In the 9th verse the authority has been described as the authority to judge and the verse says, “In whatever you differ, its decision is to God” It is He who can decide your disputes, “that is your God, my Lord; on Him do I rely, and unto Him do I return.”
There are many interpretations of this verse. Some commentators take it to mean the person disputes and animosity between people which they want the Messenger to decide; some say it refers to the differences in the interpretations of the Qura’n and others say that it refers to the discord or disputes about knowledge that are connected with religious practice and observations like the identification and interpretation of the soul and other such problems. (1)
There is no evidence that the verse is limited to any one meaning or interpretation. Various scholars have opined that this verse includes all kinds of decisions and judgments, whether they are about the verses of Qura’n the disputes of the people and the ambiguous verse or other problems.
It is one of t hose verses that prove that the Qura’n and Hadith contain the solutions for all human problems so man should not create his own laws and resort to conjectures because had it not been so then the Book would not have asked the people to turn to it in case of disputes.
The interesting point here is that Fakhr Razi and other commentators have accepted this truth and taken this verse as proof to reject conjectures in issues of Islamic jurisprudence.(2)
The verse says that all disputes should be solved through God (the Messenger can also issue judgments because he represents God). Had the tenets and beliefs not been mentioned then there would have been no sense in turning to it in case of disputes.
In the 10th verse the Book describes the messenger as saying, “There is none that can change His words; He is the all-hearing, the all-knowing.”
The Ruler, authority and judge is only God and the proof is that he is aware of all things and this Qura’n is a valid proof of this awareness. (3)
The question here is what is this rulership attached to? Here it means the decision on truthfulness and reality from God for His Messenger.
The history behind the revelation of this verse tells us as the narrator says, “The polytheists among the Quraysh proposed to the Messenger for the appointment of Jewish and Christian priests as arbitrators so that they could tell them about the Messenger’s reality according to the s c r i p tures (4) this was revealed to answer them “Is there any judge other than God?”
The verse has a large connotation and it declares without exception all manners of rulership for God because we know that the purpose and history of its revelation does not limit its meanings.
From the above ten verses it is now clear that all manner of authority and rulership is restricted only for God Ruler ship in the sense of creating laws , judgment, and the promulgation of the laws all come from God only. If a person becomes a judge or ruler for any part of His authority then it is by his permission only.
Yes, there are various interpretations of these ten verses and some mentioned all the departments of rulership and some are restricted to the creation of laws but collectively the Oneness of Rulership is clearly evident in all of them.
1. Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani Vol.25 Page 15 has all the three interpretations.
2. Fakhr Razi-Tafsir Kabeer Vol. 27 Pages 149
3. According to Majmaul Bayan and Tibiyan “Hakam” is one whose decisions or judgments are always truthful while the judgment of the “Hakim” may be incorrect. The word is equivocal and continuous but there is no valid proof for this interpretation. It may be used for one who always judges but the appointment of arbitrators after the battle of Siffeeen disproves this. When the words Hakam and Hakim are used for God then it means a decision totally devoid of any injustice or mistake but this meaning does not tally with that in the dictionary.
4. Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani Vol.8 page 7.
