Say: He is Allah, [who is] One

First Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the One, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. To Him there is no equivalent. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He chose him above all His creation and he is the closest to Him. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad, his family and all of his companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows,

I urge you and myself, O Servants of Allah, to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted and Sublime, in line with His orders, “and We have certainly presented for the people in this Quran from every [kind of] example - that they might remember. [It is] an Arabic Quran, without any deviance that they might become righteous.” (Az-Zumar: 27-28).

O Worshipers,

There is no doubt each and every Sura in the holy Quran is a blessing and reverend, yet, there are certain Suras that have special status and are greater in rewards than other ones. Such one Sura is “Al Ikhlas” (the Sincerity), which reads: “say: He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.” (Al-Ikhlas: 1-4). Its virtues and benefits have been emphasised in a number of Hadiths. For instance, it was narrated that the Messenger of Allah pbuh said to Uqba Ibn Amer, may Allah be pleased with him, “Shall I teach you Suras the like of which have never been revealed neither in Torah, Zaboor, Gospel nor in the Criterion? Make sure to recite them every night. Those are: ‘say: He is Allah [Who is] the One’, ‘say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak,’ and ‘say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’.”

In this context, one of the virtues of Surat Al Ikhlas is that the rewards of reciting it is equal to the rewards of reciting one third of the holy Quran. This was accentuated by the Messenger of Allah pbuh as he said, “Say, ‘He is Allah [Who is] One’ is equal to one-third of the Quran.” This means, its rewards are multiplied many folds so that they are equal to the rewards of a third of the Quran. It is really such a great reward and a generous recompense. 

More to the point, it is equal to one-third of the holy Quran in its meanings and subject matter. The reason is that the holy Quran includes the attributes of Allah the Almighty and His teachings as well as the stories of the Prophets. And Surat Al Ikhlas is dedicated to mentioning the qualities of the Most Exalted.

O Reciters of Allah’s Book,

Please know that reciting Surat Al Ikhlas frequently is a cause of earning the love of Allah the Almighty. On this account, it was narrated that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that a man from the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to lead his companions in the prayers and would finish his recitation with: “Say (O Muhammad): ‘He is Allah, (Who is) the One’.” When they mentioned that to the Prophet pbuh he said (to them), “Ask him why he does so.” They asked him and he said, “I do so because it mentions the qualities of the Beneficent and I love to recite it (in my prayer).” Thereupon, the Prophet pbuh said (to them), “Tell him that Allah loves him.” 

This brings us to advise each other of the meanings of this Sura. The first Aya: “Say, He is Allah [Who is] One”, means, O Prophet, tell those who ask you about my qualities that: I am the One.  So, Allah the Almighty is One and there is no deity other than Him. He is unique and incomparable in His Glory and perfection of His qualities. Literally, these are the meanings of Al Ikhlas (sincerity) that Allah the Almighty has instructed His Prophet pbuh to embrace and teach to his people. The Most Exalted says, “so know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah.” (Muhammad: 19).

The second Aya indicates that Allah is the “Eternal Refuge” on Whom all the creation rely in their needs and ask only Him with regards to their daily life affairs. In return, He answers their prayers and remove their distress. The Almighty says, “is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth?” (An-Naml: 62). Certainly, it is Allah Who is self-sufficient and on whom everyone depends. To this, Allah the Exalted is He says, “whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him.” (Ar-Rahman: 29). All of His creation seek refuge with Him and ask only from Him. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “If you ask (for anything), ask it from Allah (alone).”  

In this respect, one of the best ways for one to ask from His Lord, the Most High, is to call Him with His greatest Name which is mentioned in Surat Al Ikhlas. In this regard, it was narrated that the Prophet pbuh once heard a man supplicating, and he was saying: “O Allah, indeed, I ask you by my testifying that You are Allah, there is none worthy of worship except You, the One, the Eternal Refuge, the One Who neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.” So he pbuh said, “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, he has asked Allah by His Greatest Name, the one which if He is called upon by it, He responds, and when He is asked by it, He gives.”

O Worshipers, 

In the third Aya of Surat Al Ikhlas, Allah the Almighty describes Himself as the “One Who neither begets nor is born”. This indicates that He has never had offspring, nor had He a father or a wife. Allah, the Most Exalted, illustrates this in another place in the holy Quran, for He says, “and [it teaches] that exalted is the nobleness of our Lord; He has not taken a wife or a son.” (Al-Jinn: 3).  

In the fourth Aya, Allah the Almighty says, “nor is there to Him any equivalent,” proclaiming that there is no one from amongst Allah’s Creation who is equal to Him; a fact that is also accentuated in this Aya: “there is nothing like unto Him.” (As-Shoora: 11). Indeed, Allah the Most Exalted is beyond comparison in His creation and in the provision He endows upon His servants. The Almighty says, “is He [not best] who begins creation and then repeats it and who provides for you from the heaven and earth? Is there a deity with Allah?” (An-Naml: 64). 

Furthermore, the Most Beneficent is matchless in His guidance and mercy. The Most High and Sublime says, “is He [not best] who guides you through the darknesses of the land and sea and who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy? Is there a deity with Allah?” (An-Naml: 63). His uniqueness is also apparent in the truthfulness of His statements, a quality about which the Most Exalted says, “and who is more truthful than Allah in statement.” (An-Nisaa: 87). 

O Servants of Allah,

In light of its special status and virtues, the Messenger of Allah pbuh has prescribed for Muslims to recite Surat Al Ikhlas in the morning upon waking up and in the evening before going to sleep. The reason is that this Sura is a protection against every kind of evil, affliction and calamities. On this account, it was narrated that Abdullah Ibn Khubaib, may Allah be pleased with him, reported, “the Messenger of Allah pbuh said to me, ‘Say!’ So, I said, ‘What would I say?’ He said, ‘Say, ‘say: He is Allah, [who is] One’ and Al Muawwidhatain (Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas) three times in the evening and in the morning. That will suffice you in all respects.” 

Setting an example, the Messenger of Allah pbuh used to recite Surat Al Ikhlas and Al Muawwidhatain at night every day. It was narrated in this regard that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “Whenever the Prophet pbuh went to bed every night, he used to cup his hands together and blow over it after reciting Surat Al Ikhlas, Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas, and then rub his hands over whatever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face and front of his body. He used to do that three times.”

Part of his tradition was also to recite Surat Al Ikhlas in some prayers, an example being the third Rakaa in Al Witr prayer. To this, it was narrated that Ubai Ibn Kaab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Messenger of Allah pbuh would recite ‘Say: He is Allah, [who is] One’ in the third Rakaa of Al Witr prayer.” Another example is the second Rakaa of Al Fajr Sunna prayer. 

With this in mind, we pray to the Lord of th

e Worlds to make us amongst those who recite His Book, contemplate on its Suras and adhere to its instructions.  

May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those He has commanded us to obey in line with Your orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority amongst you.” (An-Nisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.

 That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, “indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Al-Ahzab: 56).

On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, “For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.”

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to make us amongst those who remember you much and are steadfast on performing acts of worship. O Allah, please forgive us all. 

O Allah, we seek refuge in Your perfect words from the evil of that which descend from the sky and from the evil of that which ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of that which comes out of it. O Allah we seek refuge in You from the trials of the night and the day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful. 

O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability, cure from any illness and peace.

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to all of us, Muslims and all the world.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead. 

O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing our country with stability and welfare and bless its provisions. O Allah, please continue blessing our country with safety and security.

O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth.

O Allah: we turn to Your name through which nothing is harmed in the earth and the heavens. That we not be afflicted through disease or calamity. Or that disease or epidemic may befall us, O Allah: hear this supplication. We ask you Allah for constancy of wellbeing. For ourselves and for all of the people around us. Save us from the evil of epidemics and diseases. Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you.

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.