This chapter was revealed in Mecca and consists of 4 verses. It describes God through the following qualities:
- He has an absolutely one essence.
- Everything other than Him resort to Him for their existential needs.
- Nothing ever shares at all in His essence, attributes or acts.
This is the Qur’anic monotheism, which is an exclusive feature of the Holy Qur’an, and upon which is built all Islamic teachings.
There are many narrations about the merits of this chapter, to the point that both Sunnis and Shias relate that it is equal to a third of the Qur’an. We will present them under traditions, God-willing.
The chapter could have been revealed in either Mecca or Medina. However, some accounts about its context of revelation suggest that it was revealed in Mecca.
