Question: Please explain the following verse of the Holy Qur’an:

Call on your Lord humbly and secretly; surely He does not love those who exceed limits. (7:54-5)

    Answer: To grasp the true message of the verse we need to study it in its proper context:

Lo! Your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then he mounted the throne. He covers the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and has made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by His command. His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds! [O mankind!] Call upon your Lord humbly and in secret. Lo! He loves not the aggressors. (7:54-5)

    In the preceding verses, polytheism has been criticized. The first of these two quoted verses implies that Allah is not sitting aloof, unconcerned after creating the universe; rather he is actively running the affairs of the universe. He is the master of the Universe. All the heavenly bodies and entire creations on the earth surrender to Him and obey His commands. It is only He who creates and then controls. He is the Most Wise and the Most Bountiful. These attributes of the Almighty entail that we praise His name and call upon Him when filled with emotions of gratitude or sorrow. We should remember Him with ultimate humility and modesty. The arrogant behaviour which some of the addressees of the Qur’an were showing has been disapproved of. They are reprimanded because such behaviour is not befitting for a humble creation as they are. They should observe the vast universe around them. Everything surrenders to the will of God and all yield to his commandments: why not they?
    In simple words, ‘humility’ is what should ensue after observing the signs of the world. In ‘secret’, this humility reaches the pinnacle, where man worships and prays His Lord alone with utmost sincerity. It has been ordained by the Almighty that not a single creature goes against His will. Man has been given authority. He is therefore supposed to be in communion with other creatures, insofar as they praise the Lord, of his own volition. However, those who do not accord with the design of the universe and recognize not the Lord’s power in fact transgress the limits set by Him. Hence the statement: ‘Lo! He loves not aggressors.