فَاطِرُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ ﴿۱۱﴾ لَهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿۱۲﴾ شَرَعَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحًا وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ كَبُرَ عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ مَا تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَيْهِ اللَّهُ يَجْتَبِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يُنِيبُ ﴿۱۳﴾

﴾11﴿ Faatirus samaawaati wal ard; ja'ala lakum min anfusikum azwaajanw wa minal an'aami azwaajai yazra'ukum feeh; laisa kamislihee shai'unw wa Huwas Samee'ul Baseer
﴾12﴿ Lahoo maqaaleedus samaawaati wal ardi yabsutur rizqa limai yashaaa'u wa yaqdir; innahoo bikulli shai'in 'Aleem
﴾13﴿ Shara'a lakum minad deeni maa wassaa bihee Noohanw wallazeee awhainaaa ilaika wa maa wassainaa biheee Ibraaheema wa Moosa wa 'Eesaaa an aqeemud deena wa laa tatafarraqoo feeh; kabura 'alal mushrikeena maa tad'oohum ilaih; Allaahu yajtabee ilaihi mai yashaaa'u wa yahdeee ilaihi mai yuneeb

﴾11﴿ He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. He created for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs of livestock as well. He disperses you thereby. There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing
﴾12﴿ To Him alone belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. He expands provision for whomever He wills and restricts it. Indeed, He is Knowing of all things
﴾13﴿ He has ordained for you of the religion what He enjoined upon Noah, and that which We have revealed to you, and what We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: that you establish the religion and do not be divided therein. Difficult for the polytheists is that to which you call them. Allah draws to Himself whomever He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns to Him

[11,12] These are rational proofs rejecting shirk in guardianship (wilāyah) and in legislation (ḥukm), presented in ten statements — six in the first verse and four in the second.
The essence is that the One who controls the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the creation of pairs among humans and animals, is Allah the Exalted alone — without needing any means or causes.
He is the sole owner of the treasures, the one who expands and restricts provision, and He alone has complete knowledge of all things — therefore, do not associate partners with Him in wilāyah and ḥukm.
"Yadhra’ukum" — this mentions the benefit of marriage: the increase of offspring.
This proves that any form of relationship that prevents procreation contradicts the wisdom of marriage and is impermissible.
"Laysa ka-mithlihi shay’" — this indicates that Allah the Exalted, in His control and actions, is not in need of means like the creation.
Likewise, no created being can resemble or match Allah in His control or divinity.
This sentence negates comparing Allah to creation and denies associating creation with Him — and this is the core objective of complete Tawḥīd.
It becomes clear that this verse refutes the beliefs of mushabbihah and mujassimah — those who attribute to Allah qualities such as a hand, an eye, elevation, or sitting on the throne in a way resembling creation.
They claim that these attributes are exactly like those of created beings — and some even add bodily form (jism) to Allah, which is a false belief.
Those who reject these attributes of Allah through distorted interpretations (ta’wīl), such as the Jahmiyyah and other deniers of the attributes, are also clearly misguided.
[13] This is a revelation-based proof rejecting shirk in wilāyah (guardianship) and shirk in ḥukm (legislation) — meaning, the right to legislate religious rulings belongs to Allah the Exalted alone.
This is related to the phrase "the judgment belongs only to Allah".
Likewise, Tawḥīd is the foundation of Allah’s law, and the prophets (peace be upon them) are the ones who convey that law.
"What We enjoined upon Nūḥ" (mā waṣṣā bihi Nūḥan) — indicates that the first prophet with a full divine law (sharī‘ah) was Nūḥ (peace be upon him), meaning he brought Tawḥīd and other religious rulings, and opposed the rejecters.
Although Ādam (peace be upon him) was the first prophet, at his time there were no deniers of Tawḥīd and sharī‘ah.
"And what We enjoined upon Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, and ‘Īsā" — they are mentioned specifically because their divine laws were well known.
"Establish the religion" (an aqīmū al-dīn) — means to firmly uphold the religion: within oneself by acting upon it, and among others by inviting to it, presenting evidence, and removing doubts.
"Al-dīn" (the religion) here refers to the core principles that are common across all divine laws — such as Tawḥīd, prayer, zakāt, fasting, ḥajj, obedience to Allah’s commands, faith (īmāniyyāt), and the prohibition of disbelief, shirk, fornication, murder, lying, injustice, betrayal, etc.
"It is hard upon the polytheists what you are calling them to" (kabura ‘alā al-mushrikīn mā tad‘ūhum ilayh) — this explains why there is a need to establish the religion: the polytheists dislike this true religion and want to cause division within it, but you must uphold it firmly.
This also implies that whoever sees Islam, Tawḥīd, or its core principles negatively — that person is a mushrik.
"Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills" (Allāhu yajtabī ilayhi man yashā’) — there is a difference between ijtabā’ (choosing) and hidāyah (guidance):
Ijtabā’ refers to granting prophethood, or alternatively, granting the ability to uphold the religion.
Hidāyah refers to giving faith, or alternatively, the ability to accept the truth.
Ijtabā’ is purely based on Allah’s will — man has no role in it, hence "whom He wills" is mentioned.
As for hidāyah, its condition is turning to Allah (inābah), which is why "he who turns to Him" is mentioned.