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Surah Al-Ikhlaas

PURITY OF FAITH

Surah #112 Consisting of 4 Ayahs

Listen to Surah Al-Ikhlaas

 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In Allah's Name, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

    

Say: He is Allah, the One.  قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Allah who is needed by all. اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ
He begets not, nor is He begotten,

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

and there is none comparable to Him وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

         

 

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

Say: He is Allah, the One.  go to top of page

     This Surah emphasizes Tawhid, which means the Oneness of God.  Oneness of Allah (God) is the very essence of faith.

     Allah Almighty describes Tawhid very clearly in this Surah.  He asks Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and us to assert to the people that:

      ·  Almighty God is One, and there is only One God,

      ·  He was and will always be One, and

      ·  He cannot be divided.

     Allah (swt) does not want us to be confused about Him.  He wants us to know the Truth about Him—that He is One.  We must be careful not to associate anyone or anything with the power of Allah (God).

 

اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ

Allah who is essential to all.  go to top of page

     Allah Almighty is SAMAD which has no accurate translation in English.  It means Allah is essential to the existence of everything and that if His support stops for even one second, the whole universe will collapse.   Allah is the Eternal and the Absolute Being.  Allah has no beginning and He has no end; He is constant.

     In this Ayah, Allah describes Himself as the Great Being that is needed by all of us and by everything.  What this means is that if Allah takes away His support to us, we would perish right away, the whole universe would collapse and disintegrate.  This means that everything in the universe constantly depends on Allah's support, every minute and every second.  This also means that He is essential to everything.  Without Allah's constant support, everything would perish.  This also means that Allah is complete unto Himself.  He needs nothing and He is not dependent on any person or thing but rather all things are dependent on Him.  

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

He begets not, nor is He begotten,   go to top of page

     YALID means to beget which means to have children; YOOLAD means to begotten which means to be born.

     Allah describes Himself as not only One and necessary to everything, but also as a Being not born of any parents.  He is not like us.  He made us in such a way as to need parents before we are born.  But Allah is different from any of us.  He has no father and no mother and He does not have children.

     Allah Almighty does not have a family.  He does not have a wife and He has no children.  He is by Himself, One, Eternal, and Absolute.

     This is a clear reference to the Christian idea that Jesus was the son of God and it refutes that idea.  Jesus Christ is a Prophet of Allah.  Allah does not have sons or daughters. 

 

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

and there is none comparable to Him.  go to top of page

     Allah Almighty is very, very different from us.  He is Great, He is Mighty.  He can do anything He wishes to do.  He is merciful.  He is capable of everything and His powers are limitless.

     There is only One God and there is nothing that can compare to Him.  Allah, glorified is His name, remains One without comparison.

 

THROUGH SURAH AL-IKHLAAS ALLAH WANTS US TO:  go to top of page

  1. know that He is One,

  2. know that He is:

  1. Eternal,

  2. Absolute,

  3. Everything needs Him, depends on Him, and that He is essential to the existence of all creation; and

  4. He is independent of anything, He is self-sufficient.

  1. know that He has no parents, therefore He was not born.

  2. know that He has no family, wives, nor sons or daughters,

  3. know that there is nothing at all similar to Him.  He is unique.

  4. We often say Surah Al-Ikhlaas in our Salat. It is good to say it often, to keep reminding ourselves of the Tawhid (Oneness of God). 

QUESTIONS  go to top of page

 1.     What is the meaning of:      قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ?

 2.     Why is Surah Al-Ikhlaas so important?

 3.     What does it mean when we say     اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ?

 3.     What does it mean when we say    وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَد?

 5.     Does Allah have parents?

 6.     Does Allah (God) have any children?

 7.     Are there some people who think Allah (God) has a son?

 8.     Is there any equal to God?

 9.     Who is the Eternal who is needed by everything?

10.    Who is the Creator of everything?

11.    Who does not depend on anything?

12.    Why everything in the universe depends on Allah.

13.    What is the essence of Faith?

14.    Who is the Unique Being?

15.    What is meant by saying (He is Samad to Existence)?

16.    Recite the second Ayah of Surah Al-Ikhlaas.

17.    What is the meaning of the 1st Ayah of Surah Al-Ikhlaas?

18.    What is the meaning of the 2nd Ayah of Surah Al-Ikhlaas?

19.    Recite the last Ayah of Surah Al-Ikhlaas.

20.    What is Tawhid?

 

 

MEANING OF WORDS  go to top of page

 

In the name of بِسْمِ   Allah اللهِ   The Gracious الرَّحْمنِ
The  Merciful الرَّحِيمِِ Say قُلْ He هُوَ
Allah (God) اللَّهُ One أَحَدٌ Allah (God) اللَّهُ
Needed by all الصَّمَدُ   Did Not لَمْ   Give birth to (beget) يَلِدْ
And وَ   did not لَمْ   Born to (begotten) يُولَدْ
and...not وَلَمْ be يَكُن To Him لَّهُ
Comparable كُفُوًا   One أَحَدٌ