He neither begot,such that He appoints heirs, nor was begotten, for in that case His sovereignty (mulk) would be something temporal (muḥdath). It is also a confirmation of His unicity (waḥdāniyya), and a disavowal of His dependence on causes (asbāb), and a refutation (radd) of the disbelievers.
nor is there anyone equal to Him.�It means: no one is comparable to Him � [taking the word kufūʾ] as having been brought forward [in the verse].His words, Exalted is He:
Say, �I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak,He said:Truly God, Exalted is He, commanded him [the Prophet] in these two sūras [113 and 114] to take refuge (iʿtiṣām) in Him, seek help (istiʿāna) from Him, and show [his] need (faqr) for Him.He was asked, �What is showing [one�s] need?� He replied:It is the […]
from the evil of that which He has created,from man and jinn. This is because Labīd b. Aʿṣam al-Yahūdī cast into the well of Banū Bayāḍa a spell against the Prophet, who used to frequent it. [One day as] he headed towards [the well] the spell [cast against him] possessed him and the Prophet became […]
and from the evil of darkness when it gathers,That is to say, when night falls, or it has been said that it means when the darkness intensifies. It has also been said [that it means]: when night first encroaches on [lit. �penetrates,� dakhala] the day, [that is], when night is just beginning, devils among the […]
and from the evil of the envier when he envies.�This means the Jews who envied the Prophet to the point that they practised sorcery against him. Ibn ʿAbbās said: In this verse [is a reference to] the lower self of a human being [lit. son of Adam] ⸢and his eye (wa ʿaynuhu)⸣. His words: Exalted […]
From the evil of the slinking whisperer,Sahl was asked, �What is �a whispering� (waswasa)? He replied:Everything besides God, Exalted is He, is a whispering. Truly, when the heart of a person is with God, Exalted is He, it speaks from God, Exalted is He, but if it is with other than Him, it speaks from […]
God, the Self-Sufficient, Besought of all.He said:The Self-Sufficient, Besought of all (al-Ṣamad) is the Master (al-Sayyid) who is resorted to for all needs (ḥawāʾij) and exigencies (ʿawāriḍ). The meaning of [al-Ṣamad] is the One who is resorted to (al-Maṣmūd ilayhi).Then he said:The Self-Sufficient, Besought of all is the One who has no need of food […]
with a rope of palm-fibre round her neck.That is, in the Fire it will be an iron chain like the iron pulley with which she will be dragged into it. She will be known by this distinguishing mark (ʿalāma) in Hell, just as she was well-known for hostility towards the Prophet . But God, be […]
Say: �He is God, One,He has neither equal (kufʾ) nor likeness (mathal).