A COMMENTARY ON THE LAST SECTION QUR`AN 
Chapter 112: Surat Al-Ikhlās
The Unity

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

In the name of Allah,
the Beneficent, the Merciful

'Alī ibn Abī Tālib had said that there is no interpretation for this chapter because its meaning is clear and not veiled. Imām Hasan and Imam Husayn were asked to comment on it, and each one gave a different interpretation of some of the words. There is very little we can say about this chapter, although there has been much said and written about it.

During one of the battles the odds were overwhelmingly against 'Alī ibn Abī Tālib, yet everything went smoothly for him. When the people who had fought next to him were asked what had happened, they replied that all he did was recite Qul huwā Allāh ahad (Say: He, Allah, is One).

1. Say: He, Allah, is One.

This is an injunction upon us to say it, whether we know the truth of it or not. Whatever the degree of knowledge we may possess, He, Allah, is One.

2. Allah, the Eternal Refuge of all.

The Divine Name al-Samad means 'eternal, forever', although it implies more than that. Samada means 'to be high or elevated'. The name al-Samad also means 'self-supporting, self-sustaining, self-containing'.

3. He begets not, nor is He begotten.

The meaning of this verse is very clear. Allah is above involvement. He is above coming from something or having something come from Him, and nothing can be associated with Him. He is at a distance from all that we can discern as having an attribute. He is the immediate and sustaining Cause of all that we discern, yet He is not involved in the creation in any way as a 'creature'.

4. And like Him there is none.

Kufuwan, meaning 'equal, like', is derived from kafā, 'to be enough, sufficient'. Allah is sufficient unto Himself. There is no mithāl (likeness) of Allah. Allah is the Name to which all Attributes and Names point.

Nothing more can be said about this chapter. We must read and re-read it, and the more we do so the deeper will our understanding grow.