Surah Al-Ikhlaas (112) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ {وَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَّهٗ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ: ’’ كُفُوًا ‘‘} means likeness, pair, or one who is equal. By saying {’’ قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ‘‘}, the negation of offspring and equal happens automatically, but then they are mentioned separately as well, just as in Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (98): « مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّلّٰهِ وَ مَلٰٓىِٕكَتِهٖ وَ رُسُلِهٖ وَ جِبْرِيْلَ وَ مِيْكٰىلَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَدُوٌّ لِّلْكٰفِرِيْنَ » (Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibreel and Mikaeel, then verily Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers), even though Jibreel and Mikaeel are included among the angels, they are mentioned separately. The first benefit of this is that by mentioning them again, special attention is drawn to them, and the second is that it brings further clarification and detail. It is possible that by only saying {’’ قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ‘‘}, a person might not pay attention to both matters, or even if he did, he might not understand them with as much clarity as he does when they are mentioned separately. In the science of rhetoric, this is called "tajreed." (Al-Tasheel)

➋ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) declared this Surah to be one-third of the Qur'an. How is this Surah one-third of the Qur'an? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not explain this himself; the scholars have interpreted it according to their own understanding. Some have taken it to mean reward, some have said that the Qur'an consists of three thirds: one third rulings, the second promises and warnings, and the third names and attributes, and in this Surah, the names and attributes are mentioned. Some have considered knowledge of Allah, knowledge of the Hereafter, and the straight path as the three thirds of the Qur'an, and have made knowledge of Allah the subject of this Surah. Some have considered monotheism, prophethood, and the Hereafter as the three parts, and have declared this Surah to be one-third of the Qur'an because it comprehensively covers monotheism. This difference itself is proof that everyone has thought of something from their own mind; there is no explanation from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), otherwise everyone would have agreed upon it. Therefore, it is better to have faith that this Surah is equal to one-third of the Qur'an and leave it to Allah as to how it is equal to one-third.

➌ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite {’’ قُلْ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الْكٰفِرُوْنَ ‘‘} and {’’ قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ‘‘} in the Sunnah prayers of Fajr. [ دیکھیے مسلم، صلاۃ المسافرین، باب استحباب رکعتي سنۃ الفجر… : ۷۲۶ ] Surah « قُلْ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الْكٰفِرُوْنَ » is comprehensive of practical monotheism, that I do not worship anyone except Allah, nor will I ever do so, nor is it possible for me to worship anyone else, and Surah « قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ » is comprehensive of theoretical monotheism, that what should be the belief and knowledge regarding Allah. (Zad al-Ma'ad)

4. 1. In His essence, in His attributes, nor in His actions. (لیس کمثلہ شئی) In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Almighty says: "Man abuses Me, that is, he ascribes offspring to Me, although I am One, Self-Sufficient, I have neither begotten anyone nor was I begotten by anyone, and there is none comparable to Me." (Sahih Bukhari) In this surah, those are also refuted who believe in multiple gods, and those who ascribe offspring to Allah, and those who consider Him a partner with others, and also those who do not believe in the existence of Allah Almighty at all.

4. And there is none comparable [5] to Him.

[5]
The Literal Meaning of ﴿كفو﴾:

﴿كُفُوًا﴾: Kafā’ refers to that piece of cloth which, when joined with another similar piece, is placed at the back of a tent, and ﴿كفو﴾ and ﴿كُفٰي﴾ mean being equal, of the same rank and status, being on par with each other. It means having a counterpart, a match, or an equal. The word ﴿كفو﴾ is commonly used in the battlefield at the time of a challenge to single combat, or at the time of marriage and relationship proposals. “So-and-so is the ﴿كفو﴾ of so-and-so,” meaning that person is a match, counterpart, or equal to the other. At the time of a relationship proposal, both parties also consider whether the economic, social, and cultural status of the other party is similar to theirs or not. This is the meaning of ﴿كفو﴾. And the meaning of this verse is that those who ask various questions about the Being of Allah, say to them that there is nothing in this universe that is His equal, so that you could be made to understand that Allah is like such-and-such thing. Allah the Exalted has expressed this same theme at another place as follows: ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ﴾

Surah Ikhlas is Equal to One-Third of the Quran:

It should be clear that since all aspects of Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah) have been fully illuminated in this Surah, therefore the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has declared this Surah to be equal to one-third of the Quran, and this is established by numerous authentic ahadith. The reason for this is that the Quran fundamentally emphasizes three beliefs: Tawheed, Prophethood, and the Hereafter. Since this Surah contains a comprehensive statement of Tawheed, it has been declared equal to one-third of the Quran. As is clear from the following ahadith:
1. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Darda that the Prophet ﷺ asked: “Are you unable to recite one-third of the Quran every night?” The Companions said: “How can anyone recite one-third of the Quran?” He ﷺ said: ﴿قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ﴾ “is equal to one-third of the Quran.” [مسلم۔ کتاب فضائل القرآن۔ باب فضل قُلْ ھُوَ اللّٰہُ اَحَدٌ۔]
2. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Gather together so that I may recite to you one-third of the Quran.” We gathered, and the Prophet ﷺ came out and recited Surah ﴿قُلْ هُوَاللّٰهُ أحْدٌ﴾, then went inside. We said to each other: “Perhaps some news from the heavens has come for which he went inside.” Then he came out and said: “I told you I would recite one-third of the Quran to you. So this Surah is equal to one-third of the Quran.” [حواله ايضاً]
3. It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa ؓ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed a man as commander over a detachment. He would lead his detachment in prayer and would always conclude his recitation with ﴿قُلْ ھُوَاللّٰہُ أحْدٌ﴾. When the detachment returned, the people mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he said: “Ask him why he does this.” When asked, he replied: “This is a description of the Most Merciful, and I love to recite it.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Tell him that Allah loves him.” [حواله ايضاً]