Commentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn: “To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth” in terms of ownership, creation, and servitude. “And He is the Most High” above His creation, “the Magnificent.”

The author said: “in terms of ownership, creation, and servitude”. If he had started with creation before ownership, it would have been better, because creation precedes ownership. In any case, the issue is not of great importance. The point is that to Him belongs what is in the heavens in terms of ownership, meaning He is the owner of their essences; in terms of creation, meaning He is their Creator; and in terms of servitude in the sense of divine decree, meaning that what is in the heavens and the earth is humbled before Allah the Exalted, as He the Mighty and Majestic said: . As for His saying: , He used the plural for them [the heavens] and the singular for what is on the earth, because the heavens are greater than the earth. For this reason, the word for heavens often comes in the plural form, and it also comes in the singular form, as in His saying the Exalted: . When it comes in the singular, the meaning is the genus, and when it comes in the plural, the meaning is the number. The number of heavens is seven, as He the Exalted said: . The earths [al-ard] have not come in the Qur'an except in the singular form, considering the genus, but the Qur'an indicated that they are seven in His saying the Exalted: . Is the similarity [muthilah] to be applied to the manner [kayfiyyah] or not? It is not valid to apply it to the manner, because the sky is greater and wider. So what remains is that we apply it to the quantity, and the meaning becomes: , meaning in number there are seven earths. It has come in the Sunnah with the word seven, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This is an explicit text. It is also narrated from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to say when facing the town: . The seven earths, so they are seven earths. But how are they seven earths? Does the meaning imply seven regions or seven continents, or what? We say: they are seven earths in layers, just as the heavens are seven in layers, so the earths are seven in layers. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Because if they were regions or continents, then the one who owns a piece of land here would not own it in another place. But the one who owns a piece here owns what he owns on the surface of the earth and what is beneath it down to the seventh earth. For this reason, the scholars said: “The air is attached to the ground, and the lower is attached to the upper”. For example, I have a house that is ten meters by ten meters. I have in the air, in the sky, ten meters by ten meters. No one can build a roof over what corresponds to my land, even if it is very far away, and it is not permissible for an airplane to pass over my land, right?
The student: No,

The Shaykh : How could it be otherwise? Yes, if we wanted to define its meaning, this is my land, whether to the right or to the left, because the air is attached to the ground. But regarding the issue of the airplane, someone might say: custom has established that it is not prevented, and for this reason it passes from the town above the houses, and it may annoy people with its noise, and no one prevents it. If someone said, “I prevent it from passing over my house,” he would be considered a fool. Custom has rulings. Okay. And we said: whoever owns the upper owns the lower. For example, is the bottom of the earth mine or not? It is mine. For this reason, if a person wants to dig a tunnel under my land, do I have the right to prevent him? Yes, because the lower is attached to the upper. In any case, how many heavens are there? Seven. And how many earths are there? Seven.
above His creation the Great. Yes, He is the Most High, the Magnificent. Allah coupled them together in this verse and in the Verse of the Throne. The word “the Most High” [al-‘Ali] has the morphological pattern fa‘il, and fa‘il is a descriptive adjective [sifat mushabbihah]. A descriptive adjective implies that the described one is always characterized by that attribute. Do you understand now? So, “the Most High” is an attribute that is essential to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, from eternity to forever. It is impossible for Him to be other than the Most High. So, being High is an essential attribute. Where did we take from that it is an essential attribute? From the fact that fa‘il is a descriptive adjective, and a descriptive adjective implies permanence and continuity, and that the one characterized by it is always characterized by it. So, being High is an essential attribute of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and it is impossible in any way for Him to be characterized by its opposite.