An-Nahl 16:23

None is to be worshipped except Allah

Allah tells us that there is none to be worshipped besides Him, the One, the Unique, the Lone, the Self-Sufficient. He tells us that the hearts of the disbelievers deny that and are astonished by that:

("Has he made the gods (all) into One God! Verily, this is a curious thing!") (38:5).

(And when Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter are filled with disgust, and when those besides Him are mentioned, behold, they rejoice!) (39:45).

(and they are proud) meaning they are too proud to worship Allah, and their hearts reject the idea of singling Him out, as Allah says:

(Verily! Those who scorn My worship they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!) 40:60 So here, Allah says;

(Certainly), meaning truly,

(Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal.) meaning He will requite them for that in full.

(Truly, He does not like the proud.)

Commentary

Verses appearing immediately earlier described the many blessings of Allah Ta` ala in details, proved that He alone is their Creator and established that He is unique in this matter. Now, in the present verses, there comes an admonition against the failure of people to recognize that there is a fact behind the statement describing all these blessings - and that is Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah Ta’ ala, except whom there is none worthy of worship. Therefore, it was said: When it stands proved that Allah alone made the heavens and the earth, made the mountains and rivers, vegetation and animals, trees and plants with their fruits and flowers, how can that most sacred Being that is the Creator of all these things become, for no reason, like idols and icons which cannot create anything? Why would you not understand something so elementary?