112 - Surat Alikhlas/Tafseer
4 verses, Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Qul huwa Allahu Ahad (1).
Say, He is Allah, who is One.
Allahu Alsamad (2).
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
Lam yalid wa lam youlad (3).
He neither begets, nor is born.
Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwwan ahad (4).
Nor is there to Him any equivalent.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Alikhlas is equivalent to one-third of the Holy Quran in reward and merit, as it carries all meaning of monotheism and the description of Allah Almighty with all attributes of perfection, as Qatadah narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Allah has divided the Quran into three parts, and He made {Say, He is Allah, who is One} one part out of the parts of the Quran" (Sahih Muslim 811 b). And as narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Get together, for I am going to recite one-third of the Quran before you. And those who could to get together gathered there, then the Messenger of Allah came out and recited {Say, He is Allah, who is One}, He then entered (His house), some of us said to others perhaps there has been some news from the heaven on account of which He has gone inside, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) again came out and said I told you that I was going to recite one-third of the Quran, Keep in mind, this (i.e. Surat Alikhlas) is equivalent to one-third of the Quran" (Sahih Muslim 812).
And as narrated by Abu Said Alkhudari that the Prophet (PBUH) said to His companions: "Is it difficult for any of you to recite one-third of the Quran in one night?, this suggestion was difficult for them, so they said Who among us has the power to do so, O Allah's Messenger?, then He said {Allah, who is One, the Eternal Refuge} is equal to one third of the Quran" (Sahih Albukhari 5015). And as narrated by Aisha that: "Whenever the Prophet (PBUH) went to bed every night, He used to cup His hands together and blow into them, then recite Surat Alikhlas, Surat Alfalaq, and Surat Alnas, 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, and He used to do that three times" (Sahih Albukhari 5017).
Among the virtues of Surat Alikhlas is that loving to recite it is a means for Allah's love for His servant, as Aisha, May Allah be pleased with her, narrated: "The Prophet (PBUH) sent a detachment under a command of a man who used to lead his companions in the prayers and would finish his recitation with {Say, He is Allah, who is One}, when they returned, they mentioned that to the Prophet (PBUH), so He said Ask him Why he does so, they asked him, and he said I do so because it is the attribute of the Most Gracious, and I love to recite it. The Prophet said Tell him that Allah loves him" (Sahih Albukhari 7375).
Also among its virtues is that it is a means for supplication to be answered when a servant calls upon Allah with it, as Abdullah bin Buraidah Al-Aslami narrated from his father: "The Prophet (PBUH) heard a man supplicating and he was saying Allahumma inni as'aluka be anni ashhado annaka anta Allahu la ilaha ella anta al-ahad alsamad allazi lam yalid wa lam youlad wa lam yakun lahu kufuwwan ahad: O Allah! Indeed, I ask You by my testifying that You are Allah, there is no God but You, the One, the Eternal Refuge, the One who neither begets, nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent, he said, so He (PBUH) said By the One in whose Hand is My soul! He asked Allah by his Greatest Name, the One which if He is called upon by it, He responds, and when He asked by it, He gives" (Jami' Altirmidhi 3475).
Allah Almighty says in the first two verses (1,2) "Say, He is Allah, who is One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge", that is, Allah commanded His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) to say Allah, who is One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge, so Allah is the One, the Unique, who has no equal and no rival. This term is not used for anyone except for Allah Almighty because He is perfect in all His attributes and actions, and Allah is the Eternal Refuge, the One to whom all creatures belong and turn in their needs, and they will return to Him on the day of resurrection.
Allah says in the last two verses (3,4) "He neither begets, nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent", that is, Allah assures that He neither begets nor is born, and Allah says in Aya (101) of Surat Alan'am {The Originator of the heavens and the earth, How could He have a son when He does not have a companion and He created everything?, and He is All-Knower of everything}, so Allah has created everything in the heavens and the earth and whatever is between both of them, thereupon, all those in the heavens and the earth are His slaves, so How could Allah have a son from among them?, a son can only be born from two proportional things and Allah Almighty has no equal, no partner, and no companion for Him, so How could He have a son?, and He is All-Knower of everything as nothing is hidden from Him in the heavens nor on the earth.
And the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Allah has said the son of Adam tells a lie about Me, though he has not the right to do so, and he abuses Me though he has not the right to do so, as for his telling a lie about Me, it is his saying He will not recreate me as He has created me the first time, and the first creation was not easier for Me than the new creation, as for his abusing Me, it is his saying that Allah has taken a son, while I am the One, the Eternal Refuge, I neither beget, nor am I born, nor is there to Me any equivalent" (Sahih Albukhari 4974). And as narrated by Abu Musa that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "None is more patient than Allah against the harmful saying He hears (from the people), they ascribe a son to Him, yet He cures them and provides for them" (Sahih Albukhari 6099).
The children of Adam abuse Allah when they said that Allah has taken a son, for the polytheists claimed that the Angels are the daughters of Allah, as Allah has stated in Aya (19) of Surat Alzukhruf {And they have made the Angels who are servants of the Most Gracious, females, Did they witness their creation, their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned}.
Likewise, the Jews and the Christians have claimed that Allah has taken a son as mentioned in Aya (30) of Surat Altawbah {The Jews say Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say the Messiah is the son of Allah, that is their saying from their mouths, they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before, May Allah destroy them, How are they being turned away?}, thereupon, Allah responded to their false claim saying that He is the One, the Eternal Refuge, He neither begets, nor is He born, nor is there to Him any equivalent".