In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

Imam Bukhari narrates that a certain Companion heard a man recite qul huwa allahu ahad repeatedly at night. When morning came, he went to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and told him about what he had heard, deeming slight and paltry the repeated recitation of such a short sura. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said in response, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, it indeed equals a third of the Quran.”

Scholars mention that variegating what one recites in prayer helps increase one’s focus and presence of heart. It takes effort, though, to prevent a recalcitrant nafs from “just getting it over with” by quickly reciting qul huwa allahu ahad for the hundredth time instead of pausing to select another sura.

Intelligent diplomacy will often achieve more than war, and with less effort to boot. If you find an urge to recite qul huwa allahu ahad, use this hadith to bring Allah’s tremendous generosity to your mind, and recite the sura with grateful veneration instead of impatient exasperation, and diplomacy may improve your prayer more than war.