It is Meccan, and it is said to be Medinan, and its verses are 4. "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."

He is a pronoun of the matter, and Allah is One; this is the matter, as if it were said: The matter is this, which is that Allah is One, and there is no second to Him. If you say: What is the position of 'He'? I say: It is in the nominative as a subject, and the sentence is the predicate. If you say: The sentence that is the predicate must have something referring back to the subject, where is the referent? I say: The ruling of this sentence is the same as that of the singular in your saying "Zayd is your boy" in that 'He' is the subject in meaning, and that Allah is One is the matter that it expresses. It is not like "Zayd's father is departing," for Zayd and the sentence indicate two different meanings, so there must be something that connects them. And from Ibn Abbas: Quraysh said: O Muhammad, describe to us your Lord whom you call us to, so it was revealed: meaning: the one you asked me to describe is Allah, and One is a substitute for the saying, Allah. Or it is: He is One, and it means One, and its origin is 'Wahd.' Abdullah and Ubayy read: He is Allah, One, without 'Say.' And in the recitation of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, it is: Allah, One, without 'Say.' And he who reads: Allah, One, is equal to the Qur'an. And Al-A'mash read: Say, He is Allah, the Unique. And it was read: One Allah, without tanween: it was omitted due to meeting the definite article. And similar to this is: "And few are those who remember Allah" [Qur'an 4:66].

And the good is the tanween, and its kasrah is for the meeting of the two silent letters. Al-Samad is a verb meaning the one who is sought, from 'Samada' to him if he is intended, and he is the master who is sought in needs. The meaning is: He is Allah whom you know and acknowledge as the Creator of the heavens and the earth and your Creator, and He is One, unique in divinity, having no partner in it. He is the one to whom every creature turns, for they cannot do without Him, while He is free of need for them. He did not beget because He does not have a counterpart, so that He would have a mate of His kind to procreate with. This meaning is indicated by His saying: "How can He have a son when there is for Him no companion?" And He was not born because every born is created and a body, while He is eternal, having no beginning to His existence, and He is not a body, and no one is equal to Him, meaning: no one resembles Him or is similar to Him. It may also be from the equality in marriage, negating the partner: they asked Him to describe Him, so it was revealed to him what contains His attributes. His saying: "He is Allah" is an indication to them of who is the Creator of things and their originator, and within that is a description of Him as All-Powerful, All-Knowing, for creation requires power and knowledge, as it occurs with utmost precision, harmony, and order. In that is a description of Him as Alive, Hearing, Seeing. And His saying: "One" is a description of His oneness and a negation of partners. And His saying: "Al-Samad" is a description that He is only the one needed, and if He is only needed: then He is free of need. And in His being free of need while being All-Knowing:

It indicates that He is just, not committing any vile acts. [The saying "He is just, not committing any vile acts" is the doctrine of the Mu'tazila, while the people of the Sunnah believe that He, the Exalted, is the Creator of all things, both good and bad, ugly and beautiful. Allah, the Exalted, said: "Allah is the Creator of all things" and His knowledge of the ugliness of the vile does not prevent Him from creating it, for it is for wisdom even if others do not know it.] And His saying: "He was not born" is a description of eternity and primacy. And His saying: "He did not beget" is a negation of similarity and likeness. And His saying: "And there is none equal to Him" confirms that and establishes the ruling on it: If you say: The eloquent Arabic speech is that the adverbial phrase, which is superfluous and unstable, should be delayed and not advanced, and Sibawayh has stated this in his book.

Sibawayh reported that he heard some of the rough Arabs reciting: "And there was none equal to Him." This coarse person followed his habit and was rough in his nature, which prevented him from appreciating the subtlety of the meaning for which the preposition was placed before the subject. The aim of the verse is to negate equivalence and equality from the essence of Allah, the Exalted. Therefore, it was more appropriate to present the negation of equivalence first. When it was presented to negate, the preposition was mentioned alongside it to clarify the sacred essence by negating equivalence. And Allah knows best. So why is it presented in the most eloquent and articulate speech? I say this statement was made to negate equivalence from the essence of the Creator, glorified is He. This meaning is centered in this preposition, making it the most important thing and the most deserving of precedence. It was read: "kafū'an," with the 'kaf' and 'fā' both pronounced with a dammah. And with the 'kaf' pronounced with both a dammah and a kasrah while the 'fā' is silent: If you ask, why is this surah equivalent to the entirety of the Qur'an despite its brief text and the closeness of its ends? I say: For a reason that prevails over those who prevail, and that is only due to its containing the attributes of Allah, the Exalted, and His justice and oneness. It is enough evidence for one who acknowledges its virtue and believes in the words of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding it: "Indeed, the knowledge of oneness is from Allah, the Exalted, at a high station." How could it not be so when knowledge follows the known: it is elevated by its nobility and diminished by its lowliness? The known in this knowledge is Allah, the Exalted, and His attributes, and what is permissible for Him and what is not. What do you think of the nobility of its rank and the greatness of its position, and its superiority over all knowledge, and its preeminence over all else? Whoever belittles it does so due to their weak knowledge of the known and their lack of reverence for it, and their distance from contemplating its consequences. O Allah, gather us among the scholars who act for You, who speak of Your justice and oneness, and who fear Your warning. This surah is called the Surah of the Foundation due to its encompassing the fundamentals of religion. Ubayy and Anas narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The seven heavens and the seven earths were founded on 'Say, He is Allah, One.'" I did not find it as a raised narration. "And Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it in the merits of the Qur'an from the narration of Abdullah ibn Ghilan al-Thaqafi from al-Abb al-Ahbar as a statement." This means that they were created only to serve as signs of the oneness of Allah and the knowledge of His attributes, which are articulated in this surah. It is reported from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, that he heard a man reciting 'Say, He is Allah, One,' and he said: "It is obligatory." It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what is obligatory? He said: "Paradise is obligatory for him." This was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and al-Hakim from the hadith of Ubaid ibn Hunayn from Abu Huraira. There is a supporting narration in al-Tabarani al-Kabir from the hadith of Abu Umamah.