It has many meanings and nuances: Besought of all, lacking in nothing, the One wanting none to complement, all affairs originate, stay, rest and depend upon Him and none else, One Who continues since and for ever, all contingent diversity and multiplicity reflect His Necessary Unity.

Some scholars say statement following this term (As-Samad) in this Surah (Ikhlaas) is its explanation. It is important to note the construction of the sentence (Aayah). After saying Allahu Ahad, the word Allah is repeated in Allahus-Samad. It is to remind and re-emphasise the unique Attributes of Allah being Ahad and As-Samad. Ahad and As-Samad have not been combined as Ahadus-samad. This has special significance. This shows that it is not only that there is none else as Ahad and As-Samad together, but in both cases, as As-Samad and as Ahad, singly and separately, there is no one else as Ahad and as As-Samad. He is the only Perfect One, Allah

It is the wonderful style of introduction of the Quran that instead of using any pronoun, proxy or pointation, attention is refocused on Allah, introduced earlier: Allah is As-Samad', or As-Samad is Allah, the Absolute-Eternal-Self-Subsisting Necessary, sustaining all contingent (creations-worlds), without beginning or end, not limited by time, place or circumstance; the Reality. All other things are designed and destined towards and for Him, He is close to all, and everything owes existence to Him. He is close, not that anything of its own can be close to Him.

As-Samad is One Who does not give birth, nor was He born, because there is nothing that is born except that it will die, and there is nothing that dies except that it leaves behind inheritance, and indeed Allah does not die and He does not leave behind any inheritance, and He has no inheritor.

Explanations by Scholars

Muhammad Asad, (The Message of the Quran, p.985,) clarifies the concept, thus:

"..The term As-Samad.. occurs in the Quran only once, and is applied to God Alone. It comprises the concepts of Primary Cause and Eternal, Independent Being, combined with the idea that everything existing or conceivable goes back to Him as its Source and is, therefore, dependent on Him for its beginning as well as for its continued existence."

Muhammad Asad has elaborated further that renderings like 'God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all that exists' (112-2), "..gives no more than an approximate meaning of the term As-Samad.".

It must, therefore, be admitted that even the best articulation does not overcome limitations of comprehension and expression of the mortal to fully define the term and concept of As-Samad.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, (Footnote 6298, Verse112-2), explains the difficulty, thus:

"Samad is difficult to translate by one word. I have used two, 'Eternal' and 'Absolute'. The latter implies: (i) that absolute existence can only be predicted of Him: all other existence is temporal or conditional; (ii) that He is dependent on no person or thing, but all persons or things are dependent on Him, thus negating the idea of gods and goddesses who ate and drank, wrangled and plotted, depended on the gifts of worshippers, etc."

No one and nothing else possesses independent power in any degree.

"So Glory to Him (Allah), In Whose hands is the dominion (power, force, energy) of all things. And to Him will you be all brought back." (36-83) Tafsir Mazhari explains that Suufis interpret Laa-ilaaha illallaah as Laa maqsuud illallaah

The ultimate aim is only Allah and nothing else: 2-156 Tafsir Mazhari further explains that As-Samad is One Who can not be fully comprehended by intellect or intelligence. In Anwaarul Quran, Dr Ghulam Murtaza says: Ilaahii anta maqsuudii wa ridhaaka matluubii: My Allah! You are my ultimate aim and Your Pleasure I seek. Also see 27-19.

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, in Sur Yaman Kalyan, (Shah-jo-Risalo), says:

"Laa maqsuud fii daarain": I have no desire in both worlds (except Allah)."

Ali Muhammad gives explanation of Samadun as follows:
1.Qasad: In this sense Samad would mean Masmuud and Maqsuud, because everything is in journey to and for Him. Qasad:

i. to go to, betake oneself to, head for, take to, be bound for, be headed for;
ii. to intend, purpose, design, mean, have in mind, drive at, aim at,
iii. seek to, strive to, pursue, strive for; end, goal, object(ive) - Dr Rohi Baalbaki.

2.Samad means eternal without change. In this sense it means Waajib-ul-Wujuud: Necessary for all existence.

Thomas Cleary explains:

"From the root S-M-D come words with the meanings to betake oneself and to stand up or hold out against: God is the ultimate goal to which we betake ourselves, and God as absolute truth stands up against and holds out, infinitely, against any falsehood, the human or demonic mind can conceive.." (The Essential Koran, p.202)

Thomas Patrick Hughes, (A Dictionary of Islam, p.564) explains the term As-Samad:

"The Eternal: In its original meaning, it implies a lord, because one repairs to him in exigencies; or when applied to God, because affairs are stayed or rested on Him.it signifies the Being that continues for ever - the Eternal One."

Arthur J. Arberry, has translated As-Samad as 'the Everlasting Refuge'.

Shabbir Ahmed Usmani says:

"Samad is interpreted in many ways...By this Attribute of Independence..the faith of Arya Samaj that Spirit and Matter are eternal is also contradicted, because according to their conviction God is dependent on Spirit and Matter in the creation of the universe, but they are not dependent upon God in their existence."

Compedium of Explanations

As-Samad is variously defined: As-Samad is One Who is never threatened, overwhelmed, constrained, never faces any difficulty, nor suffers nor finds any difficulty

"And Allah is Self-Sufficient; and it is you who are needy." 47-38 "Whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, begs of Him (its needs from Him). Everyday, He is engaged in new affair-with Splendour." 55-29 (Kulla Yaumin Huwa Fii Sha'n)

He is the Unique, Only One Alone, Who is free of all need and satisfies needs of all others. They, in fact, turn to Him naturally. Therefore He is the Only One Deity for all creations Who should be worshipped-obeyed.

Ikrimah reported that Ibn Abbas said,

"This (As-Samad) means the One on Whom all creations depend for their needs and their requests."

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Abbas: "He (Allah) is the Master, Who is perfect in His Sovereignty,

the Most Noble, Who is perfect in His Nobility, the Most Magnificent, Who is perfect in His Magnificence,

the Most Forbearing, Who is perfect in His Forbearance, the All-Knowing, Who is perfect in His Knowledge, and the Most Wise, Who is perfect in His Wisdom. He is the One, Who is perfect in all aspects of Nobility and Authority. He is Allah, Glory be to Him. These Attributes are not befitting anyone other than Him. He has no coequal and nothing is like Him. Glory be to Allah, the One, the Irresistable." (At-Tabari 24-692)

It is reported from Abu Wa'il: "As-Samad is the Master, Whose control is complete." (At-Tabari 24-692)

Ibn Abbas, Hassan Basri and Saeed bin Jarir say that Samad means the one who does not fear.

Qatada said Samad is One, Who remains after destruction and annihilation of all creation.

Some explanations of the word Samad, compiled by S.A.A.Maududi, (The Meaning of the Quran, p.343) are given below:

Samad: Who has no superior. (Ali, Ikrimah)

Ikrimah has further added as follows: He, from whom nothing ever has come out, nor comes out,

Who neither eats nor drinks

Chieftain whose chieftaincy is perfect and of the most extraordinary kind (Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Abdullah bin Abbas)

Ibn Abbas has elaborated as follows: To whom people turn, when afflicted with a calamity Chieftain who in his chieftaincy, in his nobility and glory, in his clemency and forbearance, in his knowledge and wisdom is perfect.

Who is independent of all and all others are dependent upon him. (Abu Hurairah) To whom people turn for obtaining things they need and for help in hardships. (Suddi)

"O men! It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah is Ever All-Rich (Free of all needs), Worthy of all Praise." 35-15

"And if any strive, they do so for their own souls. For, Allah is free of all needs from all creation." 29-6

Who is perfect in all his attributes and works. (Saeed bin Jubair)

Who is immune from every calamity. (Rabi' bin Anas)

Who is faultless. (Muqatil bin Hayan)

Who is exclusive in his attributes. (Ibn Kaysan)

Who is ever living and immortal.
(Hasan Basri and Murrat al-Hamdani)

Murrat al-Hamdani has added his views as follows: Who decides whatever he wills and does whatever he wills, without there being any one to revise his judgement and decision.

To whom people turn for fulfillment of their desires. (Ibrahim Nakhai)

Ali Muhammad in 'Anwaar-ul-Bayaan', has further compiled meanings and connotations from different scholars as follows:

Knower of all and everything, otherwise He would not meet all needs, demands, requirements, necessities, and so on. Creator of all and everything. (Ibn Masuud) One Who lives even after annihilation, and end of everything. (Hasan Basri) One Who is the Inheritor of everything. (Abi bin Ka'b) One Who neither sleeps nor forgets. (Abu Malik) One Who is Dominant and is never dominated. (Jaffar Sadiq)

One Whose State and Essence can not be comprehended or encompassed by the creation. (Abu Bakr) One Who can not be seen, The Greatest over Whom there is no greatness, One Who never suffers loss or excess.

The Source of All Spiritual and Material Worlds

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.": :..

"Thus the Vedas say that it is the Supreme Lord, the Creator of Brahma and Siva, who is to be worshipped. He is called the most efficient Cause of everything.

"Arjuna said: 'You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the Purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the Eternal, Transcendental, Original Person, the Unborn, the Greatest.."

(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The Opulence of the Absolute, Bhagavad-Gita as it is, pp. 361 to 363, 368)

According to Budhist teaching, Anatta is one of the three principal characteristics of everything in the universe, as a necessary corollary of the doctrine of Anicca. They believe that all things are impermanent. There is no enduring, unchanging personality or self which is the basis of human person. It is only a temporary collocation of changing constituents or khandha (Sanskrit: skandha). There is progressive difference and development from one state to the other: from matter (existence), to vegetation, to animal, to humanbeing.

There are progressively, different forms and dimensions of matter, life, intelligence, etc. There can be higher and still higher forms and different dimensions.

"The evolution of life on this planet may be envisaged as a process of organic involution upon itself, as a movement from the extremely simple to the extremely complex. In this involution of complexity there has been a steady increase in interiorization, an enlargement of the psyche or consciousness. As they become more complex, structures become more vitalized and more conscious. It is tenable to assume the existence of a psyche, in an embryonic, undeveloped form, in every corpuscle, a within as well as a without, even in the most elementary particles. As evolution proceeds 'the within' becomes more and more the predominant factor." (F.C. Happold, Mysticism, A Study and an Anthology, p.33)

The Quran depicts well designed system with well orchestrated components, in which decree and direction continue right from origination, through each leap in upgradation and development of species and forms of creation. The divine act continues ceaselessly in creation of each individual and every entity.

"Then We (Allah) made the sperm into a zygote. Then of that zygote, We made a (foetus) lump. Then We made out of that lump bones, and clothed the bones with flesh. Then We developed out of it another creature. So blessed is Allah,.the Best to create." 23-14

"Say: 'Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation. So will Allah produce a later creation. For, Allah has Power over all things." 29-20

"All thankful-praises are to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels Messenegers with dimensions, two or three or four. He adds to creation as He pleases. For, Allah has Power over all things." 35-1

"To Him (Allah) will be your return, of all of you. The promise of Allah is true and sure. It is He Who begins the process of creation. And repeats it, that He may reward with justice.." 10-4

"The Day that We (Allah) will roll up the heavens like a scroll, rolled up for books. Even as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce anew one. A promise We have undertaken.

Truly shall We fulfil it." 21-104

Also see 10-34, 27-64, 30-11 & 27, 29-19, 85-13,

"As seen within the time process, evolution takes the form of a series of unfoldings: from the building up of the universe, through the formulation of the earth, to the appearance of life on this planet. Through countless ages the evolution of living forms has gone on, until the next stage, that of the emergence of Man, reached, first the pre-hominids and finally homo sapiens.

"With the appearance of human line a new form of biological existence emerges; there is in effect a new creation. This new creation is characterized by the emergence of the power of reflection. Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, in hs Phenomenon of Man, coins the vivid word hominisation to describe this leap in the evolution of life. With the appearance of man, instinct is more and more supplemented by thought, there is greater and greater interiorization; the within becomes more and more predominant." (Examine carefully, these statements in the light of verses: 75-37 to 40, 87-2 & 3, 18-37, 82-7, 32-9, 15-29, 55-3 & 4.)

"The process of evolution may thus be envisaged as the adding of successive layers, or envelopes, to the globe. With the appearance of homo sapiens, to the biosphere, i.e. the envelope of life, is added the noosphere, the envelope of thought, another 'membrane to the majestic assembly of telluric layers.'.May it not be the growth of an ever higher form of consciousness, spreading out ever wider and wider, until it embraces more and more of mankind, a greater and greater intensification of noogenesis, an expanding interiorization and spiritualization of man, which will result in an ability to see aspects of the universe as yet only faintly glimpsed? (F.C. Happold, Mysticism, A Study and an Anthology, pp.33, 34). Again examine carefully the Quranic verses mentioned above.

Man is not merely a creature of material world. Spiritually man has much more than cognitive capacities of sense perception, memory, conceptual reason, and introspection, by which he becomes aware of material world and also himself. The spiritual experience is not just a product of a physico-chemical process, according to predetermined patterns, the mere result of a specific alignment of atoms and arrangement of molecules.

The Quran links spiritual alignment and experience to righteous good deed (5-93, 16-128), God consciousness, submission (2-131, 6-14), and drawing close (96-19). Then God makes spiritual world manifest to man, e.g.:

Ibrahim (Peace be upon him): 6-75 Moses (Peace be upon him): 7-143 Muhammad (Peace be upon him): 53-1 to 18

Peculiar Usage of Ahad and As-Samad

It may be noted that Allahu Ahad (without definite article) has been used in first Aayah, while Samad has been used (with definite article) in 'Allahu-us-Samad' in the next Aayah. Since Ahad is exclusively used for Allah and for none else, it has been used as Ahad, without the definite article. Ahad can be used without definite article for Allah. But since the word samad is used for creatures also, Samad in Allahu-us-Samad has been used with definite article while referring to Allah, instead of simply saying Allah Samadun. The discussion has been focused, by first using the exclusive word Ahad, which lexically defines definitely and eliminates all ambiguity by negating anyone or anything else in its meaning and connotation. Then As-Samad, signifies all Attributes connected collectively with this word (with definite article), exclusively for Allah Alone. In this way it has been emphasized that Real and True Samad is Allah Alone, in all senses and nuances of the term. If a creature is samad in one sense, it is not in some other sense, e.g., it is mortal, analyzable, divisible, dependent, defined by dimensions, subject to limitations, so on and on. On the contrary all meanings and connotations of the term As-Samad, e.g., absolute, eternal, independent and self-sustaining are in the sense of being perfect.

It is noteworthy that words Allah, Ahad and Samad have been used in a sequence. Every word and dot matrix of the Quran has a significant value in its place (makaan) which can not be changed. Each has its own importance and power in its place.

"When We (Allah) change a Verse in place of another, and Allah knows best what He sends down.." 16-101

Further strengthening of the statement with Allahus-Samad blends belief into all processes of thought, reasoning and action of the believer in his journey to As-Samad. During entire journey He remains constantly in close communion with His creation, being the Lord-Sustainer:

"But you will not, except as Allah wills". (76-30)

"There is no help, except from Allah, Ever-High Exalted, Ever All-Wise." (3-126)

"It is not you who slew them, It was Allah. When you threw (handful of dust), it was not your act, But Allah's.." (8-17) (Battle of Badr)

His dedicated devotees believe that their Lord is Allah (22-40). He is always with them. (9-40). He listens to them (Moses and Harun: 20-46). They remain all the time in His sight (Noah: 11-37, 23-27)

He watches over them: 6-61, 72-27 & 28
He nurtures and nourishes them:
"Right graciously did her Lord (Allah) accept her (Mary).

He made her grow in purity and beauty. To the care of Zakariya, was she assigned. Every time that he entered chamber to see her, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: 'O Mary! Whence this to you?' She aid: 'From Allah. For, Allah provides sustenance to whom He pleases, without measure." 3-37

This belief reflects uniformity, unity and unison of the mortal with the Master. All movements, all functions and all processes in the universe take place with a goal from and for Allah Alone. Since everything is for and belongs to Allah, He is the ultimate aim and goal:

"Who say, when afflicted with calamity: 'To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return." 2-156

Big Bang of the Singularity (21-30), and expanding universe (lamuusi'uuna: 51-47) in which every object is predestined and predetermined, e.g. our sun is running in a direction to meet its destiny in the Constellation of Alpha Lyrae (36-38). Also see verse 2-156 and explanation of As-Samad as the ultimate aim of everything. These scientific theories provide latest explanations to some of basic facts which were revealed as Signs of Oneness of the Creator-Sustainer, evident in existence and operation of His system. Theory of Big Bang partially refers to the phenomenon mentioned in verse 21-30. Hubble's discovery, Einstein's theory of Relativity and subsequent observations and research elaborate only some of the facts pointed out in verse 51-47. Science now provides some explanations about death of stars, planetary system, receding galaxies, etc. mentioned in the Quran.