According to Taberî, this expression is a discourse in which Allah asks on the Day of Judgment 'Whose is the kingdom today?' and answers it Himself; it indicates that He is the only deity with no equal or peer, overpowering and subduing all things with His might. It is also reported that Joseph addressed his prison companions, specifically directing this toward a polytheist, comparing servitude to scattered deities with servitude to the single and subduing Allah, thus inviting them to monotheism and Islam.

يقول الرب: لمن السلطان اليوم؟ وذلك يوم القيامة، فيجيب نفسه فيقول : الذي لا مثل له ولا شبيه {القهار} لكل شيء سواه بقدرته، الغالب بعزته

According to this exegete, the verse contains evidence showing that polytheism would bring chaos and corruption in the universe; idols are made (passive object) and not acting, they are subdued and not subduing; since humans can break them and destroy them, no benefit or harm can be expected from them. In contrast, the Deity of the universe is overpowering and all-powerful, possessing the ability to bring good and ward off evil; therefore, the plural-singular contrast in the verse emphasizes the difference between scattered and weak deities and the single and subduing Allah. It is also stated that if multiple deities exist, it would be uncertain from which deity blessing and harm come, therefore creating doubt, and for this reason monotheism becomes necessary.

والحجة الثانية : أن هذه الأصنام معمولة لا عاملة ومقهورة لا قاهرة ، فإن الإنسان إذا أراد كسرها وإبطالها قدر عليها فهي مقهورة لا تأثير لها ، ولا يتوقع حصول منفعة ولا مضرة من جهتها وإله العالم فعال قهار قادر يقدر على إيصال الخيرات ودفع الشرور والآفات

This text conveys that the phrase in the verse 'are scattered deities or the single and subduing Allah better' indicates that if multiple deities were accepted, they would differ in will and claim superiority over one another, and this scatteredness would show that they could not be deities. It also reports the traditions regarding the question 'Whose is the kingdom today?' that on the Day of Judgment, before the gathering or between the two blasts of the trumpet, when creation ceases to exist, Allah will ask this question to Himself and answer it. Kurtubî states that among these traditions he prefers the view from Ibn Masud that people will be resurrected and confronted with this question.

وأصح ما قيل فيه ما رواه أبو وائل عن بن مسعود قال : يحشر الناس على أرض بيضاء مثل الفضة لم يعص الله جل وعز عليها فيؤمر مناد ينادي لمن الملك اليوم فيقول العباد مؤمنهم وكافرهم لله الواحد القهار

According to Ibn Kesîr, in this verse the attribute of Allah as 'al-Qahhâr' (the Subduer) is explained, showing that everything other than Him is humiliated, and those who claim divinity are merely human inventions and names inherited from ancestors, possessing no basis from Allah. Furthermore, explanations are reported regarding the process of the occurrence of the Day of Judgment and how resurrection is realized through the third blowing of the trumpet by Israfil (naffhat al-ba's).

ثم بين لهما أن التي يعبدونها ويسمونها آلهة إنما هو جعل منهم وتسمية من تلقاء أنفسهم تلقاها خلفهم عن سلفهم وليس لذلك مستند من عند الله

According to Beydâwî, Joseph first addresses his prison companions in a rhetorical manner to explain the superiority of monotheism over polytheistic belief; then he proves that the idols they worship are merely names and possess no attributes worthy of divinity, because the right to divinity is either essential or derived from another, neither of which applies to idols. As a result, it becomes clear that the right to decree and worship belongs only to Allah, whose existence and nature necessitate all rights, who creates and governs everything, and this is the straight religion approved by both reason and knowledge.

بين لهم أولا رجحان التوحيد على اتخاذ الآلهة على طريق الخطابة، ثم برهن على أن ما يسمونها آلهة ويعبدونها لا تستحق الالهية فإن استحقاق العبادة إما بالذات وإما بالغير وكلا القسمين منتف عنها

According to Zemahşerî, the Prophet Joseph asks his prison companions whether it is better to worship lords that are separate from one another and numerous, or to worship a single and unconquerable, unparalleled, and subduing Lord. This expression is a parable drawn between worshiping Allah alone and worshiping idols.

وهذا مثل ضربه لعبادة الله وحده ولعبادة الأصنام