Muqatil said: “The Arab polytheists said, ‘The angels are Allah’s daughters.’ The Jews said, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah.’ And the Christians said, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ So Allah declared them liars and negated from Himself both begetting and any likeness.” (1)

‘Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il narrated to us; Abu al-Yaman narrated to us; Shu‘ayb informed us from al-Zuhri; Abu al-Zinad informed us from al-A‘raj, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: Allah Most High says: “The son of Adam has denied Me, though he had no right to do so; and he has insulted Me, though he had no right to do so. His denial of Me is his saying, ‘He will not restore me as He first created me.’ Yet the first creation is no easier for Me than restoring it. And his insulting Me is his saying, ‘Allah has taken a child.’ But I am the One, the Eternal Refuge, who neither begets nor was born, and there is none comparable to Me.” (2)

Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sarakhsi informed us; Abu ‘Ali Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Hashimi informed us; Abu Mus‘ab informed us from Malik, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Sa‘sa‘ah al-Ansari, from his father, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri: A man heard another man reciting, “Say, ‘He is Allah, the One,’” and repeating it. When morning came, he went to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and mentioned this to him, as though he regarded it as too little. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him: “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, it is equal to one-third of the Quran.” (3)

Abu Sa‘id al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Tha‘labi informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Asfahani informed us; ‘Abd Allah ibn Ja‘far ibn Ahmad ibn Faris informed us; Yunus ibn Habib narrated to us; Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi narrated to us; Shu‘bah narrated to us from Qatadah, who said: I heard Salim ibn Abi al-Ja‘d narrating from Ma‘dan ibn Abi Talhah, from Abu al-Darda’, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Is any one of you incapable of reciting one-third of the Quran in a single night?” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, who is able to do that?” He said: “Recite: ‘Say, He is Allah, the One.’” (4)

Abu al-Hasan al-Sarakhsi also informed us; Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Hashimi informed us; Abu Mus‘ab informed us from Malik, from ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, from ‘Ubayd ibn Jubayr, the freedman of Zayd ibn al-Khattab, who said: I heard Abu Hurayrah say: I was walking with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he heard a man reciting: “Say, ‘He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, and there is none comparable to Him.’” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “It has become obligatory.” So I asked him, “What has become obligatory, O Messenger of Allah?”