Shaykh al-Islām and mufti to the people, Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-‘Abbās Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halīm ibn ‘Abd al-Salām Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah be pleased with him—was asked to give a fatwa on the following question:

What do the esteemed scholars say concerning the meaning of the Prophet’s statement—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—about Surah al-Ikhlās:

“It is equivalent to one-third of the Quran”?

How can this be, given how few letters it contains compared with the many letters of the Quran? Give us a detailed and satisfying explanation, and provide us with a fatwa. May you be rewarded, if Allah Most High wills.

He—may Allah be pleased with him—replied as follows:

Praise be to Allah. The hadiths transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning the virtue of “Say: He is Allah, the One” and its being equivalent to one-third of the Quran are among the most authentic and best-known hadiths. Indeed, a number of hadith masters, such as al-Dāraqutnī, have said: No surah of the Quran has more authentic reports from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning its virtue than “Say: He is Allah, the One.”

These hadiths contain such wordings as his saying, “‘Say: He is Allah, the One’ is equivalent to one-third of the Quran,” and his saying, “Whoever recites ‘Say: He is Allah, the One’