Al-Ikhlāṣ (, "Sincerity"), also known as the Declaration of God's Unity and al-

Tawhid ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and s ...

(, "Monotheism"), is the 112th chapter (''

sūrah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...

'') of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. According to George Sale, this chapter is held in particular veneration by

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, and declared, by

Islamic tradition The term Islamic tradition may refer to: * Islamic Traditionalist theology, Islamic scholarly movement, originating in the late 8th century CE *''Ahl al-Hadith'', "The adherents of the tradition" * Traditional Islamic schools and branches * Islami ...

, to be equal in value to a third part of the whole Quran. It is said to have been revealed during the Quraysh Conflict with Muhammad in answer to a challenge over the distinguishing attributes of God, Muhammad invited them to worship. Al-Ikhlas is not merely the name of this surah but also the title of its contents, for it deals exclusively with

. The other surahs of the Quran generally have been designated after a word occurring in them, but in this surah the word Ikhlas has occurred nowhere. It has been given this name in view of its meaning and subject matter.

Text and meaning

Text and transliteration

* Hafs from Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud

¹

²

³

⁴

* Warsh from Nafi‘ al-Madani

¹

²

³

⁴

Translations

"Say, He is Allah, ho isOne,
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.

Say: He is Allah, the One!
Allah, the eternally Besought of all!
He begetteth not nor was begotten.
And there is none comparable unto Him.

Meaning

Material evidence

The first three verses of Al-Ikhlas are known from a coin issued by

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death in October 705. A member of the first generation of born Muslims, his early life in ...

in 697 AD. It is also at the beginning of the major inscription on the

Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the List_of_the_ol ...

, which dates to 691. Some of the early inscriptions of the surah contain a variant of the first verse, where the ''qul 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 manuscript Sarayı Medina 1a.

Historical context

In Islamic tradition, the audience of Al-Ikhlas has been variously reported to be Jewish, Christian, or pagan. Various potential contextualizations have been suggested in

Quranic studies Quranic studies is the academic study of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. Like in biblical studies, the field uses and applies a diverse set of Academic discipline, disciplines and methods, such as philology, textual criticism, lex ...

. One suggestion relates the first verse to the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; , “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monothe ...

of the

Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

: "Hear, O Israel: YHVH is our God, YHVH is one" (Deut 6:4). Another suggestion, especially as advocated by Angelika Neuwirth, relates this verse as representing an antithesis or a counter to the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

based on structural corresponds between the two. A recent proposal has compared this surah to Jacob's commentary of the Christological beliefs of the

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...

in his 6th-century Letter to the Himyarites. 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.

Exegesis

In the early years of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, some surahs of the Quran came to be known by several different names, sometimes varying by region. This surah was among those to receive many different titles. It is a short declaration of

tawhid ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and s ...

, God's absolute oneness, consisting of four ayat. ''Al-Ikhlas'' means "the purity" or "the refining". It is disputed whether this is a Meccan or

Medinan surah A Medinan surah () of the Quran is one that was revealed at Medina after Muhammad's hijrah from Mecca. They are the latest 28 Suwar. The community was larger and more developed, in contrast to its minority position in Mecca. The Medinan Surahs oc ...

. The former seems more probable, particularly since it seems to have been alluded to by Bilal 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 from Ubayy ibn Ka'b that it was revealed after the polytheists asked "O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord."

Q112:1-2 None comparable to God

Surah Al-Ikhlas contains four verses: 112:1. Say: He is Allah, One. 112:2. Allah As-Samad. 112:3. He begets not, nor was He begotten. 112:4. And there is none comparable to Him. About this, Tafsir Ibn Kathir says: The word ( Al-Ahad) cannot be used for anyone in affirmation except for Allah within the Islamic tradition.

Hadith

According to

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

s, 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." * Narrated Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn 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 that Surat al-Mulk (Surah 67) pleaded for its owner. * 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" * Imam

Malik ibn Anas Malik ibn Anas (; –795) also known as Imam Malik was an Arab Islamic scholar and traditionalist who is the eponym of the Maliki school, one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.Schacht, J., "Mālik b. Anas", in: ''E ...

recorded from Ubayd bin Hunayn that he heard Abu 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 In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

." * Narrated by Abu 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." * Al-Bukhari reported from Amrah bint Abdur-Rahman, who used to stay in the apartment of

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

, 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 of

Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahman (; the Merciful; Most Gracious; Most Merciful) is the 55th Chapter (''Surah'') of the Qur'an, with 78 verses; ('' āyāt''). The Surah was revealed in Mecca and emphasizes themes of mercy, creation, and the relationship between Alla ...

and I love to recite it. So the Prophet said, "Inform him that Allah the Most High loves him." This is how Al-Bukhari recorded this

in his book of

. Muslim and an-Nisai also recorded it. * An authentic Hadith says 'Say eciteSurat 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.' arrated by At-Tirmidhi. And Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani">At-Tirmidhi.html" ;"title="arrated by At-Tirmidhi">arrated by At-Tirmidhi. And Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani authenticated it: 2829 * 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.Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 71: Medicine Volume 7, Number 644 * 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 the Morning prayer and the two Rak'ahs after the Maghrib">Sunset prayer, 'Say: "O ye infidels!"' (Surah Al-Kafirun">Maghrib.html" ;"title="Fajr">Morning prayer and the two Rak'ahs after the Maghrib">Sunset prayer, 'Say: "O ye infidels!"' (Surah Al-Kafirun) and "Say: "He is Allah, One."

References

External links

Quran 112

Clear Quran translation Mustafa Khattab is a Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, imam, and university chaplain. He holds a professional ijâzah in the Ḥafṣ style of recitation. He is known for his translation of the Quran in "The Clear Quran" series. Career He ...

*
The Holy Qur'an
translated b
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
* Three translations at Project Gutenberg * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikhlas Chapters in the Quran I