Bismillah
Sorat Al-Ikhlas
word by word translation: http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=112&verse=1
English Interpretation of the Meaning:
1. Say "He is Allah who is ONE
2. Allah, the Self-Sufficient
3. Neither did He beget and nor is he begotton
4. And there is none comparable unto him."
Notes from Tafsir:
Imam Ahmad reports that the idolaters asked the Prophet Muhammad, sal Allahu 3laihi wa sallam, what is the lineage of your Lord? (this means where did Allah come from? what is his progeny? Etc. It is common for polythiests to have complicated stories about the origins of their gods and their relationships to each other) In response, this surah was revealed. Allah has no lineage because there is nothing like him in the whole of the existence subhanAllah!!
Verse 2~ As-Samad is one of the names of Allah: one who does not give birth, nor was He born because all things that are born die and nothing dies except that it leaves inheritance => Allah does not die or leave an inheritance because he is self-sufficient. He is self sustaining so nothing can cause Him to die so He has no need of progeny to inherit for Him.
(This is in contrast to the Christian idea of Jesus "inheriting" the Earth/World/Kingdom/Universe that can be found in Hebrews 1:1-4 and several other places. If Jesus is God (audhu billah) how can he inherit from himself? If he is not God, how can he inherit unless God dies? This is a common statement of Christians that I believe not many people actually think about the implications as it comes out of their mouths.)
Verse 4~ None comparable: none similar, none equal, nothing at all like Him. You can not even describe Him except in the ways that He described Himself subhanAllah.
