اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ
Allah is the all-embracing.
EXEGESIS
Al-ṣamad is the master to whom everyone and everything turns and upon whom they rely for their needs. Maqāyīs al-Lughah mentions that the verb ṣamada has two main meanings: one is to intend (qaṣada) and the other is to become firm and solid. Al-Taḥqīq adds two other meanings: that which is not hollow, which implies needlessness, and high ground, which implies superiority and loftiness. Thus, God has been referred to as al-ṣamad because He is self-sustained, superior, and needless, and because all creation turn to Him for He is the source of reliance for all. In this sense al-ṣamad includes the meaning of al-maṣmūd ilayh. Thus, ṣamad can be translated as self-sustained, intended by all, all-embracing, and needless. Hasan al-Baṣrī has suggested that ṣamad means eternal (dāʾim). As no linguist has mentioned such a meaning for the term, it is taken as a necessary corollary of its literal meaning.
The definitive al at the beginning of ṣamad shows exclusivity, meaning that all creation need God and rely on Him whether they realise it or not. If the definitive al was not present then the existence of others besides God who may also be sought after could not be ruled out. Other meanings have been mentioned in the narrations for ṣamad which all refer back to the meanings explained here and are discussed further under Insights from Hadith.
It is said that ṣamad is a word originating from Ethiopian and has been used in the Quran only once. However, it appears in Nahj al-Balāghah three times (sermons 64, 125, and 184) and in all of those instances it means to intend.
Finally, a possible reason why the word allāh is repeated in this verse, though it would have been sufficient to use the pronoun huwa (He), could be to highlight that each of these descriptions given about God are distinct and each one is sufficient to describe Him.
EXPOSITION
After the first verse which outlined an attribute of the essence of God, this second verse refers to one of the most inclusive attributes of His actions: His relationship with creation.
There has been a range of other interpretations suggested for the word ṣamad, such as the one who is in the pinnacle of mastery, the one who has always existed and is everlasting, the one who is not hollow (i.e. does not have any need), the one who does not eat, drink, or sleep, and the one without any superior. However, the majority of exegetes have preferred to interpret it as qaṣada (to intend), meaning that everyone and everything refers and relies on Him for their needs and He is the only one who is able to fulfil their requests.
Muṣṭafawī, however, concludes that the principle meaning of ṣamad to which all other meanings return, is a lofty and solid position the peak of which nothing else can reach, and is superior to all around it, be it physical, mental, intellectual, or spiritual superiority. All meanings that have been mentioned in the interpretation of ṣamad go back to this meaning and are adaptations of that principle meaning in different contexts. Hence, ṣamad is that beautiful name of God which denotes His superiority over all and humiliation of all before Him. He is the one that all other beings are in need of and to whom all beings turn for their needs. The Quran states in this regard: Indeed your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then settled on the Throne. He draws the night’s cover over the day, which pursues it swiftly, and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, [all of them] disposed by His command. Look! All creation and command belong to Him. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of all the worlds (7:54). Another verse describes God as the eventual destination of all: the terminus is toward your Lord (53:42).
It can be concluded that ṣamad has a comprehensive meaning which negates all limitations from God and makes Him distinct from His creation. All attributes such as gender, colour, place, movement, smell, limitations, etc. are all specific to contingent beings and do not apply to the Absolute Existence. Thus, given that God is the one who is the master above whom there is none and to whom the whole creation refer for their needs, He cannot be in need nor have any limiting feature, for limitation is the feature of the creation not the Creator.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam al-Bāqir (a), when asked about the meaning of ṣamad, said: ‘[Ṣamad is] the master whom everyone desires and refers to and relies upon in every small and big [need].’
- Imam al-Bāqir (a) is reported to have said: ‘Ṣamad is the master that others obey, a master above whom there is none.’
- Imam al-Husayn (a) is reported to have said: ‘Ṣamad is the one whose inside is not hollow. It is also said about someone who does not sleep and has always existed and is everlasting.’
- Imam al-Sajjād is reported to have said: ‘Ṣamad is that being who, when He wants to create something, he just says “be” and it will be. Furthermore, ṣamad is the one who created the creation without any prior sample, He created it in different shapes and forms and in pairs.’
- Imam al-Husayn (a) is reported to have mentioned five meanings for the word ṣamad: the one who is at the pinnacle of mastery, the one who always existed and is everlasting, the one who is not hollow, the one who does not eat or drink, and the one who does not sleep.
- Imam al-Husayn (a) is reported to have said: ‘Ṣamad is the one who has no partner and it is not difficult for Him to protect things, and nothing is hidden from Him.’
- The people of Basra wrote a letter to Imam al-Husayn (a) and asked about the meaning of ṣamad. The Imam replied: ‘In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful … God, himself, has explained the meaning of ṣamad to mean: He neither begat, nor was begotten, nor has He any equal [112:3–4]. Yes, God is ṣamad, who has not been created from anything and does not exist in anything or on anything; He is the creator of everything and all are from Him by His power; what He has created to perish will perish at His will, and what He has created to remain will remain by His knowledge. This is God, who is ṣamad.’
- Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah asked his father, Imam Ali (a), about the meaning of ṣamad. The Imam replied: ‘What ṣamad refers to is not a name nor a physical body. There is nothing like Him and there is no similar to Him. He does not have any form or shape, He does not have any limit, and is not defined by anything. He does not have a place or location, nor does He have any quiddity. He is not hollow and He is not full, He is not standing and He is not sitting, He is not idle and He is not moving, He is not dark and He is not light. He is not spiritual (rūḥānī) nor is He physical (nafsānī). At the same time nowhere is empty of Him and no place has capacity to encompass Him. He has no colour or smell and has never been imagined by the human intellect. None of these are found in Him.’
- Imam al-Bāqir (a) is reported to have said: ‘Ṣamad is self-sustained and needless from everything else.’
[1] Raghib, under ṣ-m-d.
[2] Tahqiq, 6/337.
[3] Tahqiq, 6/336.
[4] Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/404; Qaraati, p. 640.
[5] Alusi, 30/173.
[6] Farsi translation of Mizan, 20/672.
[7] Farsi translation of Mizan, 20/672.
[8] Bihar, 3/223.
[9] Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, 32/181-182; Muhit, 8/528.
[10] Tahqiq, 6/337.
[11] Nemuneh, 27/440.
[12] Kafi, 1/123.
[13] Maani, vol. 7.
[14] Maani, vol. 7.
[15] Bihar, 3/223.
[16] Bihar, 3/223.
[17] Tabrisi, 10/565.
[18] Bihar, 3/230, h. 21.
[19] Nur, 5/711.