إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ ۖ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ ۖ مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ ۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ (3)
(10:3) Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself on the Throne (of His Dominion), governing all affairs of the universe. *4 None may intercede with Him except after obtaining His leave. *5 Such is Allah, your Lord; do therefore serve Him. *6 Will you not take heed? *7
*4). There is no reason to believe that after having created everything God chose to consign Himself to the limbo of unconcern. On the contrary, after His great act of creation He established Himself on the Throne and holds the reins of the entire universe so that He not only reigns but in fact also effectively rules over the universe. The Qur'an considers it a colossal error - an error to which the ignorant have succumbed - to believe that after creating the universe God either left it to run on its own, or entrusted its affairs to others to govern it as they please. On the contrary, the Qur'an emphasizes that it is God Who is directing all the affairs of His creation; that all power effectively rests with Him alone. The Qur'an constantly drives home the point that God alone has all authority so that all that takes place in the universe or in any part of it takes place by His command or His leave. God's relationship with the universe is not simply that He created it; rather the reins of the universe are with Him and He is in effective and continual control of its affairs. It is He alone Who keeps the universe in existence and it is He alone Who directs it as He pleases. {See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. III, al-A'raf, nn. 41-2, pp. 33-4.)
*5). No one is in a position to interfere with God in His governance of the universe, or has the power to effectively intercede with God on anyone else's behalf and to prevail upon Him to change any of His decisions. Nor is anyone in such a position of power with God that his intercession would make or unmake anyone else's destiny. The utmost that a person can do is to pray to God. However, the acceptance or non-acceptance of such prayers rests solely with Him. No one is so powerful that his desire will, of necessity, always prevail with God, nor does anyone's intercession bind God to act according to the former's desire.
*6). After emphasizing the given fact of God's lordship in the first part of the verse, man is now informed of its logical consequences. Since all authority rests solely with God, it is incumbent upon man to serve Him exclusively. God's lordship embraces the three-fold attributes of His being
(i) the Sustainer,
(ii) the Master, and
(iii) the Sovereign.
In like manner, the term 'ibadah embraces the three-fold corresponding implications that man should
(i)worship,
(ii) serve, and
(iii) obey God.
*7). Since man has been informed of the fundamental truths and has been shown the right way, there is no justification for him to remain engrossed in those false conceptions which have caused him to act in a manner altogether inconsistent with the reality.