Al-Ikhlas, "Sincerity" (of faith), is the 112th surah and one of the shortest in the Quran — just four verses revealed in Mecca. Despite its length, it is among the most memorised and recited chapters, because it states the single belief on which all of Islam rests.13
What it is about
The surah answers, in four lines, the question "Who is God?" It declares that God is One; that He is al-Samad — the Eternal, self-sufficient One whom all creation depends on while He depends on none; that He "neither begets nor is born"; and that "there is nothing comparable to Him." Each clause closes off a way people have historically misconceived God — as one of many, as needy, as having children, or as resembling His creation.
Why it matters
The Prophet ﷺ taught that "'Say, He is Allah, [who is] One' is equal to one third of the Qur'an" — which scholars explain as its reward, since the Quran's message can be grouped into belief, law, and accounts of the unseen, and this surah captures the first of these completely.2 That is why Al-Ikhlas is often paired with Al-Falaq and An-Nas in daily supplications. To read it in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.