The Oneness of Allah Almighty

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.

Surah Ikhlas is a very important Surah from the Holy Qur'an because it proclaims the Oneness (Tawhid) and Absolute nature of Divine Essence. This concept is presented in the first ayat. The second ayat declares that Allah is Eternal, i.e., He is beyond the bounds of time and space. The third ayat describes that Allah does not give birth nor is He is given birth and the last ayat declares that Allah is beyond comparison. Surah Ikhlas directly supports the first declaration (shahadah) of Islam: "There is no god but Allah". In this context, Islam is based on belief in one God (monotheism). 

Al-Ikhlas means "the purity" or "the refining". It is disputed whether this is a Meccan or Madinan sura. The former seems more probable, particularly since it seems to be have been alluded to by Bilal, who, when he was being tortured by his cruel master, is said to have repeated "Ahad, Ahad!" (unique, referring as here to Allah). It is reported from Ubayy ibn Ka'b that it was revealed after the polytheists asked "O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord."

According to a hadith, this sura is an especially important and honored part of the Quran :  Imam Malik bin Anas has said that `Ubayd bin Hunayn heard Abu Hurayrah speaking: "I was walking with the Prophet and we heard a man reciting "Say: He, God, is One" The God's Apostle said : "It is inevitable" I asked "what?": He responded: "Paradise." Abu Said has narrated that he heard the Prophet saying: "Isn't every one of you able to recite one third of the Quran during a night?" They thought it was very difficult, so they asked: "Who is able to do that, O Apostle of God?" He responded: "He is God, the One and Only is one third of the Qur'an." 

Al-Bukhari reported from Amrah bint Abdur-Rahman, who used to stay in the apartment of Aishah radhi'Allahu 'anha, the wife of the Prophet, that Aishah said, "The Prophet sent a man as the commander of a war expedition and he used to lead his companions in prayer with recitation (of the Quran). And he would complete his recitation with the recitation, 'say He is Allah, One'. So when they returned, they mentioned that to the Prophet and he said, "Ask him why does he do that". So they asked him and he said, "Because it is the description of Ar-Rahman and I love to recite it". So the Prophet said, "Inform him that Allah the Most High Loves him." This is how Al-Bukhari recorded this hadith in his book of tawhid. 

Muslim and an-Nisai also recorded it. An authentic Hadith says ‘Say [recite] (Qul Huw allaahu Ahad) [Suraatul Ikhlaas] and al-M aw ’idhatayn ( Suratul Falaq and Suratun Naas ) three times in the morning and the evening; they will suffice you from everything.’ (Narrated by At-Tirmidhee And Imaam Al-Albaanee authenticated it)

Narrated ‘Aisha: “Whenever Allah’s Apostle became sick, he would recite Mu’awwidhatayn (Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas) and then blow his breath over his body. When he became seriously ill, I used to recite (these two suras) and rub his hands over his body hoping for its blessings. (Sahih al-Bukhari) 

Narrated ‘Aisha: “Whenever thy Prophet go went to bed every night, he used to cup his hands together and blow over it after reciting Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas, and then rub his hands over whatever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face and front of his body. He used to do that three times. (Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Once man has thus comprehended the essence of existence there remains for him the duty, since he knows the value of his own soul, of making for himself a direct path which will constantly lead his individual soul to and bind it with the universal Soul of which the Universe, as much of it we perceive with our limited vision, is one of the infinite manifestations. Thus Islam's basic principle can only be defined as monorealism and not as monotheism."
This insight into Islam's basic principle sheds a new light into the interpretation of Surah Ikhlas. In the first ayat, Allah commands the Holy Prophet to declare that Allah is One. From the above quotation, the Islamic principle of Oneness is not limited to the the declaration that there is but one God but extends to all realities. In other words, all realities merge into One Reality. This absolute reality is called Monoreality. Therefore, Allah is Monoreal.