This interpretation is supported by what is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: “When this verse was revealed, they asked, ‘What does al-Samad mean?’ The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, ‘The Master to whom people turn in their needs.’”

Abū al-Layth said: “One says, ‘samadtu samda hādhā al-amr,’ meaning, ‘I turned toward this matter.’”

The second answer is that, even if we concede that al-Samad, in