8
Productivity Lessons from Surah Al-Ikhlaas
In
today’s Jumuah Special we find out how to love— and live by— an amazing surah
oftrue love and endless productivity— Surah al-Ikhlaas.
What
is your relationship with this surah right now?
Abu
Sa’eed al-Khudri radiyallahu ‘anhu said: The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam said to his Companions: ‘Could any one of you not recite one third of
the Quran in one night?’ They found the idea too difficult, and said, ‘Who
among us could do that, O Messenger of Allaah?’ He said, ‘Allaahu’l-ahad, al-
samad is one third of the Quran.’[Al-Bukhaaree]
The
Reward of Recitation
Surah
al-Ikhlaas (“sincerity”) was revealed in Makkah at a
time when the concept of “God” was being questioned. Allah ‘azza wa jal revealed
this powerful answer and thissurah is a true productivity booster.
The
Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam went out of his way to
emphasize the rewards of reciting the Quran. This is a rahmah, a
mercy, in itself. Being rewarded just for reciting! You already know the reward
you get is tenfold for each letter; according to the hadith, alif is
a letter, laam is a letter, and meem is a
letter, so for all three you get 30 rewards. If you complete the Quran from
cover to cover you get approximately 33 million, 200,000 rewards. Imagine those
rewards turning 33 million, 200,000 sins into ashes!
Yes,
it’s a major task to read the entire Quran, but who doesn’t know the short surahs?
Did you ever contemplate your reward if you read them over and over again?
Recite them standing, sitting, lying down, doing work, tending the children,
while shopping, etc., and gain the same reward of reciting any other surah and
more!
8
Productivity Lessons from Surah Al-Ikhlaas
1. Earn
470 rewards on a normal day.
Surah
al-Iklaas has 47 letters. If you multiply this by
ten you get 470 rewards. This is a beautiful example of Allah being Al-Kareem, the
Most Generous!
2. Read
it three times and get the same rewards as if you read the entire Quran.
A
man stood up to worship Allah
at the time of the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, just before
dawn and recited Qul huwa Allahu ahad, but didn’t recite anything
else. In the morning the man came to the Prophet told him about this, thinking
that perhaps he was not doing enough. The Messenger of Allah said: By
the One in Whose hand is my soul, it is equivalent to one-third of the Quran. [Al-Bukhaaree]
3. Love
it to receive the love of Allah.
Do
you often think: how can I get the love of Allah? Study the
meaning of Surah al-Ikhlaas, firmly believe in its message and
act upon it with love. Allah subhanahu wa ta’alaa loves you
for loving it!
‘Aa’ishah
also reported that the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sent
a man in charge of a small military campaign, and when he recited Quran whilst
leading his companions in prayer, he would always end with Qul huwa
Allaahu ahad. When they came back, (his companions) mentioned that to the
Prophet who told them to ask him why he did that. So they asked him, and he
said, “Because it is a description of the Most Merciful, and I love to recite
it.” The Prophet said: “Tell him that Allah loves him.” [Al-Bukhaaree]
So the Greatest, the King of Kings, the Perfect loves you just for loving this surah. So
on top of the hundreds of rewards for just reciting it and the reward of
one-third of the Quran, you gain your Lord’s love. Allahu akbar, just
one surah!
4. It’s
a personal protector.
Read
it three times when you go to bed and on top of all above rewards, be rewarded
for following a sunnah, plus be protected during your
sleep! ‘Aa’ishah reported that when the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam went to bed, he would cup his hands together, blow into them
and recite into them Qul huwa Allaahu ahad [Surah
al-Ikhlaas], Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-falaq [Surah
al-Falaq] and Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-naas [Surah
al-Naas]. Then he would wipe as much of his body as he could with his
hands, starting with his head and face, and the front of his body. He would do
this three times. [Al-Bukhaaree]
5. Recite
it in your witr prayer.
Use
this surah in your witr prayer and double
your rewards by following the sunnah of the Prophet salallahu
‘alayhi wa sallam and gaining all the benefits that come withSurah
Al-Ikhlaas. The Messenger of Allah salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam used
to reciteSabbi hisma Rabbik al-A’laa (Surah al-A’laa), Qul
yaa ayyuhaa’l-kaafiroon (surah al-Kaafiroon) and Qul huwa
Allaahu ahad (Surah al-Ikhlaas)in his witr prayer,
and when he had finished, he would repeat Subhaan al-Malik al-Quddoos (“Glory
be to the King, the Holy”) three times, making the last vowel long on the third
recitation. [An-Nisaa’i]
6. Make
paradise your right.
Abu
Hurayrah reported that the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam heard a man
reciting Qul huwa Allahu ahad, and said, ‘It is his right.’ They asked, ‘O
Messenger of Allah, what is his right?’ He said, ‘Paradise is his right.’ [Ahmad]
7. Let
it build your real estate in Jannah.
The
Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Whoever
recites Qul huwa Allahu ahad ten times, Allah will build for him a house in
Paradise. [Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer]
8. Let
it speak for you on the Day of Judgment.
On
top of all the rewards you get for reciting it, the love of your Creator for
loving it, the protection for using it, insha’Allah it can
come to your rescue on the Day of Judgment. You might have more bad deeds and
sins than good deeds and imagine the Quran comes to the rescue. Allah’s
Messenger salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, Fasting
and the Quran will intercede for man. Fasting says, ‘O my Lord, I have kept him
away from his food and his passions by day, so accept my intercession for him.’ The
Quran says, ‘I have kept him away from sleep by night, so accept my intercession
for him.’ Then their intercession is accepted.” [At-Tirmidhi]
Reference:
Qamar
Ul Islam received his Master of Technology
(Instrumentation & Control) Degree (First Division with
Honours) in 2013, Bachelor of Technology (Electrical Engineering)
Degree (First Division) in 2011 from Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Diploma in Engineering (Instrumentation &
Control) Certificate in 2007 from University Polytechnic, AMU, Aligarh. Currently He is working as an Assistant Professor at BGSB University (State University) in Jammu & Kashmir, India since september 2016 and He is also former Assistant Professor at Vishveshwarya Institute of Engineering & Technology since march 2014.
He is the first position rank holder in his
batch of Diploma in Engineering (Instrumentation & Control). He is an alumni of Aligarh Muslim University and designed many blogs for the department. His teaching
and research interests
lie mainly in the area of Smart Sensing &
Measurement, Instrumentation & Control and Electrical Machines. He has
attended following workshops and receives following certificates:
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