Surah Al-Ikhlas – Abdul Bari Mohammed

Al-Ikhlas ("Absoluteness", often translated "Sincerity" or "Purity of Faith") is the 112th surah of the Quran, in Juz' Amma. Meccan in the standard classification, it has 4 verses and is the 22nd surah in the traditional order of revelation, after An-Nas. It is also called At-Tawhid or As-Samad, and is known by its opening words, Qul huwa Allahu ahad.

In four short verses it defines God: He is One; He is As-Samad, the Eternal Refuge on whom all depend; He neither begets nor was begotten; and nothing is comparable to Him (112:1-4). According to Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it was revealed when the polytheists asked the Prophet ﷺ to describe the lineage of his Lord (at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan by al-Albani).

The Prophet ﷺ said that it equals a third of the Quran (al-Bukhari, Muslim). A Companion who led prayer and closed each recitation with it explained that he loved it because it describes the Most Merciful; the Prophet ﷺ said: "Tell him that God loves him" (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

Every night before sleeping, the Prophet ﷺ recited it with Al-Falaq and An-Nas into his cupped hands, then wiped them over his body (al-Bukhari).