Al-Ikhlaaŝ

Soorah 112:1-4

Name and Background

Teachings and Commentary

Ayub A. Hamid

 

Name and Background

Like Al-Faatiĥah, the first Soorah of the Qur-aan, the name of this Soorah is not any word from its contents but, instead, the topic of the Soorah has been used as its name.

Ikhlaaŝ means purity and exclusivity. This Soorah describes the pure concept of Towĥeed[1]so that a person can save himself from any notions of equating anything or anyone with Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala in any respect. It corrects a believer’s views about Allaah and negates all forms of Shirk (idolatry or polytheism – misconceived beliefs that people may harbour in terms of assuming partners in Allaah’s person or in His attributes). It does so in such a concise, simple and effective manner that a listener can easily learn, understand and remember it.

When the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was commanded to undertake the Islamic mission, people of the world had adopted a variety of illogical, irrational, erroneous and corrupt views about God. Many Arabs believed in Allaah as the Supreme God, but also worshipped different wooden, stone, golden and silver idols. They also believed that the angels were Allaah’s daughters and that all those idols and daughters were helpers and favourites of Allaah and His partners in divinity. Christians claimed to believe in one God but considered Jesus ‘alayhissalaam as His son. They ascribed divinity to Jesus ‘alayhissalaam as well as the Holy Ghost and regarded them as partners with Allaah. For this reason, some of them considered Mary (Maryam) as the “Mother of God”. Both idolaters and Christians believed that a human being can be God-incarnate.  The Jews also claimed to believe in one God but their concept of God was also totally defective. Like Idolaters and Christians, the Jewish concept of God visualized Him in the finite shape of human being and He was described like a finite entity who walked and talked like a human being, who had to go into the garden to find Adam ‘alayhissalaam and to call him in order to locate him, who would wrestle with Jacob ‘alayhissalaam, etc. There were also those who thought that He Himself is everything – everything in the universe being part of God’s own being.  None of these people had a clear concept of Allaah being one, unique and infinite in His person, in His attributes and in His ways to make things happen. This Soorah was revealed to correct all those corrupted notions about Allaah. Hence, whenever, any of these groups were encountered and they argued about the attributes of Allaah or wanted to know about Him, this Soorah was recited to them to present the Islamic concept of Towĥeed.

As this Soorah was recited by the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to different groups of people at different times explaining to them about the Islamic concept of God and Towĥeed, some listeners reported as if  it was revealed at that time. For this reason, there have been different reports about the timing of the revelation of this Soorah.

This Soorah has been placed at this spot after the announcement of the success of the prophetic Islamic mission and the failure of the opponents to pronounce clearly once and for all the message of Towĥeed – the objective of the Islamic mission. The Qur-aan opened with Soorah Faatiĥah acknowledging the Towĥeed of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala and seeking the right path based on it. Then, after dealing with the different stages of the Islamic mission, the Qur-aan concluded with the declaration of victory and reiteration of the concise message of Towĥeed. The two Soorahs after this describe the best way to protect oneself from deviating from the straight path of Towĥeed. In other words, they describe Allaah’s refuge as the necessary means of persevering on this path.

Teachings

In the name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1 Proclaim! He is Allaah, the One and Unique. 2 Allaah is eternally independent on Whom everyone depends. 3 He has not fathered anyone nor was He fathered, 4 nor is there any equivalent to Him.

Commentary

In view of all the cacophony of human views about God that were raging in response to the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam’s call towards Islam and that continue to rage in the world today, the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Muslims have been told to proclaim the Towĥeed of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala in a clear, succinct and uncompromising way.

The first verse mentions “Allaah” as the personal name of God and describes Him as “Aĥad”. Although “Aĥad” means “one”, this is a unique and singular use of this word as an attribute of an entity. It has never been used for anyone except for Allaah. In Arabic, “Waaĥid” also meaning “one” is used as an attribute.  But “Waaĥid” connotes one out of many or one out of a species. When there are many, “Waaĥid” is used to talk about one of them. The use of “Aĥad” for Allaah signifies His uniqueness, that is, He is not only “One” but also absolutely “Unique”. It refers to His infiniteness in existence, in shape, in nature, in person and in every attribute that we can think of. This uniqueness and infiniteness rejects all notions of His having any finite or human-like shape, acting in a human-like or in any finite manner, being a composite of different entities (whether it is the concept of three-in-one or the concept of everything being part of God Himself or any human capability of becoming a part of God), having a beginning or end, being confined to any place or time for any reason or cause, and so on and so forth. “Aĥad” negates all those notions and speculations about Him that may, in any way, negate His absolute and total Uniqueness vis-à-vis anything He has created.

The second verse describes His attribute of being “Aŝ-Ŝamad”. “Ŝamad” means a big rock or mountain that can be effectively used for protection from enemy attacks. It also means a perfect leader or chief who protects his people from dangers, who fulfills their needs, guides them and solves their problems and, hence, all his people come to him for help. Lest some people conclude from His Infiniteness and Uniqueness that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala is not concerned about the needs and well being of His creations, this verse clarifies that He is “Ŝamad”. Rather, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala is “Aŝ-Ŝamad” – the only perfect, real and eternal “Ŝamad”. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala is independent of all and no one can be of any help or use to Him, but He takes care of every kind of needs of everyone.  In fact He is the only Source on which everyone of His creations depends, and He is the only One Who has the power, resources and might to fulfill the needs of everyone at the same time, all the time.

The third verse explains Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala’s uniqueness and infiniteness further so that this point is absolutely clear. He always was -- He was not born to anyone at any time. He always will be -- and thus, He does not need any offspring to take His place or to do anything whatsoever for Him. He is absolutely above and beyond these finite human attributes and needs of being born, and having children. People must not apply human concepts to the Infinite Creator.

The fourth verse expounds it further that absolutely no entity in the universe can be equal to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala in any respect whatsoever, partner with Him in any matter whatsoever, similar to Him in any way whatsoever or comparable to Him in any manner whatsoever.