Structural Cohesion In The Quran [A Series]: Surah Al Ikhlas

This is a continuation of a series on the structure and organization of the Quran. The goal is to help the reader appreciate the amazing coherence of Allah’s word and dismantle the myth of the “random” and “unorganized” Quran.

سُورَة الإِخلَاص

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (Sincerity) is one of the most oft-recited suwar in the Quran by Muslims around the world. Though it is one of the shortest suwar, its contents succinctly summarize the uncompromising monotheism of Islam. It was revealed while the Messenger ﷺ was still in Makkah. 

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ appears to have two probable structures. From one angle, it may be organized into a ring structure as follows:

CONNECTIONS

[A]/[A’] – The sūrah begins with the central call of Islam; Allah ﷻ is “One”, unique in His singularity. This is in contrast to the lowercase “one” being referenced at the end of the sūrah who is simply one of many lesser beings.

[B]/[B’] – Following the declaration of monotheism, Allah ﷻ informs us that He is needed by all, while at the same time, needing no one else. Unlike Allah ﷻ, all of creation can never be equal to Him with our deficiencies and needs.

[C]/[C’] – Finally, the sūrah centers on an important theological point in that Allah ﷻ never has, and never will, take part in any type of reproductive process. This furthers the points made in the outer sections as this makes Him unique to all living creatures, without comparison. He requires no parent, nor does He require an heir to come after Him.

However, if we look at the sūrah another way, we find an alternative structure.¹One I find much more convincing. This comes from personal correspondence with a reader of my blog, Omer Abid

CONNECTIONS

[D]/[D’] – The sūrah begins by declaring Allah’s complete oneness and uniqueness. One might ask, “Are there others like Him, equally unique in their own right?” to which Allah ﷻ responds in the negative with the last āyah.

[E]/[E’] – The second āyah deals with Allah ﷻ being eternal in the future.²The observant reader may have noticed the different renderings for the word, “Aṣ-Ṣamad,” in the second āyah between the two structures. When one searches the meaning of the Quran in tafsīr, it is common to come across multiple definitions and explanations of a single word. What scholars will tell you is that often these differences of opinion are not contradictory, but rather, complementary. Each may in fact be correct and further lends to the depth of the Quran’s meanings. This is probably best seen in the translation of the word “Aṣ-Ṣamad,” above as both “needed by all, needing none,” and “the Eternal.” While completely different, they are both valid. Similarly, maybe Quranic structuring is the same way. Is it possible that the depth of Allah’s words allows for there to be more than one way to organize them? And that each new structuring gives us a different perspective on the text? I believe so. One might ask, “What about the past? Our souls also live on forever from the point of our creation.” To which Allah ﷻ responds with the second half of the third āyah. He has no beginning, and thus is eternal in the past as well.

[F] – The center is a succinct summary of both outer sections. Unlike all His creation, Allah ﷻ does not need a creator nor something to succeed Him as we do. This makes Him unique from all that is created and emphasizes His eternal being.

And Allah ﷻ knows best.

[If the study of the Quran’s structure interests you, please check out Heavenly Order for many more examples of the Quran’s amazing organization and coherence.]

Related:

– Structural Cohesion In The Quran [A Series]: Surah Al Fatihah – MuslimMatters.org

– [Podcast] Ramadan Vibes: Connecting with the Quran | Sh Muhammad Ziyad Batha – MuslimMatters.org