How Great Is Sura 112?

One of the most important surahs in the entire Quran is Surah Al-Ikhlas, 112. Muslims believe this chapter alone is equivalent to one-third of the Quran. Muslims love to recite this because it claims to define God in just four verses.

Also for some reasons that we will look at, Muslims think that this chapter refutes the beliefs of Christians.

1.Say, “He is Allah , [who is] One,
2. Allah , the Eternal Refuge.
3. He neither begets nor is born,
4. Nor is there to Him any equivalent.”

Let’s look at each verse to see how impressive (or not) this chapter is.

1. God is One.
The Quran is not saying anything new here.
The Bible already said it over 2000 years before the Quran.

“The LORD (Yahweh) our God, the LORD (Yahweh) is one.”
(Deuteronomy 6:4).
This is what Christians believe. Unfortunately Muslims think that this is a refutation of Christian beliefs. No it isn’t.

Where does it say in the Bible that God is NOT one? The problem is, there is this Islamic misconception that we have 3 gods and this verse 112:1 supposedly debunks that belief. No Christian believes in 3 gods.

2. God, the Eternal Refuge.
Once again, the Quran is only saying what is already long established in the Bible. Verses such Deuteronomy 33:27 teaches us this.
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

3. He neither begets nor is born.
Here is a crucial verse. Muslims love it because, again, they think this verse refutes Christianity.

The words in the Quran, ‘beget’ and ‘born’ is addressing a weird divine, physical, biological, sexual procreation. And this 112:3 is saying God does not indulge in them.

Once again, we have to ask, “Where does this teaching come from?” The Bible does NOT say God begets or is born. No Christian believes such a blasphemous thing!

One of the reasons why Muslims think this is Biblical teaching is because of one verse. John 3:16.
In the KJV English translation, it reads as follows:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Does this verse actually speak of sexual procreation? The original Greek word that is translated into English as “begotten” is monogenes.
But what does monogenes” mean?

There is no single English word for monogenes. So the early KJV English translators 400 years ago, decided to break up the original Greek word “monogenes” and they came up with:
mono=only
genes=begotten

Begotten has many meanings, at least seven definitions as used in the KJV, as verb, noun or adjective. When the early translators chose to use the word “only begotten” in John 3:16, they did not have in mind physical sexual procreation. That would be inconsistent with the entire Bible. There is no such teaching!

In John 3:16, the actual word MONOGENES is an adjective. Adjectives describe the quality of something. John used the word MONOGENES to describe the quality of the spiritual (not physical or sexual) relationship. in its uniqueness.

The most accurate translation for MONOGENES is closer in meaning to “unique”, “one and only” or ” the only one of its kind”. So the modern translations, like NIV, ESV, CEV, reflect this.

Basically 112:3 says, God is not a father who procreates and neither is he a son who is a product of that procreation. We completely agree!
So why do Muslims get it so wrong when the Bible talks about Father and Son? Muslims imagine a sexual relationship and in fact, the author of the Quran goes so far as to say Allah cannot have a son without a wife!? Tjis is ridiculous because the Bible was speaking of a SPIRITUAL relationship!

Even in the Old Testament, God is described as Father. He is Father, not because He had sexual relations with a wife!

So why does Allah say it here in this most important of Surahs? Who is Allah refuting? Apparently, Allah is refuting someone who believes that god had sex. Not our beliefs. So whose?

4. No one like God.
This is, once again, from the Bible and seen in numerous verses like Psalms 86:8, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Jeremiah 10:6. etc.

How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
(2 Samuel 7:22)

There you have it. The most important surah. 3 of the 4 verses already well-established in the Bible. And one verse, a very poor strawman argument, pretending to refute what the Bible doesn’t say and what Christians have never believed!