66 - الْاَحَدُ

[Bint e Aisha]

الْاَحَدُ

 

 

Translation

الْاَحَدُ is also translated as The One but here there is more of a connotation of being alone.

 

The Difference الْوَاحِدُ between and  الْاَحَدُ

الْوَاحِدُ is being unique and الْاَحَدُ is being alone. The number one in Arabic is وَاحِد and it has a second i.e. number two in Arabic is إثنان. It can be made feminine and a person can be described as وَاحِد - a unique person. 

 

الْاَحَدُ is alone in His attributes. There is no number two after it and it cannot be ascribed to a person i.e. a person can be described as كَريم but not اَحَد. It is exclusive to Allah ta’ala.  

 

Definition

Ibn Katheer (Rahimahullah) says it is that being Who has no Mithl (Example). There is no similar Being to Him. اَحَد is exclusive to Allah ta’ala and nothing is comparable to Him in terms of His essence and His Sifaat. 

 

It is mentioned only once in the Qur’an in Surah Ikhlaas and it is used in the indefinite form which in Arabic, gives a word more expanse / comprehensiveness because when something is definite it is limited. 

 

Surah Ikhlaas

It is regarded as one-third of the Qur’an. Scholars say the Qur’an is divided into three major themes and one of these is Tawheed and Surah Ikhlaas is all about Tawheed which is why it is regarded as one-third of the Qur’an. The first verse of Surah Ikhlaas is an affirmation of Tawheed and thereafter His prefect Sifaat are mentioned. In this Surah all the different ways of rejecting Tawheed are alluded to in a subtle way. 

 

Ways of Rejecting Tawheed

There are different ways a person can reject Tawheed;

•    To reject Allah ta’ala altogether as atheists do

•    To believe in God but to not believe in His attributes

•    To believe in God and in His attributes but to do Shirk in deeds. There are different levels of Shirk and some Muslims also commit Shirk

•    To ask help from others

•    To attribute children to God as the Christians and the Mushrikeen did

 
Ahad! Ahad!

The story of Bilaal RA is known to everyone. When he was persecuted he kept repeating Ahad! Ahad! Why did he not say Waahid! Waahid!? It was because he was asked to accept the idols of the Mushrikeen and he was saying, “He is the Only One, there is no one like Him.”

 

Scholars say it was an expression of his love for Allah ta’ala as when a person loves someone, they often mention the name of their beloved. It was also an answer to his tormentors and this tormented them in return. It is also said that he repeated the name as even though he was tormented, taking Allah ta’ala’s name gave him pleasure.  

 

There were so many Sahaba RA, but the name of Bilaal RA is known to every child. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam loved him and Allah ta’ala granted him the status of being the first to call out the Adhaan. After the death of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam he moved to Damascus and only returned to Madeenah once. Hasan RA requested him to call out the Adhaan and when he did, it brought back memories to the people of Madeenah of the time when the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam was among them and Ahad! Ahad! was where it all began. 

 

Counsel

 

To connect to this name, use it in Du’a to call out to Allah ta’ala and in any difficulty turn to Him first which we forget to do when a situation occurs. A person with firm Yaqeen in Tawheed will turn to Allah ta’ala in all situations and in all ‘Ibaadah.

 

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