.

Why?

Perhaps because this is the limit of human sight and understanding.

We can see the stars of the first heaven — not beyond.

💡 Ask yourself:

Is my gaze mostly fixed on the earth — or directed toward the heavens?

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الدُّنْيَا (Ad-Dunyā)

Root: د ن و

Lexical meaning: Near, lower, inferior.

This is the heaven closest to us —

yet the true reality lies far beyond what we can see.

The lesson here is profound:

What is visible is not all that exists.

💡 Ask yourself:

Have I mistaken the visible world for the whole truth?

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بِمَصَابِيحَ (Bi-Maṣābīḥ)

Root: ص ب ح

Lexical meaning: Lamps, sources of light.

A miṣbāḥ is a light that pierces through darkness.

Stars are not merely scientific objects —

they are signs that guide through darkness.

The Qur’an does not call them “nujūm” (stars),

but “maṣābīḥ” (lamps).

Understand the difference:

• Nujūm: Astronomical bodies.

• Maṣābīḥ: Lights with purpose.

Every star is not just a burning sphere —

it is a lamp carrying meaning and intent.

Just as the lamps of the sky pierce physical darkness,

the lamps of the Qur’an pierce the darkness of the heart.

And just as maṣābīḥ beautify the sky,

remembrance and worship beautify the believer’s heart.

💡 Ask your inner self:

Is my personal sky of the world adorned with Allah’s lamps?

Which lamps illuminate my heart?

• The lamp of the Qur’an?

• The light of prayer?

• The glow of remembrance?

Or is my sky dark — empty of stars?

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وَجَعَلْنَاهَا (Wa Jaʿalnāhā)

Root: ج ع ل

Lexical meaning: To make, to appoint, to assign with purpose.

Jaʿala implies transformation and intentional placement.

This declares a universal truth:

Nothing in creation is without purpose.

💡 Ask yourself:

Do I consider my trials to be meaningless?

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رُجُومًا (Rujūman)

Root: ر ج م

Lexical meaning: To stone, to drive away, to repel.

Here, it means that the stars themselves do not act independently —

they function as a divinely commanded system of protection.

Beauty is not weakness.

True beauty comes with protection.

💡 Ask yourself:

Have I mistaken gentleness for weakness?

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لِلشَّيَاطِينِ (Lil-Shayāṭīn)

Root: ش ط ن

Lexical meaning: To be distant, to deviate.

A shayṭān is one who is distant from Allah and seeks to pull others away as well.

When devils attempt to ascend the heavens to steal hidden knowledge, the maṣābīḥ become rujūm — light itself turns into a weapon.

💡 Apply this to your life:

What are the devils within me?

• Whisperings? Envy? Pride? Impatience?

And what lamps can become weapons against them?

• Recitation? Remembrance? Charity? Fasting?

In Ramadan, have I turned my lamps of goodness

into weapons against my inner devils?

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وَأَعْتَدْنَا (Wa Aʿtadnā)

Root: ع ت د

Lexical meaning: To prepare fully, to make ready in advance.

This implies complete preparation with no deficiency.

It tells us: Allah’s reckoning is not sudden or careless — it is precise and just.

💡 Ask yourself:

Have I assumed that everything will simply pass without accountability?

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لَهُمْ (Lahum)

Meaning: For them.

This refers to the devils — but it also carries a hidden message for humanity:

Whoever follows the path of Shayṭān will also be included in “lahum.”

Punishment is not only for devils — it is for those who choose devilish ways.

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عَذَابَ (ʿAdhāb)

Root: ع ذ ب

Lexical meaning: Intense suffering felt deeply within.

This is not merely a penalty —

it is the inevitable outcome.

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السَّعِيرِ (As-Saʿīr)

Root: س ع ر

Lexical meaning: A blazing fire that feeds itself continuously.

Saʿīr is a fire whose intensity never diminishes.

💡 Ask yourself:

Am I nurturing a fire within — anger, jealousy, stubbornness?

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Summary of the Verse

This verse teaches us that:

• Allah grants beauty,

• He provides protection,

• And He clarifies the final outcome.

This is perfect Lordship (complete Rubūbiyyah).