Yâ Hâbib Yâ Sâhib al-Qadam

‘When My servants ask about Me, I am indeed close to them. I listen to the prayer of every supplicant, when he calls on Me. Let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me, so that they may walk in the right way’ Holy Qur’an (2:186).

Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

112:1 Qul huwa Allahu ahadun
Say (O Mohammad): Hu is Allah, the Ahad (One);

112:2 Allahu alssamadu
Allah (is) Samad (Noble, Needless, Everlasting)

112:3 Lam yalid walam yooladu
Hu begetteth not, nor is Hu begotten;

112:4 Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahadun
And there is none like unto Hu.

About the many names of this Surah (Chapter): Know that the numerousness of its names is due to the excessiveness of its virtues:

1. Tafrid: When the worshiper stands in worship or Dhikrs (Divine Remembrance) this act was bestowed upon him or her and was not by his or her own effort.

2. Tajrid: Disrobing the heart from the Nafs (Psyche, Self) and this world—denudation.

3. Tauhid: Divine Oneness

4. Ikhlās (Exclusivity or Sincerity): This Surah is about the Sifāt (Divine Attributes) that are Salbieh (By Omission or Negation e.g. not needing, not hungering, not similar) and he who believes in this Surah is purified in Allah’s Deen (Way, Religion) and dying upon this Surah’s belief definite escape from Hell Fire

5. Deliverance: Redeems from the Tashbih (Anthropomorphization) and godlessness. (Tashbih deals with making pictures, statues or imagery renditions of God, in this Surah we are told nothing we thing, say, imagine, study, feel or visualize are beyond all doubt not Hu!)

6. Wilāyah (Friendship): He who reads this Surah becomes of the Auliyā (Divine Patricians), a close friend of the Hu.

7. Nasab (Lineage, Origin): The Arabs were very sensitive the lineage of someone and therefore they asked the prophet to disclose to them the origin or the lineage of his God. Therefore the words of this Surah are giving hints towards the origin or essence of Allah.

8. Ma’refat (Divine Gnostics): The Gnostics of Allah is not complete unless by the comprehension of this Surah. As was narrated by Jābir that some person was praying and reading this Surah: “Say is Allah The One” whereat the prophet said: This slave is cognizant of his Lord, and as such this Surah is called the Ma’refat.

9. Beauty: “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty”, said the prophet and he was asked about its meaning, so he replied: The Ahad (The One), The Samad (Noble & Needless) and begat not and Nonesuch! Now if someone is not unique or incomparable then he can be replaced by others like him. (Therefore in the case for Allah, beauty is defined by incommensurability and the fact that no one and nothing can ever come close to attributes or abilities—Searchlessly rare & precious.)

10. Healing/Recovering: Cleaning or healing the sick (the ailments of the heart) to remove the polytheism and hypocrisy, as was said by Hu: Ailment within their hearts (Quran [2:10]).

11. Sanctuary/Refuge: It has been narrated that peace be upon him (the prophet) entered upon ‘Othman Bin Maz’oon and read the last three Surahs of the Koran (this Surah included) and said: We seek sanctuary within these (three last Surahs of Quran) and there is no refuge better than them.

12. Samad (Noble & Needles): This Surah is solely for Dhikr (Remembrance) i.e. remembering one’s Noble Master in times of need and in all other times. (Qurtubi: Moqātel said (with regards to Samad): It is the Most Perfected One that has no faults. Hu is the Everlasting Perpetual One, ceases not to be and cease not to do. All things shall die or be destroyed and inherited by others, except Samad!)

13. Foundation: “The Seven Heavens and the earth are based upon the foundation of: Say IT is Allah The One” said the prophet. And because of this the acknowledgement of Trinity (???) can be the cause for the destruction of the heavens and earth: At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin, That they should invoke a son for ((Allah)) Most Gracious (Quran [19:90]). Tauhid (Divine Oneness) is the necessity for construction & maintenance of these (celestial) structures, and the reason for the latter is the Hus Sublime words: If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both! (Quran [21:22]).

14. Hindrance: “I am giving you a Surah Ikhlās and it is from the treasures of the treasury of the ‘Arsh (Throne), and it is the obstruction for the torments of the grave and the scorching of the Hell’s Flames” was said to the prophet whilst in ascension to the heaven, narrated by the Ibn Abbās.

15. Presence: The angels are present to hear when this Surah is recited.

16. Repulsion: Satan is repulsed its recitation.

17. Freedom/Disavowal: Prophet once saw a man reading the Surah and he said: “and this for sure disavows the polytheism and again he said: “He who reads this Surah hundred times in his prayers or other occasions it is written for him freedom from fire (of hell).”

18. Reminder: It reminds the slave of the purity of the Tauhid (Divine Oneness) and the recitation of the Surah is like a brand/tribal mark reminding you of your negligence with regards to the Hu that you truly need. (???)

19. Light: Hu said: Allah is the Light of the Heavens and earth (Quran [24:35]), this Surah illuminates your heart as said by the prophet: For every object there is a light and the light of Koran is ‘Say is Allah The One’—The beauty of human being is by the smallest of his/her parts i.e. the eyes just like the smallest of the Quran chapter is its most beautiful.

20. Safety: “When the slave says “There is no deity but Allah” he has entered my fortress and he who enters My fortress is safe from My torment” said the prophet.

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Note: There is no oft-repeated copula in Arabic like there is in English, so in below ‘is’ has been placed in the parenthesis i.e. ‘Allah AHAD’ is literary ‘Allah One’ with copula ‘is’ omitted in most such sentences. "Howa (is) Allah The Ahad (One)" reads: is Allah The One:


Know that Hu’s saying: Howa (is) Allah The Ahad (One), is made up of three words and each one of them the Ishārat (Hint) towards a Maqām (Stationary State of Heart):

1. Muqar-rabin (Those Enjoying Divine Nearness): This is the loftiest of all Maqām (Stationary State of Heart) for those voyaging towards Allah and when they glance/muse upon the true Haqiqa (Reality) and essence/nature of all things beyond any doubt they behold no being-ness save Allah’s: The Haqq (The Absolute Divine Reality & Truth), Hus Dhāt (Essence, Innate Nature) necessitates Hus Being-ness (Hu must be!) and yet whatsoever is besides Allah’s Being-ness is Mumken (Potential/caused Being-ness) and if these people glance/muse upon them (all objects) behold (perpetual continuum of) ‘Adam (Nonbeing-ness). In short, these people behold nothing other than The Praiseworthy Allah! Howa/Hu is an Absolute-Ishārat (pointing), the absoluteness of this Ishārat comes from the fact that the target of this pointing is fixed/unique i.e. Allah (when there is only one target and nothing else, the ‘pointing at’ is unambiguous i.e. absolute). Beyond any doubt our statement is this: Howa/Hu is these people’s way of Ishārat (Pointing) towards Praiseworthy Haqq (The Absolute Divine Reality & Truth) and this Ishārat (Pointing) does not need any discernable object, since the need for discern-ability produces two objects (one to point from and one the target), and as we elucidated these peculiar people do not witness with the eyes of their ‘Aql (Intellect) anything other than Wāhid (The One) and for this reason the very word Howa/Hu (IT) suffices for their complete ‘Irfān (Divine Gnosis).

2. As-hābel-Yamin (People of the ‘right’): This Maqām (Stationary State of the Heart) is lesser than the first one above, since these people can eyewitness the Being-ness of the Haqq (The Absolute Divine Reality & Truth) yet they can also can eyewitness the being-ness of the Creation and this produces more-than-one within the being-ness and beyond doubt within this Ishārat (Pointing), the word Howa/Hu does not suffice for pointing towards Haqq (The Absolute Divine Reality & Truth). Since there is need for discerning the Haqq from the Creation and in doing so these people need something in addition to the word Howa/Hu (IT), therefore for this reason the word ‘Allah’ was added so the phrase that reads: “Say Howa/Hu (is) Allah”, (in this case) the usage of the word Allah requires the discernment with regards to what is besides Allah (what is not Allah), though Hu is needless of all that is besides Hu.

3. As-hābel-Shimāl (People of the ‘left’): This is the lowliest of all ranks, and these people allow for more than one Wājibul-Wujud (The Necessity for All Being-ness) i.e. polytheism, or there are more than one deity. Therefore the word Ahad (The One) was added to refute the notions of these people and void their words: Say Howa/Hu is Allah The Ahad (One).

Virtues

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Note: The Hadith (Prophetic Narrations) below are quite similar to that of Qurtubi and other Tafsir (Exegesis), therefore those who are questioning the authenticity of what follows should ask the same question for other such similar works. Lets not be ignorant or bigoted and lets learn!

Prophet peace be upon him said: He who reads “Say Howa/Hu (is) Allah the Ahad (One)” i.e. the Surah (Chapter) Ikhlās, as if has read a third of the Koran”. (Qurtubi: It is said that the Quran was sent down in three segments: one third commandments, one third promises and warnings, one third Divine Names & Attributes. Within the “Say Howa/Hu (is) Allah the Ahad (One)” the last mentioned third is gathered i.e. The Divine Names & Attributes. And the reason for this is what the prophet said: Indeed Allah—The Glorious The Almighty—segmented Quran in three parts, and made the “Say Howa/Hu (is) Allah the Ahad (One)” one of the (three) segments of the Quran”. Some scholars have said the reason why this reading is worth one third of Koran is due to the single use of the words Ahad (The One) and Samad (The Needless Master), indeed these two words are only used once in Quran and in this Surah (Chapter).)

It has been narrated that Arch Angel Gabriel was with the prophet when came Abu Dhar Ghaf-fāri and Gabriel said: this is Abu Dhar who arrived, and the prophet said to the angel: Do you know him? The angel said: He is most famous amongst us (from those amongst you), the prophet asked: Due to what he has obtained such virtue? The angel replied: He belittles/humbles his Nafs (Psyche, Self) and excessively reads “Say Howa/Hu (is) Allah the Ahad (One)”.

Narrated from Sahl Ibn Sa’d: A man came to the prophet and complained about poverty and the prophet said: When you enter your house say Salām (Peace) if there is someone there else send Salām (Peace) to yourself, and read “Say Howa/Hu (is) Allah the Ahad (One)” one time. So the man did as the prophet recommended and Allah poured provisions upon him abundantly until it gushed over to his neighbor too. (Similar is found in Qurtubi as well)

To be continued- with a Kashfol Asraar (Unearthing The Secrets) tafsir InshAllah Ta’aala

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. Ameen.