Explaining the Names of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ: The Treasure, Foundation, Protection and Healing

????????The Names of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ????????

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ has nineteen other names, including the following:

◀️ Foundation

This sūra discusses God’s oneness and attributes, the foundation of Islam. Moreover, the Prophet ﷺ said: «اسست السموات السبع و الارضون السبع علی قل هوالله احد؛ The seven heavens and the seven earths were founded upon the sūra “Say: He is God, the One.”».

◀️ Security

The Prophet ﷺ said: «هر کس لا اله الا الله را بر زبان جاری کند، داخل حصن خدا می‌شود و از عذاب خدا در امان است»; since Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ expounds God’s oneness, whoever recites it is, as it were, secure from God’s punishment. For this reason, it has been called “Security.”

◀️ Deliverance

Because this sūra purifies a person’s beliefs about God from every delusion and deviation, it has been called “Deliverance.” The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: «هر کس سوره قل هوالله احد را یکصد مرتبه بخواند (و به آن معتقد باشد) در نماز یا غیر نماز، برائت و امان از آتش جهنم برای او نوشته می‌شود».

◀️ Stripping Away

“Stripping away” means considering something to be immaterial and alone. Since this sūra declares God free of defects, composite attributes and the effects of materiality, it has been named “Stripping Away.”

◀️ Singling Out

“Singling out,” from the root فرد, means regarding someone as alone and unique. Since «احد» in the sūra’s opening verse conveys this meaning, Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ has also been called “Singling Out.”

◀️ Divine Oneness

Since the oneness of God and its clarification are among the sūra’s central themes, it is also known by this name.

◀️ Beauty

It is said that the Prophet ﷺ was asked, “How is God beautiful, and how does He love beauty?” He replied: «چون یکتای بی نیازی است که نه فرزند آرد و نه از کسی زاده شده است؛ چون کسی همانند او نیست، پس او جمیل است»; thus Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ has been called “Beauty.”

◀️ The Self-Sufficient

The word «صمد» means self-sufficient. In the second verse of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, God is praised for His self-sufficiency; for this reason, the sūra has been named «صمد».

◀️ “Say: He is God”

Just as many Qur’anic sūras are known by their opening word or phrase, Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, which begins with «قل هو الله احد», is also called «قل هو الله».

◀️ The Protector

A report from Ibn ʿAbbās relates that during the Ascension God said to the Prophet ﷺ: «به تو سوره اخلاص را ارزانی خواهم کرد که آن سوره از ذخایر گنج عرش من است و مانع و بازدارنده عذاب قبر و شعله‌های آتش جهنم از قاریان و عاملان به آن خواهد بود». This report is the reason Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ came to be called “The Protector.”

◀️ The Attended

Because angels attend when Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ is recited, listening to it, it has also been called “The Attended.”

◀️ The Reminder

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ makes God Most High known, clearly affirming His oneness and uniqueness, and closing off every path by which people might form unreal notions or imaginings of Him. For its reminder and admonition, the sūra has also been called “The Reminder.”

◀️ Knowledge

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ was revealed concerning knowledge of God and His attributes. Knowledge of God cannot be complete without understanding the meaning of this sūra; for this reason, it has been named “Knowledge.” A report from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh relates that a man prayed and recited «قل هو الله احد» in his prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said: «ان هذا عرف ربه؛ این شخص خدای خود را شناخت».

◀️ The Refuge

“Mu‘awwidhah” derives from the root “ʿādh,” meaning to seek refuge or protection. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, visited ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn and offered him protection through the surahs al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq and al-Nās, instructing him to seek refuge through Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ. For this reason, Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ is also called “al-Mu‘awwidhah.”

◀️ Al-Muqashqishah

“Qashqashah” means to purify and ward off shirk and hypocrisy. The surahs al-Kāfirūn and al-Ikhlāṣ are also called “al-Muqashqishah”: al-Kāfirūn decisively and explicitly rejects the worship of idols, while al-Ikhlāṣ affirms God’s oneness, thereby purifying a person’s beliefs of disbelief, shirk and hypocrisy. If “al-Muqashqishah” derives from “qashqashah,” meaning to heal, the name is explained by the fact that shirk and hypocrisy are forms of illness, and Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ heals such afflictions. Hence the name “al-Qashqashah.”

◀️ Al-Munaffirah

“Al-Munaffirah” derives from the root “nafara,” which has several meanings, including to drive away. Since Satan flees and withdraws from anyone reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, the surah is also called “al-Munaffirah.”

◀️ Salvation

Faith in the meaning of tawḥīd conveyed in Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ saves a person, in this world, from believing that God resembles His creation and from disbelief, and, in the hereafter, from the fire of Hell. For this reason, it is also called “Salvation.”

◀️ Light

The Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said: For everything there is a light, and the light of the Qur’an is “قل هو الله احد.” Thus, Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ came to be known as “Light.”

◀️ Wilāyah

It is said that whoever recites Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, believes in it and knows God as He is described in this surah comes under God’s protection and is counted among the friends of God. Hence it is called “the Surah of Wilāyah.” [1] [2] [3] [4]

????Sources:

1. al-Fīrūzābādī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb (729–817 AH), Baṣāʾir dhawī al-tamyīz fī laṭāʾif al-kitāb al-ʿazīz, vol. 1, p. 553.

2. Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar (544–606 AH), al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 31, p. 175.

3. Rāmyār, Maḥmūd (1301–1363), Tārīkh-e Qur’ān, p. 591.

4. al-Sakhāwī, ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad (558–643 AH), Jamāl al-qurrāʾ wa-kamāl al-iqrāʾ, vol. 1, p. 186.