Certain chapters and verses are said to be more virtuous than others. What does this mean, as all are divine words?.Part2

If, for instance, we examine Sura Ikhlas in this respect, we notice that this chapter is of primary importance, declaring God’s Oneness and Absolute Unity. Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, expended great effort to inform the Muslims of the importance of this chapter, encouraging them to read it and teach it to others. This chapter describes tawhid, or the absolute unity of God – the very core of the religion – in a way that instantly establishes the concept of the deity in the human mind.

Throughout the Qur’an, every verse aims to establish and confirm four basic, universal truths, that is, the existence and Oneness of the Maker of the Universe, the Prophethood, the bodily Resurrection, and worship.

God’s Messenger describes the short Sura Ikhlas as being equivalent to one-third of the entire Qur’an, as pure tawhid is described in this chapter. Ikhlas means purity of faith, sincerity in religion, and the observation of the principles of Islam for the pleasure of God. This sura is the most precise and meaningful description of tawhid, or Oneness and Unity of God. In just six sentences, three positive and three negative, the sura proves and establishes various aspects of Divine Unity and rejects and negates all forms of association of partners with God. The superiority of this chapter is obvious as the recognition of God and His attributes is, more or less, equal to the importance of respiration for human beings as life would be meaningless without truly recognizing God Almighty.

Another important sura, Sura Fatiha, is recited in all rak’ats, or cycles, of the prayers. Sura Fatiha is the greatest prayer and the most internal supplication to God. A number of facts, such as God deserves to be worshipped, that only God provides help, being guided to the right path or being deviated from the right path is dependent only on God’s will and that goodness and evil are all created only by God are all clearly mentioned in this chapter. The Qur’an has been revealed for the purpose of providing ultimate guidance for humankind and all the basic principles contained in the Qur’an are also outlined in Sura Fatiha. Because, the existence of One God, Who deserves all praise, recognition and worship, Who has Sovereignty over all and on Whom everyone relies and depends, is explained in this sura, and our request to God to be pious, righteous people is stated. Thus, Sura Fatiha has a different status in comparison to the others; it balances praise in its first four verses with petition in the remaining, thus establishing the aforementioned four basic purposes of Qur’anic guidance in a marvelously succinct yet comprehensive way.