Virtue of Surah Ikhlas
It is in Sunan Tirmidhi that: A person said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that I love Surah Al-Ikhlas, so he (ﷺ) said that his love would take you to Paradise.
Also, a person heard someone reciting this surah at night that he was repeating it over and over again. In the morning, Akras mentioned it to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, as if he knew it as a work of light reward, so the Prophet ﷺ said: By Him in whose hand is my life, this surah is equal to one-third of the Qur’an.
According to the tradition of Musnad Ahmad, Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari (رضي الله عنه) said: Does anyone among you have the strength to read the third part of the Qur’an every night? The Companions said: Who will be able to do this? He said: Listen, «قُلْ هُوَ اللَّـهُ أَحَدٌ»… etc., is equal to a third of the Qur’an. At that time, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) also came. (Musnad Ahmad)
It is in Sun-Tirmidhi that: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to the Companions: Gather! I will recite one-third of the Qur’an to you today. The people gathered and sat down. They came from home, recited Surah «قُلْ هُوَ اللَّـهُ أَحَدٌ», and then went home. He (ﷺ) was that a third would recite the Qur’an; perhaps a revelation had come from heaven. Meanwhile, the Holy Prophet came back and said: I promised you to recite a third of the Qur’an. Listen, this surah is equal to a third of the Qur’an.
It is narrated by Hazrat Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Are you incapable of reciting one-third of the Holy Qur’an every day?” People said: Holy Prophet (ﷺ), we are very humble and very weak. He said: Listen! Allah Sunhanahoo Wata’ala has divided the Qur’an into three parts, «قُلْ هُوَ اللَّـهُ أَحَدٌ» is the third part. (Muslim, Nisai)
There is a tradition of Musnad Ahmad that: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Whoever recites this entire surah ten times, Allah will build a palace for him in Paradise. On this, Hazrat Umar (رضي الله عنه) said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), then we will build many palaces. is the one
In a hadith of Abu Aila, it is said: Whoever recites this surah forty times, his sins of fifty years will be forgiven.
In the tradition of Hazrat Abu Saeed Al-Khudri (رضي الله عنه), Surah Ikhlas is equal to half or one-third of the Qur’an.
Musnad Ahmad states that the polytheists said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Describe the attributes of your Lord. This surah was revealed to him. “Samad” means one who is neither born nor has a child, because He who is born will die at one time and others will be his heirs. Allah Almighty does not die, nor does he have any heir like him, nor is there anyone of his kind, nor is there anything like him. This tradition is also in Tirmidhi and others. [Sunan Tirmidhi]
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Everything has a relative, and this Surah is relative to Allah.”
“Samad” is called that which is not hollow. Al-Bukhari Sharif says in Kitab al-Tawheed that the Prophet (ﷺ) sent a small army somewhere. At the end of reciting each prayer, he used to recite Surah «قُلْ هُوَ اللَّـهُ أَحَدٌ». He said: “Ask them why they used to do that.” Rahman’s attribute is I like reading it very much. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Tell them that Allah Ta’ala also loves him.” [Sahih Bukhari: 7375]
