Surah 112 (Surah Ikhlas)

Question 1

What is the main theme of this surah?

Answer 1

• Surah Ikhlas presents the fundamental Quranic theme of Allah in Himself. It explains the concept of Tauhid for the purity of faith (ikhlas). Ahad — The Only One, the Unique means that He is the One who was, is, and will ever remain alone.
• Samad is an important description of God as it encompasses many meanings – power, independence, absolute, etc. It means that God is independent of all but all are dependent upon Him and He needs nothing for His sustenance. “Allah, there is no god but He, the living, the self-subsisting, the eternal.”
• He is free from all limitations of time and space. He has no partners or family, and doesn’t have anyone to share His authority nor any children.
• It tells about God’s uniqueness in his personality, attributes and actions and sums up the whole argument by warning against the tendency of comparing Him with anyone or anything.

Question 2

What is the importance of this surah?

Answer 2

• This passage is important for Muslims because it protects from different forms of Shirk so that people do not take other people or created things as their Lord, so they should not replace God with things like famous people/saints, or place anyone or anything alongside Him.
• It ensures they know that God does not have family, so they will avoid making the mistake of believing in God having children or a partner, or anyone to share in His authority. It gives them clarity and allows them to develop a relationship with God.
• This surah is often recited by Muslims in their daily prayers after surah Fatiha. Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) told us that this surah is equivalent to one-third of the Quran because the theme of tawhid is summarised in it. It is one of the surahs of protection (Quls).
• In the daily lives of Muslims this surah helps them to have clarity of faith and allows them to develop a relationship with God through acts of worship like prayer, fasting, etc.