once, it is as though he has recited one-third of the Quran; whoever recites it twice, it is as though he has recited two-thirds of the Quran; and whoever recites it three times, it is as though he has recited the entire Quran,” and his saying to the people:

“‘Gather together so that I may recite one-third of the Quran to you.’ They gathered, and he recited to them: ‘Say: He is Allah, the One.’ He said: ‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, it is equivalent to one-third of the Quran.’”

As for the explanation of this, some scholars have said that, in terms of its meanings, the Quran consists of three parts: one-third concerns Allah’s oneness, one-third consists of narratives, and one-third contains commands and prohibitions. “Say: He is Allah, the One” describes the Most Merciful and declares who He is; thus, it encompasses one-third of the Quran.

This is because the Quran is the speech of Allah Most High, and speech is either prescriptive or informative. Prescriptive speech consists of commands, prohibitions, and related matters, such as permission and the like; this constitutes its rulings.

Informative speech conveys information either about the Creator or about creation. Information about the Creator concerns His oneness, including His names and attributes. Information about creation consists of narratives: accounts of what has happened and what will happen. This includes accounts of the prophets, their peoples, and those who denied them, as well as information about Paradise and Hell, reward and punishment.

They said: In this respect, “Say: He is Allah, the One” is equivalent to one-third of the Quran because it affirms Allah’s oneness, which constitutes one-third of the Quran’s meanings.

It remains to be asked: If it is equivalent to one-third of the Quran despite containing so few letters, then it would be