And His saying: ( اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ ) Allah, the Exalted, states: the deity who is only worthy of worship is Al-Samad.
And the people of interpretation differed in the meaning of "Al-Samad." Some of them said: He is the One who is not hollow, nor does He eat or drink.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abdur Rahman bin Al-Aswad narrated that Muhammad bin Rabi'a said, from Salma bin Sabur, from Atiyah, from Ibn Abbas, he said: (As-Samad): The one who is not hollow.
Ibn Bashar reported: He said: Abdur Rahman said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Mansour, from Mujahid, who said: ( As-Samad ): The one that is solid and has no cavity inside it.
Abu Kurayb narrated to us, he said: Waki' narrated to us from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Mujahid, a narration similar to it.
Harith told me, he said: Al-Hasan narrated to us, he said: Warkaa narrated from Ibn Abi Nujaih, from Mujahid, he said: (Al-Samad): the solid one that has no cavity.
Ibn Bishar narrated to us, saying: Abdul Rahman and Waki' both said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, who said: (The Eternal Refuge): The one who has no interior.
Abu Kurayb told us, he said: Waki' narrated to us; and Ibn Hamid told us, he said: Mehran narrated to us both, from Sufyan, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, similar to it.
Ibn Bashar told us, he said: Abdur Rahman told us, he said: Al-Rabi' bin Muslim narrated from Al-Hasan, he said: (The Absolute) : the one who has no interior.
He said: Al-Rabi' bin Muslim narrated to us from Ibrahim bin Maysarah, who said: Mujahid sent me to Sa'id bin Jubair to ask him about (Al-Samad), and he said: The One who has no interior.
Ibn Bashar narrated to us, he said: Yahya told us, he said: Ismail ibn Abi Khalid narrated to us, from Al-Shabi, who said: ( Al-Samad ) is the one who does not eat food.
Jacob said: Hisham narrated to us, from Ismail ibn Abi Khalid, from Al-Sha'bi, who said: ( Al-Samad ): the one who does not eat food, nor drink drink.
Abu Kurayb and Ibn Bashar reported that Waki' narrated from Salmah ibn Nabiṭ, from Al-Dahhak, who said: (Al-Samad): the one who has no interior.
Abu Kureyb told us, he said: Ibn Abi Zaidah reported to us, from Ismail, from Amir, who said: ( الصمد ): the one who does not eat food.
Ibn Bashar and Zaid bin Akhzam narrated to us; they said: Ibn Dawood narrated from Al-Mustaqeem bin Abdul Malik, from Saeed bin Al-Musayyab who said: ( Al-Samad ): The one who has no hollow (internal emptiness) within him.
I was informed by Al-Hussein, who said: I heard Abu Ma'adh say: Our informant was Ubaid, who said: I heard Al-Dahhak say regarding the verse: ( الصمدُ ): The one who has no hollow inside.
Abbas ibn Abi Talib told me: Muhammad ibn Omar ibn Rumi narrated to us, from Ubaidullah ibn Said, the leader of Al-A'mash, who reported from Saleh ibn Hayan, from Abdullah ibn Buraida, from his father, he said: I do not know except that he raised it, he said: ( Al-Samad ) who has no interior.
Ibn Abd al-Ala reported: Bishr bin al-Mufaddal said: Al-Rabi' bin Muslim said: I heard Al-Hasan say: (The Eternal): The one who has no cavity within him.
Ibn Abd al-A'la narrated to us, saying: Ibn Thawr said, from Ma'mar, from Ikramah, who said: (Al-Samad): the one who has no inside.
And others said: It is that from which nothing comes out.
* Mention of those who said that:
Jacob told me; he said: Ibn Alia told us, from Abu Rajaa, who said: I heard Ikrimah say regarding the verse: (Al-Samad): It is the one from whom nothing has emerged, and He has not begotten, nor has been begotten.
Ibn Bashar narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ja'far narrated to us, saying: Shuba narrated from Abu Rijah Muhammad ibn Yusuf, from Ikrimah, who said: ( Al-Samad ): The one from whom nothing exits.
And others said: He is the One who neither begets nor is begotten.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Hamid reported: Mehran told us, from Abu Ja'far, from Al-Rabi', from Abu Al-'Ala, who said: (Al-Samad): The one who neither begets nor is born, because nothing begets except that it will inherit, and nothing is born except that it will die. So Allah, may He be praised, informed them that He does not inherit nor die.
Ahmad bin Mani' and Mahmoud bin Khodash narrated that Abu Said Al-San'ani said: The polytheists said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), "Describe your Lord to us." So Allah revealed: ( Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One. * Allah, the Eternal Refuge. * He neither begets nor is born. * Nor is there to Him any equivalent.') because there is nothing that is born except that it will die, and nothing that dies except that it will leave an inheritance, and verily Allah, Glorified be His Mention, does not die and does not leave an inheritance. ( Nor is there to Him any equivalent.) : And there is no similarity or equal to Him, and there is nothing like Him.
Abu Kurayb reported to us, he said: Waki' informed us, from Abu Ma'shar, from Muhammad bin Ka'b: Al-Samad: the one who neither begets nor is begotten, and there is none comparable to Him.
And others said: His nobility has come to an end.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abu Al-Sa'ib told me that Abu Muawiya narrated to him from Al-A'mash from Shuqayq who said: Al-Samad is the master whose nobility has reached its pinnacle.
Abu Kurayb, Ibn Bashar, and Ibn Abdul A'la reported: Waki' narrated to us from Al-A'mash, from Abu Wa'il, who said: ( Al-Samad ): the master whose authority has reached its pinnacle; and Abu Kurayb and Ibn Abdul A'la did not mention his authority.
Ibn Hamid narrated to us; he said: مهران narrated to me, from Sufyan, from Al-A'mash, from Abu Wail, similarly.
Ali reported: Abu Salih narrated to me, he said: Muawiyah narrated to me, from Ali, from Ibn Abbas, regarding the saying: ( الصَّمَدُ ) He says: the master who has attained completeness in his mastery, and the noble who has reached perfection in his nobility, and the great who has been magnified in his greatness, and the forbearing who has been perfected in his forbearance, and the rich who has attained fullness in his richness, and the compeller who has reached completion in his might, and the knowledgeable who has perfected his knowledge, and the wise who has attained perfection in his wisdom, and He is the one who has achieved completeness in all kinds of nobility and mastership, and He is Allah, exalted is He; this is His attribute, and it is not befitting except for Him.
And others said: Rather, He is the Eternal One who does not perish.
* Mention of those who said that:
Bashar narrated to us, he said: Yazid narrated to us, he said: Sa'id narrated to us, from Qatadah, regarding His saying: ( Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One. * Allah, the Eternal Refuge. * He neither begets nor is born, ) he said: Al-Hasan and Qatadah used to say: the One who remains after His creation, he said: this is a pure Surah; there is no mention of anything regarding the affairs of the world or the Hereafter in it.
Ibn Abdul A'la narrated to us, he said: Ibn Thawr told us, from Ma'mar, from Qatadah, who said: ( الصمد ): the Eternal.
Abu Ja'far said: Al-Samad in Arabic refers to the master to whom people resort, the one who has no one above him, and thus the nobility are also called by this name; and from this is the saying of the poet:
Indeed, the herald has brought good news regarding the two sons of Asad.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. "By Amr ibn Mas'ud and by the Lord of absolute power."
And Al-Zubair said:
And there is no pledge except a Lord who is Eternal.
So if that is the case, then the one who is most deserving of interpreting the word is the meaning known from the discourse of the one who revealed the Quran in His language; and if the narration of Ibn Burayda from his father were authentic, it would be the most valid statement, because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is more knowledgeable about what Allah, Glorified be He, intended and about what was revealed to him.