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Surah Ikhlas is one of the most read and memorised surah by Muslims across the globe. As children, Surah Ikhlas is often the very first surah we learn because it is both short and sweet. We then continue to read it in almost every prayer as we grow up and we still read it even as adults. I remember saying this surah on the way to school and before bed time. I also remember learning Surah Ikhlas with translation and being in awe of the fact that Allah lived forever! What I didn’t realise until recently, was the weight and importance that is given to this surah.
Today’s post will therefore just cover a short tafseer of the surah along with related hadith showcasing Surah Ikhlas’ importance. I will also cover why we should read it with thought and mindfulness in our prayers, instead of just reading it due to it being short and easy to read.
Surah Ikhlas Tafseer
Surah Ikhlas is a Makkan surah, which means it was revealed when the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was living in Makkah. At the time, the disbelievers in Makkah would mock the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) by pointing to their idols and saying: ‘These are our gods, where is yours?’
They thought that their gods were superior as they could be seen and made fun of the fact that Allah could not be seen and therefore he could not exist.
In reply to this, Allah revealed Surah Ikhlas which begins with the word “Qul.” Allah is telling the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) to reply to their mockery and questions. This surah defends the honour of Allah and sums up the characteristics and uniqueness of Allah in just 4 ayahs. The way that the surah is structured grammatically and linguistically is beautifully succinct.
Surah Ikhlas with translation
1. Say He is Allah the one
The first ayah addresses how Allah is One. In comparison to other religions, where people believe in many gods, Islam is a religion which rejects polytheism. It nurtures its followers towards pursuing the pleasure and obedience of the one true god. Recent research has pointed to how focussing on one thing and doing everything to attain that thing is the best way to actually attain and excel at that particular thing. So making Allah One in our minds, hearts and actions will go a long way in attaining his pleasure. Making Allah our goal will also secure our prosperity in this world and the next.
2. Allah is eternal and absolute
The second ayah focuses on how Allah is eternal and absolute. This means that Allah has always been there and will always be there. Unlike us mere mortals, he is not confined by time. He is timeless. Allah also has no beginning and end and is therefore absolute. The term ‘samad’ and its meaning ‘absolute’ signify that Allah is independent of all his creation and that his creation is dependent on Him. He is the superior in and to all things.
3. None is born of Him and nor was he born
The third ayah talks about how Allah did not give birth to anyone and how he Himself was not born. This is a direct rejection of the Chrstian belief of Isa being the son of God. It is also a rejection of many other faiths in which the followers believe that either someone is the child of God or that God has (naudzubillah) parents or an origin. Allah is free of all needs and free of the desire to need or want children in the way humans and animals do. We as humans sometimes have a natural desire for offspring or an heir or even someone to carry on our legacy or inherit our wealth. We yearn to leave a mark in some way through children and look for guidance and inspiration from our forefathers. Allah is in no need of that and is entirely self sufficient.
4. And there is none like Him
The last ayah simply states that there is nothing that can be compared to Him. Being humans, we naturally imagine things or compare them to what we are familiar with. Allah states very clearly that there is nothing in existence like Him.
SubhanAllah we cannot even begin to imagine or comprehend Allah’s true form or even fully understand his characteristics with all its nuances.
Benefits of Surah Ikhlas
There are many benefits to reading Surah Ikhlas.
The prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said on more than one ocassion that Surah Ikhlas is equal to one third of the Quran. This doesn’t mean that you can just read Surah Ikhlas once and be done with the rest of it. Rather the reward gained from reading it is equal to 10 Juz. This is because if you were to split the Quran into 3 parts, one part would be about Allah and his attributes. One third of the Quran deals with Islamic rules and law and the other third is about Prophet stories, Jannah and Jahannam.
Some other benefits of surah ikhlas include:
- Protection against evil and calamity
- Means of forgiveness
- Increasing its recitation will earn the love of Allah
- Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “When you recite Surah Fatiha and Surah Ikhlas upon lying on your bed, you will be safeguarded and should become fearless of everything except death.”
Importance of Surah Ikhlas
The word Ikhlas means purity/sincerity. When we read and understand its meaning we can see that the Surah is calling us towards being pure in our belief in Allah. If we believe in Allah wholeheartedly and accept Him with all his attributes, then our actions should reflect this. This means that Allah should be the first and foremost in our minds before starting or doing anything. Everything else should come secondary. If achieving a relationship with Allah is not our goal then we will gravitate towards another role. We will begin to make our One goal our relationship, our wealth, job or body. We as humans need something to work towards and making Allah our goal first will help us achieve our secondary goals.
To gain the full reward of it’s recitation, it is important to actually learn the meaning of Surah Ikhlas. After that, read about the tafseer of Surah Ikhlas to gain a better understanding about the surah. In my opinion, you can only ever truly love something if you try and understand it properly. This post only lightly touches upon a topic which is so vast and deep. Great joy can be found in getting to know Allah properly.
Surah Ikhlas for kids
Once you know the importance of Surah Ikhlas, it is important to pass this knowledge on to our children or students in an easy and digestible way.
- Explore the concept of Tawheed with them by reading them books about Allah and how he has created the trees, mountains, stars and everyone around them
- Build up the love of Allah in their hearts and remind them to say Bismillah before they start anything
- There’s no need to rush their learning. Savouring the sweetness of the Surah will nurture their faith in Allah
- Go through the translation of Surah Ikhlas with your kids.
- Get your kids to repeat the Arabic after you. There are also plenty of kid friendly Youtube videos that you child can watch and repeat alongside
- Start with one Ayah or a few words at a time
- Tell your kids a bit of Tafseer each time they go back to memorising the surah
- Get them to focus on the tajweed and correct their pronunciation
- Also read this Surah to them before bedtime and before they go to school
I have put together a downloadable worksheet pack on Surah Ikhlas for young children with basic tasfeer for slightly older ones. To download, become a member today! Click here to check it out. There are colouring sheets for children and Arabic writing practise sheets. We also have lots of free Islamic resources available under our RESOURCES tab.
5 responses
Pls correctly write “Him”* with capital “H” when speaking about Allah SWT All-mighty. Thankyou, great website and post.
Have corrected the ones with a small ‘h’. JazakAllah for your feedback.
As Salam alaykoum, as a French speaker I wished to know if once I made a subscription I would be able to modify the text to translate it into French for my kids ?
Wa alaykumusalam, as long as its just for your students or kids and you are not selling it, that will be fine.
Very best tafseer of surah ikhlaas