Explanation of the Book of Tawhid-01b

The reader: Isma'il narrated to us, saying: Malik narrated to me from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Sa'sa'ah from his father from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): أن رجلا سمع رجلا يقرأ : قل هو الله أحد ويرددها ، فلما أصبح جاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فذكر له ذلك فكأن الرجل يتقالها. فقال الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم : والذي نفسي بيده إنها لتعدل ثلث القرآن That a man heard a man reciting: "Say: He is Allah, the One," and repeating it. So when morning came, he went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him, and it seemed the man was belittling it. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul, it is equal to one-third of the Qur'an.". Isma'il ibn Ja'far added from Malik from 'Abd al-Rahman from his father from Abu Sa'id, saying: My brother Qatadah ibn al-Nu'man informed me from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : The point of this hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and he swore to it. The scholars said: It is equal to one-third of the Qur'an because the Qur'an has three themes: rulings, news about Allah, and news about Allah's creation. The entire Qur'an revolves around these three meanings. The rulings pertain to the deeds of the servants, and the news about Allah's creation also pertains to what Allah has informed us about. The news about Allah is contained in Surat al-Ikhlas, which includes the oneness of worship, the oneness of lordship, and the oneness of the names and attributes. The oneness of worship is in His saying: and the oneness of lordship and the names and attributes are in His saying: This is why it is equal to one-third of the Qur'an.