I have been unable to trace it to any reliable source. In his Qur’anic exegesis, the eminent scholar Ibn Kathīr gathered and exhaustively discussed numerous ḥadiths on this sūra’s virtue, yet he did not include this narration; accordingly, its status is unknown to me. The authentic reports that do establish this sūra’s merit and greatness are sufficient—praise be to Allah.

The same applies to the excellence of reciting it often, for it contains immense good. The Prophet ﷺ used to recite it together with “Qul yā ayyuhā l-kāfirūn” (Say, “O disbelievers”) in the two rakʿahs performed after circumambulating the Kaʿbah and in the Sunnah prayer before Fajr, because both chapters proclaim Allah’s oneness.

• The oneness of worship (tawḥīd al-ʿibādah) is set forth in “Qul yā ayyuhā l-kāfirūn.”
• The oneness of lordship and of His names and attributes (tawḥīd al-rubūbiyyah wa-al-asmāʾ wa-al-ṣifāt) is affirmed in “Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad” (Say, “He is Allah, the One”).

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Reciting Sura al-Ikhlāṣ three times each night

Question: If a person recites Sura al-Ikhlāṣ three times every night, is he regarded as having completed the entire Noble Qur’an? Please clarify, and may Allah reward you with goodness.

Answer: Sura al-Ikhlāṣ possesses tremendous merit. It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, it equals one-third of the Qur’an,” for it contains a description of the Lord—exalted is He. Its merit is great, and so is the reward for reciting it. Nevertheless, someone who limits himself to it and merely repeats it is not thereby considered the same as a person who has read the Qur’an in its entirety.