Quran Universe
24:42

وَلِلَّهِ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ

Walillahi mulku alssamawati waalardi waila Allahi almaseeru

And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and to Allah is the destination.

Word by word
  1. وَلِلَّهِAnd to Allah (belongs)
  2. مُلۡكُ(the) dominion
  3. ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ(of) the heavens
  4. وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۖand the earth
  5. وَإِلَىAnd to
  6. ٱللَّهِAllah
  7. ٱلۡمَصِيرُ(is) the destination
An-Nur · 24:42Madinah

Everything belongs to Him, and everything returns to Him.

The owner and the destination are the same

Two facts in one line
dominionheavens and earth
and
destinationthe return
both
Allahpraise at start and end
Who owns it
my thingsmy house, my time
His dominionon loan, then returned

After showing all creation praising Allah, the verse names Him the owner of all. Ibn Kathir explains He is the Ruler and Controller, and the return to Him is on the Day of Resurrection, when He will judge. He closes with to Him be praise at the beginning and in the end.

The mortgage papers say it is yours. The payslip says the salary is yours. The verse reads both documents and adds a line: borrowed, and returning. It is not a threat. It is relief. You are not holding the whole world up. He is.

I need to control everything I own.

Everything belongs to Allah and returns to Him, including me.

Try this

Look at one thing you worry about owning or losing. Say: it belongs to Allah, and to Him it returns.

Related53:31
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 24:41)

See you not that Allah, He it is Whom glorify whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, and the birds with wings outspread? Of each one He knows indeed his Salah and his glorification; and Allah is All-Aware of what they do (41)And to Allah belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and to Allah is the return (42)

Everything Glorifies Allah, May He Be Exalted, and to Him Belongs the Sovereignty

Allah tells us that whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth, i.e., the angels, mankind, Jinn, animals and even inanimate objects, all glorify Him. This is like the Ayah:

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ

(The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him)(17:44),

وَالطَّيْرُ صَافَّاتٍ

(and the birds with wings outspread) means, while they are flying they glorify their Lord and worship Him with the glorification with which they are inspired and to which they are guided. Allah knows what they are doing, and so He says:

كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ

(Of each one He knows indeed his Salah and his glorification;) meaning, He has guided every creature to its own way of worshipping Allah, may He be glorified. Then Allah tells us that He knows all of that and nothing at all is hidden from Him. He says:

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ

(and Allah is All-Aware of what they do.) Then Allah tells us that to Him belongs the sovereignty of heaven and earth, and that He is the Ruler and Controller, the God Who is worshipped and besides Whom none other is to be worshipped, and there is none to put back His judgement.

وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ

(and to Allah is the return) means, on the Day of Resurrection, when He will judge as He wills,

لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُوا بِمَا عَمِلُوا

(that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done...)(53:31) He is the Creator and Sovereign, and His is indeed the Authority in this world and the next. To Him be praise at the beginning and in the end.