—namely, that he said:

“Is any one of you incapable of reciting in a single night [one third] (1) of the Qur’an?” They asked, “How can a person recite (2) one third of the Qur’an?” He replied:

“{Qul huwa Allahu Ahad (Say: He is Allah—One)} is equivalent to one third of the Qur’an.” (3)

His statement “is equivalent to one third of the Qur’an” makes it clear that the surah itself is not literally one third, but that it equals one third in reward.

We say: there is no contradiction between the two expressions (4). It is one third with respect to meaning, while it equals one third with respect to letters; or, taken in both its wording and its meaning, it is one third and therefore equals one third, for the wording explicitly embodies its meaning.

Moreover, when he said, “He divided the Qur’an into three parts and made {Qul huwa Allahu Ahad} one part” (5) of those parts, he informed us that the Qur’an is divided into three sections and that this surah is one of them. This cannot be understood as referring solely to reward apart from the surah itself. For that reason the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would combine both phrasings, as in the hadith narrated by Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (6)—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “Gather yourselves (7), for I will recite to you one third of the Qur’an.” So whoever could gather did so, and then the Prophet of Allah (8)—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—came out