A Simple Guide to ISLAM
The Qur’an
~ 80 ~
Abu Lahab made it his business to torment the Prophet, and his
wife took pleasure in strewing thorn bushes in the path the Prophet
was expected to take.
Consumed with grief on seeing many of the Quraysh leaders of the
unbelievers killed at Badr, Abu Lahab died a week after Badr.
Though this chapter refers, in the first instance, to a particular
incident, it carries the general message that cruelty and
haughtiness ultimately recoil upon oneself.
Al-Ikhlas (Oneness) 112
Say: ‘God is One, the Eternal God. He begot none, nor
was he begotten. None is equal to Him.’
This is an early Makkan chapter, containing only four verses.
The subject of the chapter is monotheism, or the oneness of God.
The doctrine of God’s pure unity, or the Divine oneness, is clearly
stated here: God is not many, He is only one. Everyone is in need
of Him, but He is not in need of anyone. He reigns over all things
of the heavens and the earth. Unlike human beings, He has no son
or father. He is eternal, without beginning or end, and is thus a
Unique Being who has no equal.
This chapter has been called the essence of the Qur’an. The
Prophet Muhammad once described this chapter as ‘equivalent to
one-third of the whole of the Qur’an.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)
