SURAH AL-IKHLAS                                                                            سورة الإخلاص      

Makkiyyan, according to Ibn Mas^ud and others.

Madiniyyan in the one of the two sayings of Ibn ^Abbas, and other said it.

Comprised of four (4) ayahs.

THE EXPLANATION

Al-Bukhariyy, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'iyy and others narrated that a man woke up at night to pray and recited repeatedly in his prayer Surah al-Ikhlas.  He informed the Prophet about that, so the Prophet said, <<والذى نفسى بيده انها لتعدل ثلث القرءان >>, which means, << I swear by Allah, the one who controls my self, that Surah al-Ikhlas is equivalent (in reward) to one third (1/3^rd) of the Qur'an.>>

At-Tirmidhiyy and al-Hakim narrated from the route of Ubayy Ibn Ka^b that the mushriks said:  “O Muhammad give us a genealogy of your Lord.”  So Allah revealed Surah al-Ikhlas.

The Prophet said: {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} (1) {اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ} (2), He is the One Who is needed by all and needs none, He does not beget children and is not begotten and none is similar to Him by anyway.  Because everything which is begotten is going to die and everything that dies is inherited and Allah does not die and is not inherited.  The Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said:  } { وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ, i.e., “He has neither equal nor similars and absolutely nothing is like Him by anyway.”  Al-Hakim classified it as Sahih and adh-Dhahabiyy concurred.

The Hafidh Ibn Hajar said in Al-Fath:  “Imam Al-Bayhaqiyy reported in Al-‘Asma’ Was-Sifat with a hasan chain from Ibn ^Abbas that the Jews came to the Prophet and said,  “Describe for us your Lord, the One whom you worship,” so Allah revealed {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} (the entire Surah,) and the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said:  << هذه صفة ربى عز و جل >> which means, <<This is the attribute of my Lord, the Exalted.>>

1.   {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ}

[Say, O Muhammad, He (Allah), is One]  Al-Bukhariyy said:  (أحد) means 'One.'  Allah is One[1] in that He has no partner, no similar, no manager.  Nothing is like Him and He is not similar to anything and He is the Creator of everything.

In his book Sharh Kitab At-Tawhid of Sahih Al-Bukhariyy, the Hafidh Ibn Hajar said:

Ahlus-Sunnah explained the tawhid by negating likening Allah to the creations and negating the nonexistence of Allah and His attributes. 

Al-Junayd said (as reported by Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayriyy):

التوحيد إفراد القديم من المحدث))

This means, 'Tawhid is to know and believe that the Creator is different from the creation.' 

Abu al-Qasim at-Tamimiyy said in the book Al-Hujjah:  at-Tawhid (التوحيد) is the infinitive form of wahhada yuwahhidu (وحد، يوحد) and the meaning of  wahhadtu Allah   (وحدت الله), is 'I believe that Allah is the One and only God, there is neither equal nor similar to Him in His Self and His Attributes.'  It was said:  The meaning of wahhadtuhu (وحدته), is 'I knew that He is the One who is clear of having partners or similars in His Self and in His Attributes.' 

Ibn Battal said: Included in the explanation of the chapter is that Allah is not a body because the body is made of composed things.

Imam  Al-Bukhariyy introduced the Chapter of Tawhid in his Sahih with the words:  This chapter shows the reports about the Prophet calling his nation to have the conviction of tawhid about Allah.

The author of Lisan Al-^Arab said:  Tawhid is to believe that Allah is one with no partners.

 (This is the end of the words of Ibn Hajar.)

            The Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, called the people to the conviction of tawhid and taught them the matters of the belief and the rules of the Religion, showing them what their Lord revealed to them.  Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan from the route of Jundub Ibn ^Abdullah that he said:  “We were with the Prophet as strong youth nearing adolescence and we learned the matters of the belief before learning the Qur’an.  Then we learned the Qur’an and that strengthened our belief.”  The chain of narration of this hadith is Sahih as mentioned by the Hafidh al-Busiriyy in Misbah Az-Zujajah.

            It is mentioned in the book, Al-Bayan Wat-Tahsil:

Imam Malik Ibn Anas said: I heard that Abu Musa al-Ash^ariyy wrote to ^Umar Ibn al-Khattab that certain men have learned the recitation of the Qur’an.  ^Umar wrote him back that reward them and generously give them bounties.  Abu Musa wrote him:  When we did that the people hastened to learn the recitation so that seven hundred have finished learning the recitation of the Qur’an.  ^Umar wrote to him:  "Let the people alone, for I fear they read the Qur’an and not learn the rules of the Religion contained therein."

Imam Malik said:  ^Umar said that out of fear that the people would make unsound ta’wil (inference) of the Qur’an.  The Judge Muhammad Ibn Rushd said:  What he (^Umar) said is clear, because it is more important to become knowledgeable about the Qur’an by learning its rules, Hududs, Mafsal, Mujmal, Khas, ^Amm, Nasikh, Mansukh than to memorize most of the Qur’an.  So the one who memorizes most of the Qur’an without being knowledgeable about it and without knowing any of its meanings is like the donkey that carries a load of journals.

            ^Abdullah Ibn ^Umar labored for eight (8) years to learn Surah al-Baqarah, because he learned it by learning the rules of Fiqh and the meanings contained in its verses.  And Allah is the One Who guides to the acceptable deeds.

            Imam Al-Bayhaqiyy said in Al-‘Asma’ Was-Sifat when he explained the glorious names of Allah in the Chapter of Mentioning the Names that Clear Allah from Resembling the Creations: 

Among the names is Al-‘Ahad (الأحد), al-Halimi said: 'He is the One to Whom there is no similar nor equal.' likewise Al-Wahid (الواحد) means, 'He is the One to Whom there is no partner nor numbers.'  This is why Allah called Himself by that name when He attributed to Himself that He is: 

{لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ} (3) {وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ} (4)

As if the saying of Allah: Lam yalid wa lam yulad {لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ} is of the explanation of Ahad (أحد) and the meaning is 'nothing branched from Him and He is not branched from anything.'

            Allah, the Exalted, is clear from bodily attributes and manners of being.  In conformity with that, Imam Abu Sulayman al-Khattabiyy said in A^lam Al-Hadith Sharh Al-Bukhariyy:  What is incumbent upon us and upon every Muslim is to know that Allah is not a picture nor a form, because a picture requires a manner of being of which Allah and His Attributes are clear.  He said in the book of his own compilation, Sha’n Ad-Du^a’:  The difference between Al-Wahid (الواحد) and Al-Ahad (الاحد) is that Al-Wahid (الواحد) is 'the One and only in His Self with no similar,' and Al-Ahad (الاحد) is 'the One and only in meaning which none share with Him.'

            Imam Abu Hanifah said:  'Allah is One not as in numbers, but rather in that there is no partner with him.' Hence there is no partner with Allah in His Self or in His Attributes.  No one has an attribute similar to Allah, for nothing is like Him in anyway. The saying, mahma tasawarta bibalika fallahu bikhilafi dhalika  (مهما تصورت ببالك فالله بخلاف ذلك) means: "Whatever you can imagine in your mind, Allah is different from it."  This statement was said by Thawban Ibn Ibrahim Dhun-Nun al-Misriyy, who is among the prominent people who narrated from Malik.

            The Hafidh Ahmad Ibn Salamah at-Tahawiyy, in his Treatise on the Creed in which he spoke about the creed of the Salaf said:  “Allah is clear from limits, ends, sides, organs, instruments, and unlike all creations the six directions do not contain him.”  And he said:  “The one who attributes to Allah any of the attributes of the creations is a blasphemer.” Imam at-Tahawiyy's statement is very clear to anyone who is even slightly mindful.  The ayah was recited (Ahadun-illahus-Samad) with tanwin, (Ahadu Allahu) with dammah on the dal and without tanwin, and (Ahad Allahu) with a silent dal.  Ibn Al-Jawziyy said,  “The best is the first--(Ahadun-illahus-Samad) with tanwin with a dammah.”

2.  {اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ}

Al-Bayhaqiyy said in Al-‘Asma’ Was-Sifat:  Al-Halimi said that it means 'the One whom people seek for their needs.'  He is the One to whom all the creatures are in need and He does not need anything.  Imam Al-Bukhariyy said in his Sahih:  Abu Wa’il said: “He is the As-Sayyid (السيد) who needs none.”  Abu Wa’il is the brother of Ibn Salamah.  He narrated from ^Umar and ^Aliyy and ^Ammar and others and al-A^mash and others narrated from him.

            Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in Al-Asma’ Was-Siffat by his chain to Ibn ^Abbas that he said:  “As-Samad (الصمد) means, 'the One clear of cavities,' and we narrated this saying from the route of Sa^id Ibn al-Musayyab, Sa^id Ibn Jubayr, Mujahid, al-Hasan, as-Suddi, Addahhak and others.”  The meaning is that Allah is not like mankind. He is not like any of His creations.

3.         {لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ}

Imam Al-Bukhariyy narrated the Qudsiyy hadith:

>>كذبني ابن ءادم و لم يكن له ذلك و شتمني و لم يكن له ذلك اما تكذيبه اياي ان يقول اني لن اعيده كما بدأته و اما شتمه اياي ان يقول اتخذ الله ولدا و انا الصمد الذى لم الد و لم اولد و لم يكن لي كفوا احد<<

This means:  <<The son of Adam belied Me, and he is not entitled to that.  He cursed Me, and he is not entitled to that.  He belies me by saying that I shall not recreate him as I have created him the first time.  He curses Me by saying that Allah took a son for Himself while I am As-Samad (الصمد) who does not need any of the creations and all are in need of Me.  I am the One Who did not beget children, nor am I begotten, and there is neither similar nor equal to Me.>>

            The Hafidh Ibn Hajar said in Fath Al-Bari:  Since Allah’s existence is an intellectual necessity[2], His existence is eternal without a beginning, He existed before the existence of things and every begotten child is a creation, then He is clear from begetting children.  And since none of His creations is similar to Him or equal to Him, He is clear from having a companion that delivers and hence He is clear from being begotten. The saying of Allah in Surah al-An^am, 101:   { أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ صَاحِبَةٌ } has this meaning.

(This is the end of the words of Ibn Hajar.)

Hence, the saying of Allah: {لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ}negates that Allah is attributed with bodily attributes, that something detaches off Him or attaches to Him, and that He combines with something.

4.         {وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ}

The Hafidh Ibn Hajar said that the meaning of the ayah is, 'no one is similar to Him.' Allah has no similar in any way.  Al-kuf' (الكفء) means 'the similar.'  Imam Al-Bukhariyy narrated from the route of Abu Sa^id al-Khudriyy that a man heard another man recite  {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} (the entire surah) repeatedly.  The next morning that man went to the Prophet and told him this, as if insinuating that what the man recited was too little, the Prophet said:

>>انها لتعدل ثلث القرءان <<

This means:  It is equivalent (in reward) to one-third of the Qur’an.  The Hafidh, Ibn Hajar said :(yataqalluha) (يتقالّها) with doubling the lam (لّ) its original form is (يتقاللها) which means 'believing it is too little' and what the man meant by his words is that the recitation was too little and not belittling the ayah itself.

            Imam Al-Bukhariyy mentioned in the Book of Al-Adhan, the Chapter of Combining Two Sunnahs in One Rak^ah, that in a hadith a man told the Prophet, 'I love it' meaning he loves the Surah of  {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} the Messenger of Allah told him:

<< حبك إياها ادخلك الجنة >>

This means :<< your love for it admitted you to Paradise.>>

 Muslim narrated that the Prophet said:

 << ايعجز احدكم ان يقرا في ليلة ثلث القرءان قالوا و كيف يقرا ثلث القرءان قال {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ}  تعدل ثلث القرءان>>

This means: <<Is one of you unable to recite one-third (1/3^rd) of the Qur’an in one night?  They said, “How can one read one-third (1/3^rd) of the Qur’an in one night?” The Prophet said: {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} is equivalent to one-third (1/3^rd) of the Qur’an.>>

            Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhiyy, and an-Nasa’iyy narrated from ^Abdullah Ibn Khubayb al-Ansariyy (in the terms of Abu Dawud), that he said:  We went out on a dark and rainy night seeking the Prophet so that he prays for us.  When we found him, the Prophet said,  'Say (Qul , قل)', but I did not say anything.  Then he said, “Say (Qul , قل),” and I said nothing.  Then he said, “Say (Qul , قل).” I said:  “O Messenger of Allah, what should I say?”  He said:

<< و المعوذتين حين تمسي و حين تصبح تكفيك من كل شىء  {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} >>

This means:  <<Say  {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ} and the two Surahs, al-Falaq and an-Nas at night and in the morning and that should make you sufficient in everything.>>

            Imam Al-Bukhariyy narrated in the Book of Medicine the Chapter of An-Nafth in Ruqyah from ^A’ishah that she said: When the Prophet retired to bed he made an-nafth (he gently blew without wetness and with a little noise) in his hands after reciting {قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ}  and the two Surahs, al-Falaq and an-Nas, then he wiped his hands over his face and whatever he could reach of his body.  When he got ill he ordered me to do that for him.  Imam al-Bukhariyy mentioned in the Chapter of Ar-Ruqa Bil Qur’an and Al-Mu^awidhat from Lady ^A'ishah that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, used to make An-nafth (blow gentle air on himself) in the illness in which he died that is after reciting the three surahs and when he became overwhelmed by his illness I used to blow the gentle air after I recite the three Surahs on him and use his hand to wipe on him for the blessings of his hand.

            IMPORANT NOTE: Lady ^A’ishah referred to the blessings contained in the hands of the Prophet This reflects the belief of the companions in the blessings of the body of the Prophet, a matter contrary to the ill conviction of--the Wahhabiyy movement-- those who deny tawasul (asking Allah for good things by the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.)

[1] One when attributed to Allah does not mean a number; rather it means Allah does not have with Him partners, similars or managers.

[2] The sound mind deduces and only accepts that this universe has a creator who is Alive, Willing and knowledgeable and does not resemble any of the creations.