The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Ikhlāṣ – Verse 1

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

قُل هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

1Say: ‘He is Allah, the one.

EXEGESIS

Allāh is either derived from the verb walaha which means to confound and perplex,‎‎[1]‎‎‎ or from the word ilāh which means deity, while the definitive al has been added to it to denote the only true deity who is worthy of worship.‎‎‎[2]‎‎ If the former meaning is intended then allāh refers to that being whose reality and essence confounds and perplexes the creation as they are unable to understand them. Regardless of what the root word of allāh is, it has become a proper noun which refers to that Absolute Necessary Existence who possesses all the attributes of perfection and is free from any type of deficiency.‎‎[3]‎‎

Aḥad is transformed from the word waḥad‎‎[4]‎‎‎ and it is used in at least two different ways:‎‎‎[5]‎‎‎‎ the first is as a name in which case it means ‘one’ and ‘someone’, as the Quran states: Prescribed for you, when death approaches any one of you (aḥadakum) and he leaves behind any property, is that he make a bequest (2:180). In this sense, if aḥad is used in a negative sentence it generalises the meaning, for example: ‘there is no one (aḥadun) in the house’, which negates the presence of anyone in the house, and this meaning has also been used in the Quran at 2:102. The second usage of aḥad is as an adjective (waṣf), which means unique and distinct, and this usage is exclusive to God. This means that He is unique in His actions, His attributes, His essence, and all different aspects of His existence.

In the context of this verse it is obvious that the second meaning is intended, as the context is a description of God. Therefore, aḥad means the unique and the one with whom there is no other, and this meaning is used only for God.‎‎‎[6]‎‎‎‎

With regards to the difference between aḥad and wāḥid, which also means one, there are two different views. The first view states that there is a difference between these two terms in that aḥad is used for something which is not capable of being many and cannot be analysed and divided, neither in the mind nor in the external world, and thus is not a numerical number and thus does not have any gender.‎‎‎[7]‎‎‎ And wāḥid, on the other hand, is a numerical number which can have a second and a third and so on, both in the external world and in the mind. This view is supported by the usage of this word in ordinary language.

Nevertheless, some linguists maintain that aḥad and wāḥid have the same meaning because wāḥid is also used to describe God, such as in the verse And Allah has said: ‘Do not worship two gods. Indeed, He is the one God (ilāhun wāḥid), so be in awe of Me [alone]’ (16:51).‎‎[8]‎‎‎‎ However, although wāḥid as a numerical number has sometimes been used to describe the oneness of God, linguistically aḥad and wāḥid carry two distinct meanings. When wāḥid is used to refer to God it is used to negate any other god; in other words, His oneness negates the existence of any second god.‎‎‎‎[9]‎‎ When aḥad is used it refers to His uniqueness in His essence and attributes for whom no second could be imagined.

Jawādī Āmulī states that aḥad and wāḥid are similar to raḥmān (denoting the universal mercy of God) and raḥīm (denoting the specific mercy of God), respectively. Rahmān is an exclusive attribute of God whereas raḥīm can also be used for other than God.‎‎‎[10]‎‎‎‎

EXPOSITION

This verse, despite its brevity, highlights the most fundamental message for which all the prophets and messengers of God have been sent: monotheism.

Allāh is a specific name that refers to the Absolute Perfect Existence in whom all the attributes of perfection are combined. Allāh as the name of God appears in the Quran close to a thousand times.‎‎‎‎‎[11]‎‎‎ The name allāh represents all the attributes and beautiful names of God. It invokes that essence who is the most merciful (raḥīm), the most wise (ḥakīm), the most powerful (qadīr), the most forgiving (ghafūr), and so on. Therefore, although God can be considered through His different names and attributes which refer to the same essence, when the name allāh is used it combines all of those attributes and beautiful names.

According to Imam Ali (a), allāh is He about whom all the creation is perplexed, because He is veiled from the vision of the eyes and hidden from the imagination of the thoughts,‎‎[12]‎ and at the same time He is the most apparent existence. As the Quran states: He is the first and the last, the manifest and the hidden, and He has knowledge of all things (57:3). Reflection on the creation of the universe, its magnificence, the order of its different components, and the harmony with which those components interact with one another, has but one message: the uniqueness of He who created it. In effect, they are all manifestations of God’s power, knowledge, and wisdom, indicating His presence everywhere.

The key message of this verse is also the oneness (tawḥīd) of God. That oneness requires our belief and action in at least four different dimensions:‎‎[13]‎

  1. It must be acknowledged in the essence (dhāt) of God, which is one and unique; And Allah has said: ‘Do not worship two gods. Indeed, He is the one God, so be in awe of Me [alone]’ (16:51). He does not have parts, He is indivisible, and Nothing is like Him, and He is the all-hearing, the all-seeing (42:11). He cannot be imagined and cannot be compared to anything; So do not draw comparisons for Allah: indeed Allah knows and you do not know (16:74). He is not in place or time since He is the creator of time and place. Nevertheless, He is not absent from His creation, He knows whatever enters the earth and whatever emerges from it and whatever descends from the sky and whatever ascends to it, and He is with you wherever you may be (57:4).
  2. This oneness must also be acknowledged in His attributes. The attributes of God are the same as His essence and there is no duality between the two. In other words, the divine essence is identical with the divine attributes. This is because God is indivisible, and if we imagine that God knows by a knowledge or acts by a power which are different from His essence then we have acknowledged that there are eternal beings beside Him. Thus, we can say that the divine knowledge is not distinct from the divine power, and they are not distinct from the divine life, all of which are the same as His essence. Hence, when the different names and attributes of God are mentioned, they all refer to the one and the same reality considered from a different perspective.‎‎‎‎‎[14]‎‎‎‎
  3. Oneness also applies to the actions of God. There is no full and independent cause except God. All other causes in the chains of causes and effects are just preparing causes (al-ʿillah al-muʿiddah) and the only full cause (al-ʿillah al-ṭāmmah) is God. Nothing in the world can have any effect or do anything except by virtue of the power it is given by God. Every cause receives its existence, effectiveness, and creative agency from Him. The branches of oneness in action include oneness in creation, lordship, provision, governance, and in ownership and possession.
  4. Oneness must also be acknowledged in worship. Because of what has been mentioned in the previous three points, servitude and worship belong only to God and none else, since only He deserves to be worshipped. This is the logical implication of the previous three points; Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone except Him (17:23); And when We took a pledge from the Children of Israel [saying]: ‘Worship no one but Allah’ (2:83).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. Imam Ali (a) has said: ‘Allah is a deity about whom the creation is perplexed and confounded [because they are not able to understand His reality], and they turn to Him [in their difficulties and needs]. Allah is the one who is hidden from the [physical] eyes and veiled from thoughts and imaginations.’‎‎[15]‎‎ ‎‎
  2. Imam al-Bāqir (a) is reported to have said: ‘The One (aḥad) is the only one; and aḥad and wāḥid both have the same meaning which is the One like whom there is nothing. And monotheism (tawḥīd) is confessing to [this] oneness which is unique.’‎‎[16]‎‎‎‎
  3. Imam Ali (a) was asked about the meaning of this surah and he said: ‘He is One (aḥad) but not as the first in [numerical] counting.’‎‎[17]‎‎‎‎
  4. Imam Ali (a) is reported to have said: ‘The night of the Battle of Badr I saw Khiḍr in my dream and I asked him to teach me something to gain victory in the battle. He said: “Say: O He, O one other than whom there is no he.” When I woke up in the morning I narrated the dream to the Prophet of God and he replied: “O Ali! you have been taught the greatest name of God,” so I kept repeating these words in Badr.’‎‎[18]‎‎‎‎
  5. Imam Ali (a) has explained: ‘Verily, when God is said to be one (wāḥid), this can have four different meanings, of which two are incorrect for God, the mighty and majestic, and two are correct for Him. As for the two that are incorrect, one of them is when a person says one in a numerical sense; this is incorrect because He who cannot have a second cannot be included in numbering. Do you not see that one who says Allah is the third [person] of a trinity [5:73] has disbelieved? And [the other incorrect meaning is] when a person says He is one of the people, and by this he means [God is] a member of a species; this is also incorrect because it anthropomorphises [God], and our Lord, the exalted, transcends that. As for the two meanings that are correct for Him, [one of them is] when a person says He is one and has no similar in creation, and such is our Lord. And when a person says our Lord, the mighty and majestic, is one in meaning, which means that He cannot be divided, neither in the external world nor in the intellect or imagination, and such is our Lord, the mighty and majestic.’‎‎[19]‎‎‎‎
  6. Imam Ali (a) has said: ‘Everything described by oneness is little, except Him.’‎‎[20]‎‎‎

INSIGHTS ‎FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

  1. Who is like unto the Lord our God.‎[21]‎‎‎‎‎
  2. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?‎‎‎[22]‎‎‎‎
  3. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the holy One.‎‎[23]‎‎‎‎
  4. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.‎[24]‎‎‎‎‎
  5. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.‎‎[25]‎‎‎‎
[1] Lisan, 13/467.
[2] Ṣiḥāḥ al-Lughah, 6/3.
[3] Nemuneh, 27/468.
[4] Tibyan, 10/430; Lisan, under aḥad.
[5] Qāmūs al-Qurʾān, 1/34.
[6] Lisan; al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ; Tabrisi, 3/6.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/860.
[8] Taj, 4/329; Lisan, under aḥad.
[9] Nemuneh, 27/471.
[10] Tasnīm, 1/317.
[11] Nemuneh, 27/468.
[12] Bihar, 3/222.
[13] Nemuneh, 27/480-481; Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/405.
[14] Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/403-405.
[15] Bihar, 3/222.
[16] Nur, 5/708.
[17] Nahj, sermon 152; Tawhid, p. 453.
[18] Bihar, 3/222.
[19] Nur, 5/709; Bihar, 3/206.
[20] Nahj, sermon 65.
[21] Psalms 113:15.
[22] Isaiah 40:18.
[23] Isaiah 40:25.
[24] Isaiah 43:10.
[25] Isaiah 43:11.