اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿۲۵۵﴾ لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَدْ تَبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿۲۵۶﴾
﴾255﴿ Allahu laaa ilaaha illaa Huwal Haiyul Qaiyoom; laa taakhuzuhoo sinatunw wa laa nawm; lahoo maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil ard; man zal lazee yashfa'u indahooo illaa bi-iznih; ya'lamu maa baina aydeehim wa maa khalfahum wa laa yuheetoona bishai'im min 'ilmihee illaa bimaa shaaa'; wasi'a Kursiyyuhus samaawaati wal arda wa laa Ya'ooduhoo hifzuhumaa; wa Huwal Aliyyul 'Azeem
﴾256﴿ Laaa ikraaha fid deeni qat tabaiyanar rushdu minal ghayy; famai yakfur bit Taaghooti wa yu'mim billaahi faqadis tamsaka bil'urwatil wusqaa lan fisaama lahaa; wallaahu Samee'un 'Aleem
﴾255﴿ Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence.
Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep.
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth.
Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?
He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot grasp any of His knowledge except what He wills.
His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not burden Him.
And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
﴾256﴿ There is no compulsion (in accepting religion in the heart); indeed, the right path has become clearly distinct from misguidance. So whoever rejects the worship of others besides Allah and firmly believes in Allah, then he has surely grasped a firm handhold—there is no breaking for it. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
[255] This verse is known as Ayat al-Kursi and is highly virtuous.
(الْقَيُّومُ) refers to the Being who manages the affairs of the universe Himself. Those who believe that figures like Qutb or Ghawth govern the world hold a polytheistic belief. Any hadith supporting this notion is fabricated, and the hadith about Abdāl is weak.
(مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ) means: "Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?" Intercession means pleading to fulfill someone's need on their behalf.
In the presence of Allah, intercession by permission implies that living people may pray for one another or a living person may pray for a deceased one—both are permissible in the Shariah.
In the Hereafter, intercession is established with certain conditions and only after Allah grants permission. However, there is no sound evidence in the Shariah proving that the deceased can pray for the living.
Similarly, the belief that deities besides Allah fulfill our needs compulsorily because they are beloved and possess status is the belief of the polytheists. This is termed compelled intercession and polytheistic intercession.
This verse is called the greatest verse (Ayat al-Kursi) and the "chief of the Qur'an" because it refutes polytheism in divinity, control, knowledge, and names and attributes.
It also negates three qualities from Allah: forgetfulness, sleep, and fatigue.
The name of Allah is mentioned 18 times in this verse through nouns and pronouns.
There are ten rational proofs presented in this verse to establish the oneness of Allah.
(كُرْسِيُّهُ) refers to the "Kursi" in its apparent meaning, but only Allah knows its exact nature.
(الْعَلِيُّ) is derived from 'uluw, meaning true and supreme exaltation, and its reality is also known only to Allah.
[256] What is meant here is the belief of the heart that was mentioned in the previous verse, and no one can be forced upon the heart. This verse means that there is no compulsion in faith, so it is not abrogated—the heart cannot be forced, and Allah does not compel anyone. Therefore, the call to guidance is necessary so that people may be saved from the worship of false powers (ṭāghūt).
(biṭ-ṭāghūt) refers to every rebellious one, whether human or jinn. Another meaning is that ṭāghūt refers to the worship of any deity besides Allah, since that leads to rebellion. This verse also omits the mention of the third group for comparison.
(biʿl-ʿurwatil-wuthqā) is a metaphor for pure monotheism (tawḥīd).