Overall meaning : Allah, Exalted be He, says, showing the stand that the idolaters adopt towards these great blessings: Yet they worship besides Allah false gods that can neither benefit nor harm them. The unbelievers incessantly support Satan and his party in their attempt to stand in opposition to Allah, by worshipping others besides or instead of Him, disobeying His commands, supporting His enemies and fighting against His obedient servants.
The Almighty then points out the reason why He has sent His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and states the duty He has assigned to him: We have sent you, Muhammad, to people only to give them the good news of Allah’s reward if they believed in Him, and to warn them of His punishment if they disbelieve and reject His message. Say to them, ‘I do not ask you for any reward for my conveying Allah’s message to you; whoever of you, however, wishes to pursue a path leading to Allah’s good pleasure, let him do so.’
After that, He enjoins him to rely on Him and to seek His assistance: Put your trust in the Ever-Living, who never dies, declare Him free from all defects and imperfections and extol His limitless glory and praise with His perfect attributes. He is sufficiently aware of His slaves’ sins and He will repay them accordingly.
It is He who created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them in six Days and established Himself upon the Throne in a manner befitting His majesty. He is the All-Compassionate. Ask, therefore, none other than the All-Knowledgeable about Himself to inform you about Him.
Allah then makes mention of the idolaters’ ignorance and absurdities, saying: When they are told to prostrate to the All-Compassionate, they impudently say, ‘We do not know who the All-Merciful is! Shall we prostrate ourselves to whatever you command us to prostrate to without us knowing Him and believing in Him? The command to prostrate to the All-Merciful only drives them further away from faith and makes them all the more rebellious.
The Almighty responds to their ignorance and arrogant statements by mentioning some of His signs that testify to His absolute power: Exalted is Allah, perfect are His attributes, numerous are His favours and endless are His blessings! It is He who has placed constellations in the sky and set in it a shining sun and a bright moon. And it is He who causes the day and the night to succeed each other for those who want to reflect and pay heed, or to give thanks to Allah for His countless favours.