بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

قُل هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ‎﴿١﴾‏ اللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ ‎﴿٢﴾‏ لَم يَلِدْ وَلَم يُوْلَد ‎﴿٣﴾‏ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَهُ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ ‎﴿٤﴾‏

Say (O Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)), He – Allah Ta‘ala – is One and Alone (in His being and attributes). Allah is needed by all (the creation), while He needs none. He neither begot anyone, nor was He begotten. And there is no one that is equal to Him.

This surah discusses the belief of Tawheed (the oneness of Allah Ta‘ala in His Being and Attributes), which is among the fundamental beliefs of Islam.

The belief of Tawheed was something foreign to the pagans, Jews and Christians who lived in the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

As for the Pagans, then apart from them believing in Allah Ta‘ala, they had invented many deities whom they worshipped. They also called the angels the daughters of Allah Ta‘ala.

As for the Christians, they believed in the trinity and divided Godhood into three Persons, the father, the son and the holy ghost.

They believed that Jesus (Nabi Isa [alaihis salaam]) is the son of God.

As for the Jews of Arabia, they believed that Hazrat Uzair (alaihis salaam) is the son of God.

When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) explained the belief of Tawheed to the people and invited them to worship Allah Ta‘ala alone without ascribing partners to Him in His Being and Attributes, many people began asking for a detailed description of Allah Ta’ala.

It was in response to their questions that this surah was revealed.

This surah removes all misconceptions about Allah Ta‘ala in a concise, eloquent and impressive style that cannot be translated into any other language.

In essence, this surah refutes all types of shirk (polytheism) and establishes the fundamental principles of Tawheed.

There are abundant virtues recorded in the Mubaarak Ahaadith regarding this surah.

In one Hadith, it is mentioned that reciting this surah once earns one the reward equivalent to the reward of reciting one-third of the Quraan Shareef.

Similarly, it is reported that the person who recites the three Quls (i.e. Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas) in the morning and evening, he will be sufficed against all difficulties, misfortunes and problems for that day.

from:Ihyaaud Deen