Tafseer of Sincerity · Al-Ikhlaas · 112:4
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His words وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ — the scholars of exegesis differed concerning their meaning. Some said: the meaning is: and there was none equal to Him, nor any peer.
Mention of those who said this:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abī al-ʿĀliya, concerning His words وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ: there was none equal to Him, nor any peer, and nothing is like unto Him.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Ghaylān al-Thaqafī — and he was the governor of Baṣra — on the authority of Kaʿb, who said: Verily Allah, the Exalted, whose remembrance is glorified, founded the seven heavens and the seven earths upon this sūra: لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ * وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ — and verily, none of His creatures can equal Him.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ — he said: nothing is like unto Him. Blessed is Allah, the One, the Overwhelming.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا: an equal.
Others said: the meaning is that He had no spouse.
Mention of those who said this:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abjur, on the authority of Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ — he said: a spouse.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Ayjur, on the authority of Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abjur, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ — he said: a spouse.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abjur, on the authority of Ṭalḥa ibn Muṣarrif, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ — he said: a spouse.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
Al-kufuʾ, al-kufā, and al-kifāʾ in Arabic are one and the same — it is the equal and the like. Of this is also the verse of Nābighat Banī Dhubyān:
"Do not assail me with a stronghold that has no equal, even though the enemies should encircle you with support."
By "lā kifāʾa lahu" he means: there is no equal for him.
The Qurʾān reciters differed over the reading of His words كُفُوًا. Most of the reciters of Baṣra read "kufuwan" with ḍamma of the kāf and the fāʾ. Some of the reciters of Kūfa read it with sukūn of the fāʾ and hamza: "kufʾan."
The correct view that may be stated concerning this: that they are two well-known readings and two well-known dialectal forms. With whichever of the two the reader recites, he attains the correct one.
End of the exegesis of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ.
