Allah The Exalted — Page 27
All a h the Exalted 2 His own hands the recompense of everyone. He has no agent to whom He has committed the govern- ance of heaven and earth, having withdrawn Himself from it, leaving it to the agent to award punishment or reward. Then He says: which means that God is the Sovereign, whose sovereignty is subject to no defect. It is obvious that human sovereignty is not free from de- fects. For instance, if the subjects of a human sovereign were all to leave the country and migrate, his sovereignty could not be maintained, or if his subjects were afflicted with famine, he would not be able to recover any reve- nue; or if his subjects were to dispute with him and question the basis of his sovereignty, what qualification for his sovereignty could he put forward? But the sover- eignty of God is not subject to any of this. In an instant, He can destroy the whole kingdom and create a new one. Were He not the Creator and All-Powerful, His sover- eignty could not be maintained without injustice, for having forgiven the world once and bestowed salvation upon it, how could He have obtained another world to rule? Would He seize upon those who had attained salva- tion and revoke His salvation tyrannically? In such case, His Godhead would be called in question and like worldly sovereigns His sovereignty would prove defec- tive. Those who make laws for the world fall into different moods and have recourse to tyranny when they find that they cannot achieve their selfish purpose with- out tyranny. For instance, a law permits that to save a vessel, the oc- cupants of a boat might be allowed to perish, but God should not be subject to any such dire necessity. Had