Tafsir of Al-Ikhlas 112:4

(And there is not for Him any equivalent.) Meaning: No one is equal to Him, nor resembles Him, nor is comparable to Him—whether it be a consort or otherwise. It is said that this is a negation of the "equivalence" (kafa'ah) considered between spouses, though you see the state of that [interpretation].

Lahu (to Him) is linked to kufuwan (equivalent), according to the view of al-Mubarrad and others. The original structure would place it at the end, but it was moved forward for the sake of emphasis (ihtimam), because the intention is to negate equivalence from His Essence—Exalted is He. The predicate was also moved forward for emphasis, alongside the preservation of the verse endings (fawasil).

It is said that the prepositional phrase here, even if it is not a predicate that validates the sentence, its omission would invalidate the meaning of the speech. For if you were to say, lam yakun kufuwan ahad (there was not an equivalent [for] anyone), it would have no meaning. Thus, when it became necessary to include it, it served as a predicate, and that is elegant.

Abu Hayyan said that the argument of Sibawayh regarding the prepositional phrase that is fit to be a predicate is only the "complete" (tamm) prepositional phrase, and what is here is not such. Ibn al-Hajib said the prepositional phrase was moved forward for the sake of the verse endings and their preservation, and it was not placed before ahad so as not to separate the subject (mubtada') from its predicate. There is an obvious flaw in this.

It has been permitted that the prepositional phrase is a state (hal) of ahad, moved forward to preserve the verse ending and to prevent it from being confused with an adjective or a relative clause. It has also been permitted that it is a predicate of yakun, and kufuwan is a state of the pronoun within the prepositional phrase that serves as the predicate. This view was cited by Abu Ali in al-Hujjah from some grammarians, but it was refuted by what you heard just now from Abu Hayyan: that it is an "incomplete" (naqis) prepositional phrase that cannot serve as a predicate. If a specific attached meaning is presumed for it—such as "equal" or the like, by which the benefit is completed—then kufuwan would be redundant.

Perhaps the three sentences are conjoined [with the particle wa], unlike the others in this Surah, because they were driven by a single meaning and purpose: the negation of resemblance and likeness to Him—Exalted is He—in any way. What the sections [of the Surah] encompass are the categories [of negation], for a likeness is either a child, a parent, or an equivalent other than these two. Due to the diversity of the categories and their gathering in the subject matter, conjunction with wa became necessary, as is the requirement of the rules of meaning.

Regarding kufuwan, there are dialects: damma, kasra, and fatha on the kaf, with a sukun on the fa and a damma on the fa. Hamzah, Ya'qub, and Nafi' (in one narration) recited kufwan with a hamza and shortening. Hafs recited it with a vowel and by substituting the hamza with a waw. The rest of the Seven recited it with a vowel and with a hamza. al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah (in one narration) eased the hamza, and in another narration from them, kufan without a hamza—transferring the vowel of the hamza to the fa and deleting the hamza. Sulayman ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas recited kafa'an with a kasra on the kaf, a fatha on the fa, and elongation, as in the saying of al-Nabighah: "Do not strike me with a pillar that has no kafa'a," meaning: that has no equal, as al-A'lam stated.

This majestic Surah, despite its brevity, has folded within it scattered divine knowledges and Islamic beliefs. Thus, the reports that have come regarding it, and the narrations that have been transmitted, point to the meaning of the realization of the Divine Samadiyyah (Self-Sustaining Oneness). Its meaning is the necessity of existence or the Primordial Source for the existence of everything other than Him among the existents.

It then follows this by clarifying that nothing else is born from Him, because He Himself is not born from anything else. It is clarified that while He—Exalted is He—is the God of all existents and the Effuser of existence upon them, it is not permissible for Him to effuse existence upon an equal, just as His own existence is not from another. It then follows this by clarifying that there does not exist in reality anything that equals Him in the power of existence.

Therefore, from the beginning of the Surah until al-Samad is the explanation of His Essence—Exalted is He—the requirements of His Essence, the unity of His Reality, and that He is not composed at all. And from His saying lam yalid (He begetteth not) to ahad (any) is the explanation that there is nothing equal to Him in His type nor in His genus, neither by Him—Glorified is He—being born of another, nor by there being a parallel to Him in existence. By this sum, the complete knowledge of His Essence—Exalted is He—is attained.

It is indicated therein that wa lam yulad (and He is not born) is like a justification (ta'lil) for what preceded it. It is as if it were said: "Before this, everything that was material or had a relation to matter must be born from something else." Thus, the estimation of the speech becomes: "He begetteth not, because He was not born." The indication of its proof is the beginning of the Surah, for when He has no essence or consideration other than that He is for His Own Essence, it is necessary that He not be born of another; otherwise, His identity would be derived from another, and He would not be for His Own Essence.

The appearance of the conjunction implies that the causality mentioned is not considered [directly], and you have known in what preceded the aspect of its mention. Some have made the conjunction in it close to the conjunction of "They will not advance" with "They will not delay." Some of the predecessors indicated that its mention is because it was said in the cause of revelation that they asked the Prophet—may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him—about his Lord, Glorified is He: "From what thing? Is it from this or from that? And from whom did He inherit the world, and to whom will He bequeath it?"

The Imam said that "He is Allah, One" consists of three words, and each one of them is an indication of one of the stations of the seekers. The first station is the station of the "Near Ones" (Muqarrabin), and it is the highest of the stations of those traveling to Allah—Exalted is He. These individuals looked with the eyes of their intellects toward what the things and their realities are in themselves; so they saw no existent other than the Truth, for He is the One whose existence is necessary for His Essence, while all else is possible for its own essence and, in respect to its essence, is "nothing." So they said "He" (Huwa), an indication of the Truth, since in their view, there is nothing else to refer to besides Him—Exalted is He—that would require distinction.

The second station is for the "Companions of the Right" (Ashab al-Yamin). These individuals witnessed the Truth—Glorified is He—as existent, and they also witnessed the creation. Thus, a multiplicity occurred in the existents in their view, so "He" was not sufficient as an indication of the Truth, but rather a distinguisher was necessary. So they needed to join the word "Allah" with a word, and it was said for their sake: "He is Allah."

The third station is the station of the "Companions of the Left" (Ashab al-Shimal), who [believe] that the Necessary Existent could be more than one, and that the God is likewise. So "One" (Ahad) came in response to them and to invalidate their claim.

Some of the Sufis counted the word "He" (Huwa) among the Most Beautiful Names. Indeed, some said that the letter Ha (the pronoun of the absent) is His true Name, due to its indication of Absolute Identity, while it is one of the necessities of breathing by which the life of the soul persists, and its configuration points to encompassing, and its rank from numbers is to its eternity and non-perishability.

Al-Dawani narrated from the Imam that he said: "Some of the masters taught me 'Ya Huwa' (O He), 'Ya man Huwa' (O He who is), 'Ya man la ilaha illa Huwa' (O He besides whom there is no god)." Upon this is the belief of most masters today, though this has not been transmitted in the accepted reports from the Hadith scholars. And Allah—Exalted is He—knows best.