Islam

Surah Al-Ikhlaas (112)The Declaration of God's Oneness

Summary

Al-Ikhlas is a four-verse surah that states the Islamic doctrine of God's absolute oneness (tawhid): God is One, the eternal refuge of all, neither begetting nor begotten, with nothing comparable to Him. Most scholars count it as Meccan, though some reports place it in Medina. Muslims recite it often in daily prayers and, together with the two surahs of refuge, in morning and evening remembrance and before sleep.

Key verse

“Say: He is Allah, the One!”

Quran 112:1

Themes

Absolute oneness of God
God as the eternal refuge
Rejection of divine offspring
God's incomparability
Sincere and pure faith

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.

English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via alquran.cloud.

Across traditions

Judaism
Deuteronomy 6: The Shema
The Shema, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one', is Judaism's central declaration of faith, recited morning and evening. Like Al-Ikhlas, it is a brief statement of God's oneness that believers repeat daily.
Christianity
Mark 12: The Greatest Commandment
In Mark 12 Jesus quotes the Shema as the first commandment, so Christianity shares the affirmation that God is one. Mainstream Christian doctrine also speaks of Jesus as the Son 'begotten' of the Father, which Al-Ikhlas's 'He begetteth not nor was begotten' explicitly rejects.
Sikhism
Ang 1: The Mool Mantar
The Mool Mantar, which opens the Guru Granth Sahib, begins with Ik Onkar, 'One Creator', and describes God as beyond birth and self-existent. Both texts compress a whole theology of divine oneness into a few lines recited daily.

Questions about Surah Al-Ikhlaas (112)

Why does Surah Al-Ikhlas equal a third of the Quran?

Sahih al-Bukhari reports the Prophet saying that this surah is equal to a third of the Quran. Commentators commonly explain that the Quran's content can be grouped into three broad parts, namely doctrine about God, law, and narrative, and that Al-Ikhlas sums up the first. They do not take it to mean that reciting it three times replaces reading the whole Quran.

What does Ikhlas mean?

Ikhlas means sincerity or purity. The surah takes this name because it purifies belief about God from any partner or likeness, and tradition holds that sincerely affirming it reflects pure devotion. The word itself does not appear in the surah's text.