According toGeorge Sale, this chapter is held in particular veneration byMuslims, and declared, byIslamic tradition, to be equal in value to a third part of the whole Quran.[3][4][5] It is said to have been revealed during theQuraysh's conflict with Muhammad; in answer to a challenge over the distinguishing attributes of God, Muhammad invited them to worship.[6]
Al-Ikhlas is not merely the name of this surah but also the title of its contents, for it deals exclusively withTawhid. The other surahs of the Quran generally have been designated after a word occurring in them, but in this surah the wordIkhlaṣ has occurred nowhere. It has been given this name in view of its meaning and subject matter.
1. Say: He, Allah, isal-Ahad (The Unique One of Absolute Oneness, i.e., single and indivisible with absolute and permanent unity and distinct from all else, who is unique in It’s essence, attributes, names and acts, The One who has no second, no associate, no parents, no offspring, no peers, free from the concept ofmultiplicity ordivisibility, and far from conceptualization and limitation, and there is nothing like Him in any respect).[8][9][10]
2. Allah isal-Samad [ar] (The Ultimate Source of all existence, Theuncaused cause Who created all things out of nothing, Who is eternal, absolute, immutable, perfect, complete, essential, independent, and self-sufficient; Who does not need to eat or drink, sleep or rest; Who needs nothing while all of creation is in absolute need of Him; The One eternally and constantly required and sought, depended upon by all existence and to whom all matters will ultimately return).[11][9][12][13]
3. He begets not, nor is He begotten (He is Unborn and Uncreated, has no parents, wife or offspring).
4. And there is none comparable (equal, equivalent or similar) to Him.[14][15]
The first three verses of Al-Ikhlas are known from a coin issued byAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan in 697 AD. It is also at the beginning of the major inscription on theDome of the Rock, which dates to 691. Some of the early inscriptions of the surah contain a variant of the first verse, where thequl huwa of the first verse is missing (a variant also documented in the Islamic tradition). It is typically not found in early manuscripts because it is located towards the end of the Quran, and therefore, is in a location of a manuscript sensitive to damage, although it is present in the manuscriptSarayı Medina 1a.[16]
In Islamic tradition, the audience of Al-Ikhlas has been variously reported to be Jewish, Christian, or pagan. Various potential contextualizations have been suggested inQuranic studies. One suggestion relates the first verse to theShema of theBook of Deuteronomy: "Hear, O Israel: YHVH is our God, YHVH is one" (Deut 6:4). Another suggestion, especially as advocated byAngelika Neuwirth, relates this verse as representing an antithesis or a counter to theNicene Creed based on structural corresponds between the two. A recent proposal has compared this surah to Jacob's commentary of the Christological beliefs of theChristians ofNajran in his 6th-centuryLetter to the Himyarites.[17] This, in particular, resembles a Muslim tradition whereby the surah was revealed in the context of an arrival of a delegation of Christians from Najran into Muhammad's audience.[18]
In the early years ofIslam, some surahs of the Quran came to be known by several different names, sometimes varying by region.[19] This surah was among those to receive many different titles. It is a short declaration oftawhid, God's absolute oneness, consisting of fourayat.Al-Ikhlas means "the purity" or "the refining".
It is disputed whether this is aMeccan orMedinan surah. The former seems more probable, particularly since it seems to have been alluded to byBilal ibn al-Harith, who, when he was being tortured by his cruel master, is said to have repeated "Ahad, Ahad!" (unique, referring as here to God). It is reported fromUbayy ibn Ka'b that it was revealed after thepolytheists asked "O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord."
Surah Al-Ikhlas contains four verses: 112:1. Say: He is Allah, One. 112:2. AllahAs-Samad. 112:3. He begets not, nor was He begotten. 112:4. And there is none comparable to Him.[20]
About this, Tafsir Ibn Kathir says:
"When the Jews said, 'We worshipUzayr, the son of Allah', and the Christians said, 'We worship the Messiah (Isa), the son of Allah', and the Zoroastrians said, 'We worship the sun and the moon', and the idolaters said, 'We worship idols'. Allah revealed to His Messenger, Say: "He is Allah, One. He is the One, the Singular, Who has no peer, no assistant, no rival, no equal and none comparable to Him.[20]
The word (Al-Ahad) cannot be used for anyone in affirmation except for Allah within the Islamic tradition.
According tohadiths, this surah is an especially important and honored part of the Quran:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: A man heard another man reciting (in the prayers): 'Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, the One." (112.1) And he recited it repeatedly. When it was morning, he went to the Prophet and informed him about that as if he considered that the recitation of that Sura by itself was not enough. Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, it is equal to one-third of the Quran."[21][22]
Narrated Yahya related to me from Malik fromIbn Shihab that Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf had told him that Surat al-Ikhlas (Surah 112) was equal to a third of the Qur'an, and thatSurat al-Mulk (Surah 67) pleaded for its owner.[23]
Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet sent (an army unit) under the command of a man who used to lead his companions in the prayers and would finish his recitation with (the Sura 112): 'Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, the One." ' (112.1) When they returned (from the battle), they mentioned that to the Prophet. He said (to them), "Ask him why he does so." They asked him and he said, "I do so because it mentions the qualities of the Beneficent and I love to recite it (in my prayer)." The Prophet; said (to them), "Tell him that Allah loves him"[24]
ImamMalik ibn Anas recorded from Ubayd bin Hunayn that he heardAbu Hurayrah saying, "I went out with the Prophet and he heard a man reciting `Say: He is Allah, the One.' So the Messenger of Allah said, (It is obligatory). I asked, `What is obligatory' He replied, "Paradise."[20]
Narrated byAbu Said, the Prophet said to his companions, "Is it difficult for any of you to recite one third of the Qur'an in one night?" This suggestion was difficult for them so they said, "Who among us has the power to do so, O Allah's Apostle?" Allah Apostle replied: " Allah (the) One, the Self-Sufficient Master Whom all creatures need.' (Surat Al-Ikhlas 112.1 ..to the End) is equal to one third of the Qur'an."[25][26]
Al-Bukhari reported from Amrah bint Abdur-Rahman, who used to stay in the apartment ofAisha, the wife of the Prophet, that Aisha said, "The Prophet sent a man as the commander of a war expedition and he used to lead his companions in prayer with recitation (of the Quran). And he would complete his recitation with the recitation of `Say: He is Allah, One.' So when they returned they mentioned that to the Prophet and he said, Ask him why does he do that? So they asked him and he said, "Because it is the description ofAr-Rahman and I love to recite it. So the Prophet said, "Inform him that Allah the Most High loves him."[20] This is howAl-Bukhari recorded thishadith in his book oftawhid. Muslim and an-Nisai also recorded it.
An authentic Hadith says 'Say [recite] Surat al-Ikhlās and al-Muawwidhatayn (Surat al-Falaq and Surat an-Nās) three times in the morning and the evening; they will suffice you from everything.' [Narrated byAt-Tirmidhi. AndMuhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani authenticated it: 2829[27]
Narrated Aisha: "Whenever the Prophet went to bed every night, he used to cup his hands together and blow over it after reciting Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas, and then rub his hands over whatever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face and front of his body. He used to do that three times.[28][29]
Imam Ahmad also recorded that Ibn 'Umar said, "I watched the Prophet twenty-four or twenty-five times reciting in the two Rak'ahs before theMorning prayer and the two Rak'ahs after theSunset prayer, 'Say: "O ye infidels!"' (SurahAl-Kafirun) and "Say: "He is Allah, One."[20]
^A.T. Welch, art. ‘al-Ḳur’ān’ inEncyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn. On early development of sura headings see Adam Gacek,Arabic Manuscripts: A Vademecum For Readers, Handbook of Oriental Studies (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2009), pp. 219–20.
