Al-Ikhlas

Al-Ikhlāṣ (Arabic: الْإِخْلَاص, "Sincerity"), also known as the Declaration of God's Unity and al-Tawhid (Arabic: التوحيد, "Monotheism"), is the 112th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran.
According to George Sale, this chapter is held in particular veneration by Muslims, and declared, by Islamic tradition, to be equal in value to a third part of the whole Quran. It is said to have been revealed during the Quraysh Conflict with Muhammad in answer to a challenge over the distinguishing attributes of God, Muhammad invited them to worship.
Al-Ikhlas is not merely the name of this surah but also the title of its contents, for it deals exclusively with Tawhid. The other surahs of the Quran generally have been designated after a word occurring in them, but in this surah the word Ikhlas has occurred nowhere. It has been given this name in view of its meaning and subject matter.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ‎ bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i) قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ۝١‎ ¹ qul huwa llāhu aḥad(un) ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ۝٢‎ ² allāhu ṣ-ṣamad(u) لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ۝٣‎ ³ lam yalid wa-lam yūlad وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ ۝٤‎ ⁴ wa-lam yaku l-lahū kufuwan aḥad(um)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ‎ bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i) قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ۝١‎ ¹ qul huwa llāhu aḥad(un) ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ۝٢‎ ² allāhu ṣ-ṣamad(u) لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ۝٣‎ ³ lam yalid wa-lam yūlad وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُؤًا اَحَدٌۢ ۝٤‎ ⁴ wa-lam yaku l-lahū kufuʾan aḥad(um)
"Say, He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.
Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him.
The first three verses of Al-Ikhlas are known from a coin issued by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in 697 AD. It is also at the beginning of the major inscription on the Dome of the Rock, which dates to 691. Some of the early inscriptions of the surah contain a variant of the first verse, where the qul huwa of the first verse is missing (a variant also documented in the Islamic tradition). It is typically not found in early manuscripts because it is located towards the end of the Quran, and therefore, is in a location of a manuscript sensitive to damage, although it is present in the manuscript Sarayı Medina 1a.
In Islamic tradition, the audience of Al-Ikhlas has been variously reported to be Jewish, Christian, or pagan. Various potential contextualizations have been suggested in Quranic studies. One suggestion relates the first verse to the Shema of the Book of Deuteronomy: "Hear, O Israel: YHVH is our God, YHVH is one" (Deut 6:4). Another suggestion, especially as advocated by Angelika Neuwirth, relates this verse as representing an antithesis or a counter to the Nicene Creed based on structural corresponds between the two. A recent proposal has compared this surah to Jacob's commentary of the Christological beliefs of the Christians of Najran in his 6th-century Letter to the Himyarites. This, in particular, resembles a Muslim tradition whereby the surah was revealed in the context of an arrival of a delegation of Christians from Najran into Muhammad's audience.
In the early years of Islam, some surahs of the Quran came to be known by several different names, sometimes varying by region. This surah was among those to receive many different titles. It is a short declaration of tawhid, God's absolute oneness, consisting of four ayat. Al-Ikhlas means "the purity" or "the refining".
It is disputed whether this is a Meccan or Medinan surah. The former seems more probable, particularly since it seems to have been alluded to by Bilal ibn al-Harith, who, when he was being tortured by his cruel master, is said to have repeated "Ahad, Ahad!" (unique, referring as here to God). It is reported from Ubayy ibn Ka'b that it was revealed after the polytheists asked "O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord."
Surah Al-Ikhlas contains four verses: 112:1. Say: He is Allah, One. 112:2. Allah As-Samad. 112:3. He begets not, nor was He begotten. 112:4. And there is none comparable to Him.
About this, Tafsir Ibn Kathir says:
The word (Al-Ahad) cannot be used for anyone in affirmation except for Allah within the Islamic tradition.
According to hadiths, this surah is an especially important and honored part of the Quran: