Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And he had no authority over them, except that We might test who believes in the Hereafter and who is in doubt about it. And your Lord is over all things a Guardian.”

The casting of power The pronoun refers to Iblis That is, to the people whom he led astray is a superfluous particle with no meaning, and is the delayed subject of "was," meaning he had no authority over them. The intended meaning of "authority" here is the act of exerting power or being given power. Therefore, he said: "the casting of power." It is thus a verbal noun, and the intended meaning is not "authority" in the sense of power itself. The meaning is: He had no casting of power over them except that We might know. If the author assumes that "authority" means "the casting of power," then the exception is connected, meaning: We did not give the devil any casting of power over them except that We might know. If we take "authority" to mean "exerting power" or "ability," then the exception is disconnected, meaning: He had no power over them, but [it was] so that We might know who follows him, and so on. As for his saying: "Who?" The "lam" here is for the cause or for the consequence. It is possible that it is for the cause or for the consequence. Under either assumption, there is a problem. The problem is that its apparent meaning is the renewal of Allah's knowledge, and it is known that Allah's knowledge is eternal and everlasting, meaning it is ancient and continuous, and it must continue. So how is it correct for the "lam" here to be for the cause or for the consequence? Yes, the author says in its exegesis: "The knowledge of manifestation" This is because the attachment of Allah's knowledge to a thing has two states:
The first state: before its existence.
And the second state: after its existence. So the attachment of Allah's knowledge to it after its existence is called the knowledge of manifestation, meaning His knowledge after it has appeared and become clear. And Allah's knowledge (Glorified and Exalted is He) before its existence is the knowledge of estimation, meaning that He estimated that it would be. And Allah's estimation is established without doubt, for Allah has never ceased and will never cease to be knowledgeable of everything that will be. Pay attention: if we say that knowledge is the knowledge of estimation and the knowledge of manifestation, the problem is resolved. It becomes that Allah's knowledge of a thing after it occurs is that it has appeared and happened, and Allah's knowledge of it before it occurs is knowledge that it will happen. And there is a difference between the two objects of knowledge. It was also said that the intended meaning of "knowledge" here is the knowledge upon which the reward is based, and that does not occur except after the trial. For Allah's knowledge (Glorified and Exalted is He) of a thing before it happens is knowledge upon which neither reward nor punishment is based, because the one obligated has not been commanded and has not been forbidden. So when he is commanded and he does it, or he is commanded and he does not do it, then he becomes one who is rewarded or one who is punished. As He said: [Muhammad:31][Al-Imran:142] And on this basis, Allah's knowledge (Glorified and Exalted is He) is of two kinds:
Knowledge: meaning that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is aware that this thing will happen, but reward and punishment are not based upon it.
And knowledge: upon which reward and punishment are based, and that does not occur except after the trial of the one obligated with it, whether he does it or not, meaning whether he obeys or does not obey. So it becomes clear that in this issue, which appears to be the renewal of Allah's knowledge, there are two answers: Pay attention.
The first answer: Who knows the first answer? What is the knowledge by which the hidden becomes clear? That the matter has always been, and remains, clear and manifest before Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). He said: Here He guaranteed the meaning of distinguishing. For this reason He said: meaning, except to distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. As for people in relation to the Hereafter, they are divided into three categories:
A group: who believed in it.
And a group: who disbelieved in it and denied it.
And a group: who are in doubt and hesitation.
Those who believed in it, their matter is clear. And those who disbelieved in it and said: [Al-Isra:49] This is impossible. This too, their matter is clear. And those who hesitated said: It is possible that it is true, and it is possible that it is false. In which of the two groups do they fall, the disbeliever or the believer? The disbeliever. Yes, because it is obligatory to believe. Therefore, He said, the Exalted: So how about one who is a denier, a rejecter, and a falsifier of it? So Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) gave the devil authority over the children of Adam in order to test these people, so that He might know who believes in the Hereafter and who is in doubt about it. The one who is in doubt about the Hereafter, whom does he follow? He certainly follows the devil, because he does not believe that there is a Day when people are rewarded and punished. So he considers that he has absolute freedom, which is in reality freedom from something and slavery to something. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "They fled from the slavery for which they were created" What is the slavery for which we were created? Servitude to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). "And they were tried with the slavery of the self and the devil" We ask Allah for well-being. Meaning, they became slaves to their selves and their devils. So it is not possible for a person to seek to free himself from the worship of Allah, as he claims, except that he becomes a slave to another, to the self and the devil. The result is that these who were in doubt about the Hereafter cannot work or perform the obedience of Allah, because the one who performs obedience is the one who believes that he will be gathered and rewarded or punished. He said: So We will reward each of them The sentence is declarative, conveying a meaning and the necessary implication of that meaning. So it is declarative, conveying that Allah is over all things a Guardian, meaning a Watcher, Aware, and Dominant over everything, whether it relates to His action or to the action of creation. So He (Exalted and Majestic is He) is a Watcher over everything, and nothing is hidden from Him on earth or in the sky. This meaning necessitates another meaning, which is the warning against disobedience. For when a person knows that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is a Guardian over everything, he fears and does not disobey Him. But if he is in doubt about this, he acts as he pleases.