The letters ‘al’ in ‘al-Samad’ is the definite article in Arabic. I left it untranslated rather than rendering ‘Allah is al-Samad’ as ‘Allah is the Samad’ because the definite article is not as simple in classical Arabic as it is in English. In this verse, the definite article creates a very important meaning that will be explained at the end. For now, we will focus on the word samad.
It comes from the root ṣād mīm dāl which was used for: ● A high and thick place of land that does not quite reach the level of a mountain and on which trees grow. This implies a piece of land which is elevated but not so high that it cannot be climbed like most mountains. It is a piece of land which is high and elevated but accessible and within reach.
● A vertical rock ● Something elevated ● A solid object with no hollowness inside it ● A man who does not get thirsty or hungry even inside a battle ● A sealed object with no cavity in it The central meaning is for something firm and solid to be elevated.108 Samad is one of the trickier words of the Qurʾān and much has been said regarding what it means. Razi alone quotes 25 opinions of what scholars said regarding its meaning. Below are a few examples of what has been said regarding its meaning based on its root meaning: 1. Allah is samad means that Allah is utterly perfect. This is taken from the root meaning of a solid object that has no hollowness inside it. Hollowness implies a defect or flaw. Hence, samad means that Allah is utterly perfect in all shapes and forms, free of any and all flaws.
2. One who is independent of everyone. When an entity has no defect, flaw or any shortcoming, it is independent and in no need of others. So Allah is the entity who has no need of anyone.
3. The master whose authority, power and honor have reached their highest possible level. Derived from the root meaning of elevation.
4. The everlasting entity who has no beginning or end. This meaning comes from the idea of firmness and stability: from land that rises solidly like a mountain, from rock that is firmly fixed in place. It is also reflected in images such as a sealed bottle, and anything that is hard, dense, and without hollowness.109 Arabic roots normally have two distinct meanings which blend together to give the complete meaning of the root. Same is the case here. When we look at the ways the root ṣād mīm dāl was used, two meanings stand out; firmness and elevation. Firmness of the kind that has no defect or flaw (derived from the lack of hollowness inside the object) but elevation of the sort that it is not out of reach because the height of the piece of the land mentioned above does not reach the level of a mountain implying that it is accessible and can be climbed.
But the height of the piece of land mentioned above did not reach the level of a mountain. Is this not a defect? This seems like a flaw that this piece of land is lacking in height and elevation; but the root meaning implies that there is no defect in it. How can both be the case at the same time?
The answer becomes clear when we reflect a little and take the text in its intended context. Allah is samad. Which means that Allah, firstly, is utterly perfect with no flaws or defects; and secondly, Allah is elevated, high and lofty but within reach not because of a flaw or defect, but because of His kindness and love towards us. Allah is not out of our reach that our prayers do not reach Him or that He cannot hear us. Unlike the mountain whose summit cannot be reached, Allah is accessible to us. We can reach Him with our words, direct our prayers to Him to which He listens and answers. Our words and prayers reach Him, and He hears and responds to them. Hence, Allah is the entity who is perfect, with no flaws or defects, who is independent and free of everyone; yet who can be reached, communicated with and talked to. This perfection covers all aspects and all attributes of Allah. In times of need and difficulty, we only seek help from those whose help amounts to something and who are actually capable of helping us. Allah is perfect in all His attributes, His power, reach, hearing, listening, authority, capabilities etc, are all perfect. And so, it is Him whose help we need and He is accessible to us as well. We do not need an intermediary or an attorney to talk on our behalf to Him. We can reach Him directly by ourselves.
This is why many scholars of language have defined al-samad as the entity towards whom people turn to fulfill their needs.
There is no difference of opinion among the scholars of language that Samad means the Master above whom there is no one. The one to whom people turn to concerning their needs and all other matters. (Ibn al Anbāri) يَقْصِ دُهُ كُلُّ شَيْ ءٍ : هو الَّذِي يَنْتَهِ ي إلَيْهِ السُّ ؤْدُدُ ويَصْ مُدُ إلَيْهِ؛ أيْ
He is the one in whom all sovereignty culminates, and towards whom all things are directed. All things direct themselves to Him. (al Zujāj)110 This meaning is derived from the root and is correct. The primary meaning of Samad, however, as explained above, is the perfect entity, free of any flaw or defect, that can be reached and communicated to.
The pattern of the word samad is in the form of a صفة مشبهة - an adjective of permanent
quality. This pattern is used to imply a permanent, constant and stable quality or state. Allah is al- samad; always. Forever and ever. This quality of His does not change, fluctuate or go up and down. Suppose a person is in trouble and needs help. He knows of a person who is capable and has the power to free him of his trouble. The question that then naturally comes to the mind is if that person is available right now or not. Is he ready and available for me to reach out to him and seek his help? Also, he was capable before when I met him and had the power at that time to help me, but does he still possess that same power right now or has he lost it? With Allah, this question never arises. He is always present, always accessible, always there with absolute power and capability. This is the profound meaning contained in the structure of the word samad being a ( صفة مشبهة adjective of permanent quality)
Zamakhsharī and others have said that the word samad, even though it follows the
pattern of a ( صفة مشبهة adjective that implies a permanent and constant quality), actually carries a passive meaning i.e samad means the one who is intended and to whom everything is directed. This is partially correct. Samad does indeed mean the entity who is intended and to whom things are directed, but this is not the entire meaning of the word as we saw earlier. Once the complete root meaning is taken into account, the opinion that the word samad here is used to mean only its passive meaning (maṣmūd) does not remain legitimate.
Next we come to the definite article that I mentioned at the very beginning. What meaning does the definite article create here?
1. Exclusivity and singularity. Allah alone and no one else, is samad. The first verse lacked the definite article because there was no need for it. Ahad means One and only and you do not need the definite article or any other device to create meanings of exclusivity with aḥad. Aḥad by itself implies exclusivity. 2. As explained in the first verse, the word aḥad was not generally used in an affirmative context by itself. This by itself implies uniqueness and singularity because no Arab used the word aḥad to refer to their gods - ever. So there was no need to emphasize that Allah alone is aḥad and that your supposed gods are not. But they did use the word samad for their false gods. Therefore, Allah uses the definite article here to convey to them that Allah alone is samad and no one else, including your supposed gods.
Next, the normal flow of speech from the first verse should have been like this:
قل هو الله أحد والصمد
Allah is aḥad and al samad.
or
قل هو الله أحد وهو الصمد
Allah is aḥad and He is al samad.
Just as we normally say:
Ahmed is hardworking and intelligent or Ahmed is hardworking and he is intelligent. We do not say
Ahmed is hardworking. Ahmed is intelligent.
But this is exactly how the surah is;
Why the repetition?
Allah is aḥad. Allah is al samad.
Tafsir al kabīr states that it is simply because the word al-samad has the definite article inside it while the word aḥad does not. Grammatically, it might indeed not be correct to pair them together with nothing between the two words; but this is not a problem here. The problem is that the normal usage was to use a pronoun or a conjunction rather than name of God again.
In Arabic, when we use the definite article with an adjective that is describing a
definite noun, it implies necessity. For example, if we say السلطان العادل , (the ruler is the
just one) what this means is that a ruler can only be a ruler if he is just. No ruler who is unjust, is fit to be called a ruler. Similarly in this verse of al- Ikhlās, it implies that no entity can claim to be divine unless it is al- samad. If Allah was not al samad, He would not fit to be called God. He would lose His divine essence. Hence, for an entity to be considered divine, it has to be al-samad.
Samad primarily implies perfection, elevation and being ever present and accessible. Perfection is one of the primary qualities that sets Allah apart. Nothing we see or know of is perfect except Allah. There is a defect and flaw in everything. Being born is a defect which implies you were dependent on others to come into existence, that you had a beginning, that you are bound by time - an outside entity and hence, there was a time you were not present. Death is an imperfection because it implies an end and the fact that you are powerless and helpless against other factors. We hear and see but our hearing and seeing have limits. We cannot hear or see every single thing; but not with Allah. When it comes to Allah, everything is perfect. Perfection solely belongs to Allah. This is what is being emphasized here. Since perfection only belongs to Allah, Allah is al- samad. This is why Allah is Ahad - the one and only because perfection belongs only and only to Him and no one else. The pattern of the word samad implies constant, unchanging and constant state. Everlasting, constant perfection. Perfection that never fluctuates. Another root meaning of samad was being accessible and within reach. Not being available or being inaccessible is a form of imperfection too. It implies being barred from the one who wants to reach out. It is one thing to reject the one who reaches out to you, it is another when you are inaccessible. Allah is always present, always there, always listening, you can stand up in prayer and reach out to Him anytime you want. Constant, unchanging and permanent presence which is not subject to anything other than Him. Unless an entity is al samad - the only one who is perfect, invincible, with no flaws or defects, and is ever present and available - it cannot be divine.
There is only one entity who is al samad - Allah; and this is why Allah is Ahad - the one and only. Perfection is what sets Allah apart and He is the one and only - Ahad - in that regards.
This meaning would be lost had the name of God - Allah - been replaced by a pronoun or a conjunction. It is to convey this point that the name of God appears
again rather than being replaced by a conjunction or a pronoun. Alusi summarizes this beautifully:
وتَكْرارُ الِاسْمِ الجَلِيلِ دُونَ الإتْيانِ بِالضَّ مِيرِ قِيلَ لِلْإشْ عارِ بِأنَّ مَن لَمْ يَتَّ صِ فْ بِالصَّ مَدِيَّ ةِ لَمْ يَسْ تَحِ قَّ الأُلُوهِيَّ ةَ The repetition of the Divine Name—rather than using a pronoun—has been explained as a way of indicating that whoever does not possess samadiyah (the attributes of being al Samad) does not deserve divinity.
It has also been said that linking al Samad directly to the name of Allah suggests al Samad is causally linked to divinity because the term (Samad) is originally an attribute. If being al Samad is a necessary consequence of divinity, then whoever lacks it, cannot be divine.111 When an idol worshipper in Makkah realizes this, will he not see the blatant flaws in the statues he worshipped? The idol which he made with his own hands with dirt, which is bound and subject to him taking care of it; which can be broken if one throws it to the ground; which is physically bound, which can neither hear, nor see or speak. Flaw after flaw. When the concept of perfection is realized, all false notions of God collapse. From idol worship, to the Christian and Jewish Bible as well as the Kabbalistic and Talmudic Jewish forgeries; the statement Allah is al-samad collapses all false notions of God. The Qurʾān restores, after centuries of innovations and forgeries, monotheism back to its purest form as originally revealed by God. Lastly, the Qurʾān normally uses conjunctions between verses but that is not the case here. There is no conjunction at the start of this verse. This is because the second sentence ‘Allah is al Samad’ is proof that the first sentence is true, part of which we have already covered above.
Allah is Ahad. The proof that Allah is Ahad is that He is al samad. Alusi says:
The conjunction was omitted because it functions as a proof of what came before, because an entity who is self sufficient and perfect in His very essence, upon whom everything else besides Him depends and upon whom their existence is contingent and dependent, can only be one. (Ahad) It can also be a necessary consequence of the previous statement (Allah is Ahad) because being ahad necessitates being al samad and being absolutely and completely self sufficient.112 Allah is ahad - one and only - because He is the only entity who is al samad. Samadiyah sets Allah apart. He is the one and only - ahad - when it comes to it. This perfect and completely self sufficient entity is not out of your reach. You can talk to him, pray to Him and He will listen to you. This is why the next two Surahs of the Qurʾān - al Falaq and al Nās - are prayers directed to Allah.
108 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1256 109 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1257 110 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 443 111 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 446 112 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 447
Allah is al- Samad
The letters ‘al’ in ‘al-Samad’ is the definite article in Arabic. I left it untranslated rather than rendering ‘Allah is al-Samad’ as ‘Allah is the Samad’ because the definite article is not as simple in classical Arabic as it is in English. In this verse, the definite article creates a very important meaning that will be explained at the end. For now, we will focus on the word samad.
It comes from the root ṣād mīm dāl which was used for: ● A high and thick place of land that does not quite reach the level of a mountain and on which trees grow. This implies a piece of land which is elevated but not so high that it cannot be climbed like most mountains. It is a piece of land which is high and elevated but accessible and within reach.
● A vertical rock ● Something elevated ● A solid object with no hollowness inside it ● A man who does not get thirsty or hungry even inside a battle ● A sealed object with no cavity in it The central meaning is for something firm and solid to be elevated.108 Samad is one of the trickier words of the Qurʾān and much has been said regarding what it means. Razi alone quotes 25 opinions of what scholars said regarding its meaning. Below are a few examples of what has been said regarding its meaning based on its root meaning: 1. Allah is samad means that Allah is utterly perfect. This is taken from the root meaning of a solid object that has no hollowness inside it. Hollowness implies a defect or flaw. Hence, samad means that Allah is utterly perfect in all shapes and forms, free of any and all flaws.
2. One who is independent of everyone. When an entity has no defect, flaw or any shortcoming, it is independent and in no need of others. So Allah is the entity who has no need of anyone.
3. The master whose authority, power and honor have reached their highest possible level. Derived from the root meaning of elevation.
4. The everlasting entity who has no beginning or end. This meaning comes from the idea of firmness and stability: from land that rises solidly like a mountain, from rock that is firmly fixed in place. It is also reflected in images such as a sealed bottle, and anything that is hard, dense, and without hollowness.109 Arabic roots normally have two distinct meanings which blend together to give the complete meaning of the root. Same is the case here. When we look at the ways the root ṣād mīm dāl was used, two meanings stand out; firmness and elevation. Firmness of the kind that has no defect or flaw (derived from the lack of hollowness inside the object) but elevation of the sort that it is not out of reach because the height of the piece of the land mentioned above does not reach the level of a mountain implying that it is accessible and can be climbed.
But the height of the piece of land mentioned above did not reach the level of a mountain. Is this not a defect? This seems like a flaw that this piece of land is lacking in height and elevation; but the root meaning implies that there is no defect in it. How can both be the case at the same time?
The answer becomes clear when we reflect a little and take the text in its intended context. Allah is samad. Which means that Allah, firstly, is utterly perfect with no flaws or defects; and secondly, Allah is elevated, high and lofty but within reach not because of a flaw or defect, but because of His kindness and love towards us. Allah is not out of our reach that our prayers do not reach Him or that He cannot hear us. Unlike the mountain whose summit cannot be reached, Allah is accessible to us. We can reach Him with our words, direct our prayers to Him to which He listens and answers. Our words and prayers reach Him, and He hears and responds to them. Hence, Allah is the entity who is perfect, with no flaws or defects, who is independent and free of everyone; yet who can be reached, communicated with and talked to. This perfection covers all aspects and all attributes of Allah. In times of need and difficulty, we only seek help from those whose help amounts to something and who are actually capable of helping us. Allah is perfect in all His attributes, His power, reach, hearing, listening, authority, capabilities etc, are all perfect. And so, it is Him whose help we need and He is accessible to us as well. We do not need an intermediary or an attorney to talk on our behalf to Him. We can reach Him directly by ourselves.
This is why many scholars of language have defined al-samad as the entity towards whom people turn to fulfill their needs.
لا خِلافَ بَيْنِ أهْلِ اللُّ غَةِ أنَّ هُ السَّ يِّدُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ فَوْقَهُ أحَدٌ الَّذِي يَصْ مُدُ إلَيْهِ النّاسُ في حَوائِ جِهِمْ وأُ مُورِهِمْ
There is no difference of opinion among the scholars of language that Samad means the Master above whom there is no one. The one to whom people turn to concerning their needs and all other matters. (Ibn al Anbāri) يَقْصِ دُهُ كُلُّ شَيْ ءٍ : هو الَّذِي يَنْتَهِ ي إلَيْهِ السُّ ؤْدُدُ ويَصْ مُدُ إلَيْهِ؛ أيْ
He is the one in whom all sovereignty culminates, and towards whom all things are directed. All things direct themselves to Him. (al Zujāj)110 This meaning is derived from the root and is correct. The primary meaning of Samad, however, as explained above, is the perfect entity, free of any flaw or defect, that can be reached and communicated to.
The pattern of the word samad is in the form of a صفة مشبهة - an adjective of permanent
quality. This pattern is used to imply a permanent, constant and stable quality or state. Allah is al- samad; always. Forever and ever. This quality of His does not change, fluctuate or go up and down. Suppose a person is in trouble and needs help. He knows of a person who is capable and has the power to free him of his trouble. The question that then naturally comes to the mind is if that person is available right now or not. Is he ready and available for me to reach out to him and seek his help? Also, he was capable before when I met him and had the power at that time to help me, but does he still possess that same power right now or has he lost it? With Allah, this question never arises. He is always present, always accessible, always there with absolute power and capability. This is the profound meaning contained in the structure of the word samad being a ( صفة مشبهة adjective of permanent quality)
Zamakhsharī and others have said that the word samad, even though it follows the
pattern of a ( صفة مشبهة adjective that implies a permanent and constant quality), actually carries a passive meaning i.e samad means the one who is intended and to whom everything is directed. This is partially correct. Samad does indeed mean the entity who is intended and to whom things are directed, but this is not the entire meaning of the word as we saw earlier. Once the complete root meaning is taken into account, the opinion that the word samad here is used to mean only its passive meaning (maṣmūd) does not remain legitimate.
Next we come to the definite article that I mentioned at the very beginning. What meaning does the definite article create here?
1. Exclusivity and singularity. Allah alone and no one else, is samad. The first verse lacked the definite article because there was no need for it. Ahad means One and only and you do not need the definite article or any other device to create meanings of exclusivity with aḥad. Aḥad by itself implies exclusivity. 2. As explained in the first verse, the word aḥad was not generally used in an affirmative context by itself. This by itself implies uniqueness and singularity because no Arab used the word aḥad to refer to their gods - ever. So there was no need to emphasize that Allah alone is aḥad and that your supposed gods are not. But they did use the word samad for their false gods. Therefore, Allah uses the definite article here to convey to them that Allah alone is samad and no one else, including your supposed gods.
Next, the normal flow of speech from the first verse should have been like this:
قل هو الله أحد والصمد
Allah is aḥad and al samad.
or
قل هو الله أحد وهو الصمد
Allah is aḥad and He is al samad.
Just as we normally say:
Ahmed is hardworking and intelligent or Ahmed is hardworking and he is intelligent. We do not say
Ahmed is hardworking. Ahmed is intelligent.
But this is exactly how the surah is;
Why the repetition?
Allah is aḥad. Allah is al samad.
Tafsir al kabīr states that it is simply because the word al-samad has the definite article inside it while the word aḥad does not. Grammatically, it might indeed not be correct to pair them together with nothing between the two words; but this is not a problem here. The problem is that the normal usage was to use a pronoun or a conjunction rather than name of God again.
In Arabic, when we use the definite article with an adjective that is describing a
definite noun, it implies necessity. For example, if we say السلطان العادل , (the ruler is the
just one) what this means is that a ruler can only be a ruler if he is just. No ruler who is unjust, is fit to be called a ruler. Similarly in this verse of al- Ikhlās, it implies that no entity can claim to be divine unless it is al- samad. If Allah was not al samad, He would not fit to be called God. He would lose His divine essence. Hence, for an entity to be considered divine, it has to be al-samad.
Samad primarily implies perfection, elevation and being ever present and accessible. Perfection is one of the primary qualities that sets Allah apart. Nothing we see or know of is perfect except Allah. There is a defect and flaw in everything. Being born is a defect which implies you were dependent on others to come into existence, that you had a beginning, that you are bound by time - an outside entity and hence, there was a time you were not present. Death is an imperfection because it implies an end and the fact that you are powerless and helpless against other factors. We hear and see but our hearing and seeing have limits. We cannot hear or see every single thing; but not with Allah. When it comes to Allah, everything is perfect. Perfection solely belongs to Allah. This is what is being emphasized here. Since perfection only belongs to Allah, Allah is al- samad. This is why Allah is Ahad - the one and only because perfection belongs only and only to Him and no one else. The pattern of the word samad implies constant, unchanging and constant state. Everlasting, constant perfection. Perfection that never fluctuates. Another root meaning of samad was being accessible and within reach. Not being available or being inaccessible is a form of imperfection too. It implies being barred from the one who wants to reach out. It is one thing to reject the one who reaches out to you, it is another when you are inaccessible. Allah is always present, always there, always listening, you can stand up in prayer and reach out to Him anytime you want. Constant, unchanging and permanent presence which is not subject to anything other than Him. Unless an entity is al samad - the only one who is perfect, invincible, with no flaws or defects, and is ever present and available - it cannot be divine.
There is only one entity who is al samad - Allah; and this is why Allah is Ahad - the one and only. Perfection is what sets Allah apart and He is the one and only - Ahad - in that regards.
This meaning would be lost had the name of God - Allah - been replaced by a pronoun or a conjunction. It is to convey this point that the name of God appears
again rather than being replaced by a conjunction or a pronoun. Alusi summarizes this beautifully:
وتَكْرارُ الِاسْمِ الجَلِيلِ دُونَ الإتْيانِ بِالضَّ مِيرِ قِيلَ لِلْإشْ عارِ بِأنَّ مَن لَمْ يَتَّ صِ فْ بِالصَّ مَدِيَّ ةِ لَمْ يَسْ تَحِ قَّ الأُلُوهِيَّ ةَ The repetition of the Divine Name—rather than using a pronoun—has been explained as a way of indicating that whoever does not possess samadiyah (the attributes of being al Samad) does not deserve divinity.
He goes on to say:
وقِيلَ ذَلِكَ لِأنَّ تَعْلِيقَ الصَّمَدِ بِاللَّهِ يُشْعِرُ بِعِلِّيَّ ةِ الأُلُوهِيَّ ةِ بِناءً عَلى أنَّهُ في الأصْ لِصِفَةٌ وإذا كانَتِ الصَّمَدِيَّ ةُ نَتِيجَةً لِلْأُ لُوهِيَّ ةِ لَمْ يَسْ تَحِ قَّ الأُلُوهِيَّ ةَ مَن لَمْ يَتَّ صِ فْ بِها
It has also been said that linking al Samad directly to the name of Allah suggests al Samad is causally linked to divinity because the term (Samad) is originally an attribute. If being al Samad is a necessary consequence of divinity, then whoever lacks it, cannot be divine.111 When an idol worshipper in Makkah realizes this, will he not see the blatant flaws in the statues he worshipped? The idol which he made with his own hands with dirt, which is bound and subject to him taking care of it; which can be broken if one throws it to the ground; which is physically bound, which can neither hear, nor see or speak. Flaw after flaw. When the concept of perfection is realized, all false notions of God collapse. From idol worship, to the Christian and Jewish Bible as well as the Kabbalistic and Talmudic Jewish forgeries; the statement Allah is al-samad collapses all false notions of God. The Qurʾān restores, after centuries of innovations and forgeries, monotheism back to its purest form as originally revealed by God. Lastly, the Qurʾān normally uses conjunctions between verses but that is not the case here. There is no conjunction at the start of this verse. This is because the second sentence ‘Allah is al Samad’ is proof that the first sentence is true, part of which we have already covered above.
Allah is Ahad. The proof that Allah is Ahad is that He is al samad. Alusi says:
وتُرِكَ العاطِفُ في الجُمْلَةِ المَذْكُورَةِ لِأنَّ ها كالدَّ لِيلِ عَلَيْهِ؛ فَإنَّ مَن كانَ غَنِيًّا لِذاتِهِ مُحْتاجًا إلَيْهِ جَمِيعُ ما سِواهُ لا أوْ لِأنَّ ها كالنَّ تِيجَةِ لِذَلِكَ بِناءً عَلى أنَّ الأحَدِيَّ ةَ ، يَكُونُ إلّا واحِدًا أوْ ما سِواهُ لا يَكُونُ إلّا مُمْكِنًا مُحْتاجًا إلَيْهِ تَسْ تَلْزِمُ الصَّمَدِيَّ ةَ والغِنى المُطْ لَقَ .
The conjunction was omitted because it functions as a proof of what came before, because an entity who is self sufficient and perfect in His very essence, upon whom everything else besides Him depends and upon whom their existence is contingent and dependent, can only be one. (Ahad) It can also be a necessary consequence of the previous statement (Allah is Ahad) because being ahad necessitates being al samad and being absolutely and completely self sufficient.112 Allah is ahad - one and only - because He is the only entity who is al samad. Samadiyah sets Allah apart. He is the one and only - ahad - when it comes to it. This perfect and completely self sufficient entity is not out of your reach. You can talk to him, pray to Him and He will listen to you. This is why the next two Surahs of the Qurʾān - al Falaq and al Nās - are prayers directed to Allah.
108 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1256
109 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1257
110 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 443
111 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 446
112 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 447