Overview (Verses 116 - 118)

The Basic Issue of Faith
 
The final verses of the sūrah are dedicated to faith. They state its central tenet; namely, God’s oneness. We have an announcement of the great loss suffered by those who associate partners with Him. This contrasts with the success declared at the beginning of the sūrah which is guaranteed to the believers. Coupled with this declaration is an instruction to turn to God, requesting His forgiveness and appealing for His mercy. He is certainly the most merciful of all those who are compassionate:
 
Sublimely exalted is God, the Ultimate Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth. There is no deity other than Him, the Lord of the Glorious Throne. He that invokes besides God any other deity – a deity for whose existence he has no evidence – shall be brought to account before his Lord. Most certainly, the unbelievers shall never be successful. Say: My Lord! Forgive and have mercy. You are the best of those who show mercy. (Verses 116-118)
 
Coming as it does after a scene painting events taking place on the Day of Resurrection, and after a host of arguments, proofs and pointers outlined throughout the sūrah, the comment included in these final verses provides a logical conclusion to everything contained in the sūrah. This statement refutes all that the unbelievers say about God, declaring that He is the true Sovereign who controls the entire universe, and that He is the only deity who is in full command of all. He is indeed ‘the Lord of the Glorious Throne’.
 
Any claim of partnership with God has absolutely no evidence to support it, neither from the universe and how it is run, nor from human logic or nature. Anyone who makes such a claim will have to face the reckoning in front of God, and the result is known in advance: “Most certainly the unbelievers shall never be successful.” (Verse 117) This is an unfailing rule that is hound to come true. Success, by contrast, is guaranteed for the believers.
 
All the favours and comforts that we see the unbelievers enjoying in this life, and all the power and resources they may sometimes have at their command does not mean success in reality. It is all given to them as a test, and it will end with their loss in this present life. However, if some of them escape punishment in this world, they will have to face the reckoning in the hereafter. There, in the life to come, is the final stage of this life cycle. It is not something separate or isolated. Indeed, it is an essential stage, clearly seen by those who have real vision.
 
The last verse in this sūrah, The Believers, gives the instruction to turn to God appealing for His mercy and forgiveness: “Say: My Lord! Forgive and have mercy. You are the best of those who show mercy.” (Verse 118)
 
Thus the opening of the sūrah and its end jointly emphasize success for the believers and utter failure and loss for the unbelievers. Both elements stress the basic qualities of believers. Thus, the beginning states that the believers humble themselves in prayer, while the end instructs them to humbly appeal to God for forgiveness and mercy. Both make the sūrah a complete, well designed unit.