Tafseer of Surah Ikhlaas

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

قُل هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ‎﴿١﴾‏ اللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ ‎﴿٢﴾‏ لَم يَلِدْ وَلَم يُوْلَد ‎﴿٣﴾‏ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَهُ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ ‎﴿٤﴾‏

Say (O Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)), He – Allah Ta‘ala – is One and Alone (in His being and attributes). Allah is needed by all (the creation), while He needs none. He neither begot anyone, nor was He begotten. And there is no one that is equal to Him.

This surah discusses the belief of Tawheed (the oneness of Allah Ta‘ala in His Being and Attributes), which is among the fundamental beliefs of Islam.

The belief of Tawheed was something foreign to the pagans, Jews and Christians who lived in the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

As for the Pagans, then apart from them believing in Allah Ta‘ala, they had invented many deities whom they worshipped. They also called the angels the daughters of Allah Ta‘ala.

As for the Christians, they believed in the trinity and divided Godhood into three Persons, the father, the son and the holy ghost.

They believed that Jesus (Nabi Isa [alaihis salaam]) is the son of God.

As for the Jews of Arabia, they believed that Hazrat Uzair (alaihis salaam) is the son of God.

When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) explained the belief of Tawheed to the people and invited them to worship Allah Ta‘ala alone without ascribing partners to Him in His Being and Attributes, many people began asking for a detailed description of Allah Ta’ala.

It was in response to their questions that this surah was revealed.

This surah removes all misconceptions about Allah Ta‘ala in a concise, eloquent and impressive style that cannot be translated into any other language.

In essence, this surah refutes all types of shirk (polytheism) and establishes the fundamental principles of Tawheed.

There are abundant virtues recorded in the Mubaarak Ahaadith regarding this surah.

In one Hadith, it is mentioned that reciting this surah once earns one the reward equivalent to the reward of reciting one-third of the Quraan Shareef.

Similarly, it is reported that the person who recites the three Quls (i.e. Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas) in the morning and evening, he will be sufficed against all difficulties, misfortunes and problems for that day.

قُل هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ

Say (O Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)), He – Allah Ta‘ala – is One and Alone (in His being and attributes).

When the kuffaar heard about Allah Ta’ala, then they sarcastically said to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “Explain to us the lineage of Allah Ta‘ala.” Some of them even went to the extent of asking, “Can you explain to us what material and substance Allah Ta’ala is made up from?” It was on that occasion that this surah was revealed.

This surah gives a detailed answer regarding the belief in Allah Ta‘ala and it is also a response to the criticisms raised by the kuffaar regarding Allah Ta‘ala.

In the first verse of this surah, Allah Ta‘ala describes Himself with the word ‘Ahad’. The word ‘Ahad’ is translated as ‘one and alone’. This word indicates towards Allah Ta’ala being unique in His zaat (Being) and unique in all of His sifaat (divine attributes).

Allah Ta‘ala being unique in His zaat (Being) means that Allah Ta‘ala’s existence is not like the existence of man that comes about through any cause or medium (like being born from parents), and it is also not a temporary existence which will expire after a period of time. Rather, Allah Ta‘ala’s existence is eternal as Allah Ta‘ala does not have any beginning or end.

Allah Ta‘ala being unique in His sifaat (divine attributes) means that every attribute of Allah Ta‘ala is unique and perfect.  The attributes of Allah Ta‘ala do not have any limitations like the attributes of man. The attributes of man are limited. If a person is able to see, then he can only see till a certain point, and he cannot see beyond that point. Similarly, if a person is able to carry a load, then he is only able to carry a load up to a certain weight, and he cannot carry a load exceeding that weight. Every quality of man has some limitation, whereas Allah Ta‘ala is not restricted by any limitations. Hence, Allah Ta‘ala is Perfect in His Being and Perfect in all His Attributes.

اللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ

Allah is needed by all (the creation), while He needs none.

In this verse, Allah Ta‘ala describes Himself with the word ‘As-Samad’. The word ‘As-Samad’ means ‘the One who is needed by all the creation, while He is not in need of anyone’. In other words, Allah is that being who is all independent. The entire creation is totally dependent upon Him for their existence, continuity and progress at every moment, while He is not in need of anyone or anything at any time. Hence, this quality of Allah Ta‘ala, ‘As-Samad’, is a quality that is exclusive to Allah Ta‘ala.

The pagans believed that Allah Ta‘ala has many deities to assist him in managing the affairs of the universe. This verse declares that Allah Ta‘ala is not in need of anyone to assist Him in any way, rather it is His assistance that is needed by all at every moment. The being who requires assistance from others is not worthy of being called a God.

لَم يَلِدْ وَلَم يُوْلَد

He neither begot anyone, nor was he begotten.

In this verse, Allah Ta‘ala explains that He neither begot anyone (i.e. no child was born to Him), nor is He born from anyone.

This aayat is a response to the questions which the Makkans posed to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) regarding the lineage of Allah Ta‘ala. They said to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “Explain to us the lineage of Allah.”

Allah Ta’ala responds to them saying that He is One and Alone, and He neither begot anyone, nor was he begotten.

In other words, Allah Ta‘ala is eternal and He does not have any beginning or end. Similarly, His existence is not dependent upon any cause or any medium, unlike man who is born through the medium of parents after Nikaah takes place between them.

Some denominations like the atheists do not believe in a God. Hence, this surah refutes their belief and proves that there is a God who is Allah Ta‘ala, the One and Only God who is Eternal and Unique in His Being and Attributes.

Other denominations like the Christians believe in a god, but also say that God has some limitations. The Christians say that Jesus (Nabi Isa [alaihis salaam]) is God and he is also the son of God. Similarly, the Jews of Arabia believed that Nabi Uzair (alaihis salaam) is the son of God.

Thus, these denominations resemble God with the creation whose existence has come about through a cause and medium and the god has some limitations.

Therefore, in this verse, Allah Ta‘ala answers them by saying that Allah Ta‘ala has no children and nor is He born from parents and He is unlike the creation who have limitations.

Apart from the above, other denominations like the Pagans believed that Allah Ta‘ala is God, but He has partners to assist Him in administrating the affairs of the universe.

Allah Ta‘ala responds to them by saying that He is not in need of any of the creation, while all of the creation is totally in need of Him.

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَهُ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ

And there is none that is equal to Him.

This Aayat emphatically explains that Allah Ta‘ala is beyond human comprehension. Therefore, man should believe in Allah Ta‘ala without trying to imagine how Allah Ta‘ala looks and without comparing Allah Ta‘ala to any of the created entities. When man cannot see Allah Ta‘ala in this world, then it is not possible for him to come to know how Allah Ta‘ala looks.

However, in the Hereafter, Allah Ta‘ala will bless the believers with the honour of seeing Him. The Hadith explains that after the believers enter Jannah, Allah Ta‘ala will ask them whether they are happy with the bounties which He has granted them. They will say to Allah Ta‘ala that they are extremely pleased and happy.

Allah Ta‘ala will then ask them, “Should I not grant you a bounty that is greater than all the favours of Jannah?” The believers will reply, “O Allah! What bounty can there be that is greater than the bounties that You have favoured us with?” Allah Ta‘ala will then say, “I will grant you the vison of My countenance.” When the believers will then see Allah Ta‘ala, they will realise that this is undoubtedly the greatest and ultimate bounty, and that there is no bounty that can be equal to it.

Allah Ta‘ala concludes this surah by saying, “And there is none that is equal to Him”. From this aayat, we understand that Allah Ta‘ala is unique in His Being and all His Attributes, in such a manner that there is nothing that is like Allah Ta‘ala in His Being and Attributes, and that nothing can be compared to Him in any way.

In essence, this surah refutes all types of shirk (polytheism) and establishes the fundamental principles of Tawheed.