When I was a boy—just old enough to carry my father’s basket to the market—I used to walk past one of the idol shrines in Mecca, the sacred city where the Kaaba stands. Every time, I would see people offering food, cloth, even gold to lifeless statues. They bowed, whispered prayers, and feared that missing a single offering would bring misfortune. Once, I asked my father, “Do they really think these figures can hear them?”
He looked at me sternly and said, “Don’t ask such things. It is how our people have always worshipped.”
But something in my heart was uneasy.
Years passed, and the Prophet Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—began reciting verses from the Qur’an, the holy book revealed to him by Allah. At first, many in Mecca rejected his words, but I couldn’t help but listen. The way he described Allah—One, without partner, neither born nor giving birth—was unlike anything I had ever heard. No stories of gods fighting or needing food. Just pure truth.
One evening, I was sitting in the shade of my uncle’s home when a man came into the gathering. “A new surah has been revealed,” he said. People leaned in close. “It is short, but powerful. The Prophet says it is equal in reward to a third of the Qur’an.”
Then he recited:
“Say: He is Allah, the One.
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
And there is none like Him.”
— Surah Al-Ikhlas (Qur’an 112:1–4)
The simple words struck deep. Allah is One. No children, no parents, no equal.
That night I couldn’t sleep. I kept whispering it to myself: “Qul huwa Allahu ahad…” It was so short I quickly memorized it. But the meaning—oh, the meaning—that took hold of my heart.
The next morning, I went with my father again to the market. We passed the idol shrine. I stopped. The familiar idols stood there, painted eyes staring into nothing. I remembered the words: “There is none like Him.”
I turned to my father, nervous. “If Allah is One, and there is nothing like Him… then aren’t these idols false?”
My father froze. He didn’t speak for a long moment. Finally, he whispered, “I’ve wondered the same.”
He didn’t say more. But that evening, I saw him watching the Prophet’s house from a distance, just standing there with a look I couldn’t describe.
From that day on, I recited Surah Al-Ikhlas in every prayer. When I feared the dark, when I felt alone, when I didn’t understand the world—I came back to those four ayat (verses).
It reminded me that Allah doesn’t need anything. He doesn’t break, weaken, or grow old. And if He is with me, what is there to fear?
I had once lived in a city of many idols. But now, I knew the truth. There is only One worth worshipping, and nothing compares to Him.
Story Note: This story is inspired by the revelation of Surah Al-Ikhlas (Qur’an 112), and reports in authentic hadith that it equals one-third of the Qur’an in meaning and reward.
When I was a boy—just old enough to carry my father’s basket to the market—I used to walk past one of the idol shrines in Mecca, the sacred city where the Kaaba stands. Every time, I would see people offering food, cloth, even gold to lifeless statues. They bowed, whispered prayers, and feared that missing a single offering would bring misfortune. Once, I asked my father, “Do they really think these figures can hear them?”
He looked at me sternly and said, “Don’t ask such things. It is how our people have always worshipped.”
But something in my heart was uneasy.
Years passed, and the Prophet Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—began reciting verses from the Qur’an, the holy book revealed to him by Allah. At first, many in Mecca rejected his words, but I couldn’t help but listen. The way he described Allah—One, without partner, neither born nor giving birth—was unlike anything I had ever heard. No stories of gods fighting or needing food. Just pure truth.
One evening, I was sitting in the shade of my uncle’s home when a man came into the gathering. “A new surah has been revealed,” he said. People leaned in close. “It is short, but powerful. The Prophet says it is equal in reward to a third of the Qur’an.”
Then he recited:
“Say: He is Allah, the One.
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
And there is none like Him.”
— Surah Al-Ikhlas (Qur’an 112:1–4)
The simple words struck deep. Allah is One. No children, no parents, no equal.
That night I couldn’t sleep. I kept whispering it to myself: “Qul huwa Allahu ahad…” It was so short I quickly memorized it. But the meaning—oh, the meaning—that took hold of my heart.
The next morning, I went with my father again to the market. We passed the idol shrine. I stopped. The familiar idols stood there, painted eyes staring into nothing. I remembered the words: “There is none like Him.”
I turned to my father, nervous. “If Allah is One, and there is nothing like Him… then aren’t these idols false?”
My father froze. He didn’t speak for a long moment. Finally, he whispered, “I’ve wondered the same.”
He didn’t say more. But that evening, I saw him watching the Prophet’s house from a distance, just standing there with a look I couldn’t describe.
From that day on, I recited Surah Al-Ikhlas in every prayer. When I feared the dark, when I felt alone, when I didn’t understand the world—I came back to those four ayat (verses).
It reminded me that Allah doesn’t need anything. He doesn’t break, weaken, or grow old. And if He is with me, what is there to fear?
I had once lived in a city of many idols. But now, I knew the truth. There is only One worth worshipping, and nothing compares to Him.
Story Note: This story is inspired by the revelation of Surah Al-Ikhlas (Qur’an 112), and reports in authentic hadith that it equals one-third of the Qur’an in meaning and reward.
