by necessary implication. Surah “Say, He is Allah, One” explicitly sets forth tawhīd pertaining to knowledge and declaration, and indicates tawhīd in practice by necessary implication. For this reason, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would recite these two surahs in the two units of prayer of Fajr, the two units of prayer associated with circumambulation, and on other occasions. It is also established that, in the two units of prayer of Fajr, he would recite the verse of faith from al-Baqarah in the first unit:

“Say, ‘We believe in Allah,’”

and the verse of submission from Āl ‘Imrān:

“Say, ‘O People of the Scripture, come to a common word between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, associate nothing with Him, and do not take one another as lords besides Allah.’ But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’”

The point here is that the attributes declaring Him free of imperfection are encompassed by these two meanings mentioned in this surah.

The first is the denial of imperfections in Him. This necessarily follows from affirming the attributes of perfection: whoever possesses absolute perfection is free of the deficiency that contradicts it. Perfection is among the meanings conveyed by His name al-Samad (the Self-Sufficient).

The second is that nothing is like Him in the attributes of perfection affirmed of Him. This is among the meanings conveyed by His name al-Ahad (the One). These two magnificent names—al-Ahad and al-Samad—thus declare Him free of every deficiency and defect, and affirm that He has no equal in any of His attributes of perfection. His name al-Samad entails the affirmation of all