al-Jabbār is interpreted in four ways:
1. al-Jabbār is used in the sense of the One who possesses overwhelming power, who is able to accomplish whatever He wills, despite anyone or anything—this refers to Allah, the Exalted. It is used in this sense in the following verses:
He is the Exalted in Might, the Jabbār {that is, the One who compels His creation and fulfills His will with irresistible might}. (al-Hashr 59:23)
{O Prophet!} You are not a jabbār over them {that is, you do not possess the power and authority to compel them to enter Islam}. (Qāf 50:45)
2. The word al-Jabbār, when applied to created beings, means one who kills unjustly; it is used in this sense in the following verses:
Is it that when you seize [people], you seize as jabābirah {that is, do you seize and kill unjustly as tyrants do}? (ash-Shuʿarāʾ 26:130)
{O Moses!} Do you intend to be a jabbār on earth {that is, one who kills unjustly}? (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:19)
Allah seals the qalb (the heart) of every arrogant jabbār {that is, every person who kills unjustly and is too proud to worship Allah}. (al-Muʾmin 40:35)
3. The word al-Jabbār is used in the sense of one who is arrogant, who deems himself too great to worship Allah (mutakabbir); as in the following verse about John (Yahya, peace be upon him):
{[John]} was not a jabbār {that is, not one who was too proud to worship Allah} nor disobedient {that is, not one who rebelled against Him}. (Maryam 19:14)
She said: "He has not made me a jabbār {that is, one who is arrogant and too proud to worship Allah} or wretched." (Maryam 19:32)
4. The term al-Jabbār is also used to mean tall, large, and strong; as in the following verse:
There is a people of jabābirah {that is, tall, large, and strong} there. (al-Māʾida 5:22)