Purity of Faith
Al-Ikhlāṣ
الاخلاص
LEARNING POINTS
this surah corrects the beliefs of those who worship more than one god: those who worship idols, those who take humans and animals as objects of worship, those who say allah has sons and daughters, and those who say that god does not even exist.
we believe that allah is our creator, who is unique in his qualities, who is always taking care of us, and who alone deserves our worship. this belief is called tawhid.
the prophet ﷺ told his companions that allah said, "some people make up lies against me and insult me. they make up lies by saying that i cannot bring them back to life, even though bringing them back to life would be easier than creating them the first time. and they insult me by saying that i have a son. but i am the unique one. i am the master needed by all. i have no children and i was not born. and no one is equal to me." {recorded by imam al-bukhari}
the prophet ﷺ said that reading this surah equals reading one third of the quran in reward. {recorded by imam al-bukhari & imam muslim}
one of the prophet's companions used to read this surah in every salah. when he was asked why, he said, "because i love it so much." the prophet told him, "your love for this surah has guaranteed you jannah!" {recorded by imam al-bukhari}
1. As we explained in the introduction, surahs of the Quran talk about one or more of the following topics:
1) The Law, including our relationship with Allah and the people.
2) Stories of prophets, as well as good and evil people.:
3) The Unseen--things we believe in without seeing, like Allah, His angels, Jannah, and so on.
This suroh belongs to the 3 topic because it talks about Allah and His qualities..
BACKGROUND STORY
Some idol-worshippers came to the Prophet % and asked, What does vour God look like 15 He made of gold, silver, or wood? Does He have a family? {Recorded by Imam At-TirmizI &Imam Ahmad} So this surah came down to teach them that:'
1.Allah is unique. He is One without a second. He is not 3 in 1..
2.He is the Master that everybody needs for their existence, but He doesn't need anybooy-.
3.He has no father or mother, and He has no sons or daughters.
4.There is absolutely no one like Him in any way..
SIDE STORY
The idol-worshippers sent a man called Hoşayn to convince the Prophet (PBUH) to stop inviting people to believe in only One God. The Prophet asked him, 'Hoşayn! How many gods do you have?' Hoşayn answered, 'Seven! Six on earth, and One in heaven.' The Prophet then asked, 'When something bad happens to you, who do you pray to?' Hoşayn said, 'The One in heaven!' The Prophet then asked, 'When you lose something, who do you beg for help?' Again, Hoşayn said, 'The One in heaven!' The Prophet asked, 'If the One in heaven is doing everything, what are the others good for?' Hoşayn said, 'They are good for nothing!' The Prophet said, 'Then you should only worship the One in heaven.' This conversation led Hoşayn to accept Islam. {Recorded by **Imam At-Tirmizi**}
WORDS OF WISDOM
Someone may ask, 'Can Allah create another god?' Or, 'Can He make a rock that He cannot carry?' This is like asking: can the Queen steal chocolate from the store, or can my dad punch our neighbor in the face? We have to distinguish between 'can' and 'should.' Yes, the Queen and your dad 'can' because they have the power to do that, but they 'shouldn't' because it's not the proper thing to do. Allah (Glory be to Him) has the power to do anything, but He only does what fits His Majesty and Honor, based on His Perfect Wisdom. Asking if Allah can create another god or make a rock He cannot carry goes against common sense. Allah is All-Powerful and Most Wise, and asking Him to do something that goes against His Power and Wisdom is ridiculous. That's like asking a chef to make food that no one can eat, or asking a carpenter to make a table without a surface.
Someone may ask, 'If Allah is not like us, what about the fact that He has a Face and Hands?' This is a good question. We believe in these qualities because they are mentioned in the Quran and in the sayings of the Prophet (PBUH). But we do not know what His Hands or Face look like, or how He rises over the Throne, and so on, because these things are beyond our imagination. We need to understand that Allah is Unique. He has a Face and Hands, but not like ours. In the same way, we have a life, knowledge, and power, but they are nothing compared to His Eternal Life, Endless Knowledge, and Great Power. The Creator is not like His Creation.
ALLAH IS THE ONE AND ONLY GOD
1Say, "O Prophet, 'He is Allah—the Unique One; 2Allah—the true Master Who is needed by all but needs none'. 3He has never had children, and He was not born. 4And there is no one equal to Him."
قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ 1ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ 2لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ 3وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدُۢ4