Ayah 1
Qul huwwa Allahu Ahad (Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One,)
Qul - Say.
Command to the Messenger to;
1 - Learn for himself.
2 - Teach it to others.
Message of Tawheed, is connected to Da'wah (inviting to Islam)
Huwwa - He.
This was not required in the ayah because Allah could say; Qul Allahu ahad - say Allah is One.
However, A pronoun is used when you know who is being spoken about (this is called Sha'n شأن ). Allah is so great, He is already known by the people (as the Originator, Creator, Designer etc.)
So 'He' is an implication that you know this God already, it is not a new God.
2 - It is also a reply to the people who asked Allah's Messenger who his god was?
Man Huwwa, Maa huwwa - who is he, what is he? These are the questions the polytheists asked Allah's Messenger about Allah. So Allah is answering that He is Allah, the One.
3 - Say, He is Allah, Say He is One.
Two sentences have been fused into one ayah. Say, He is Allah, One.
Ahad - One
The difference between Wahid and Ahad:
1 -
Ahad is used exclusively in the Negative sense only.
Wahid is used in the Positive sense only.
i.e. Laysa ahad mawjoodan fee al masjid - there is not One person in the Mosque [it is empty].
Laysa wahid mawjoodan fee al masjid - there is not One in the Mosque [but there are alot (more than one) people in the Mosque].
..wa la yushriku bi 'ibadatihee Ahada - and no-One should associate partners with Him in worship. [al Kahf 18:110]
However, We notice that Allah uses the word Ahad in ayah 1 of surah al Ikhlas, to describe Himself.
This is strange, because Ahad is usually only used in the negative. This Ahad is used to show that there is a uniqueness of the useage of this word when describing Allah - now in the positive sense instead of the negative. By Allah using Ahad, He is implying affirmation to His Oneness, and there being none similar to Him in that Oneness.
Amazing: There is no Arabic literature which ever uses the word Ahad by itself in a positive way - except for surah al Ikhlas.
Ahad comes from - Wahd/Wahada.
Wahd دحو (waw, ha, daal) - one who is individual by himself, his tribe/lineage/origin is not known.
Allah did not use that word for Himself because He does not want to make Himself similar to humans in attributes.
Ahad is a separate word which implies; That One cannot have any comparison, a sole unique entity who does not have an equal or competitor in any way. He does not have a 2nd or affiliate.
So Ahad is different to Wahid.
The people of other religions believe in God as One (this is Wahid), but they always make the mistake of giving Him attributes of the creation. It is only when you disassociate Allah's attributes from similarity to the creation that you can believe Allah is Ahad (Unique in His Oneness).
