Surah Al-Fatihah 1 Dtailed Explanation (Introduction)
Al-Fatihah 1-1
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful,EN1-1,
EN1-1 - Islamic
culture requires a man to commence everything with the name of Allah. If this is done consciously and
sincerely, it will surely produce three good results. First, it will keep him away from evil, because the very
name of Allah will impel him to consider whether he is justified in associating
His name with a wrong deed or an evil intention. Secondly, the very mention of the name of Allah will create
in him the right attitude of mind and direct him to the right direction. Thirdly, he will receive Allah's help
and blessing and will be protected from the temptations of Satan, for Allah
turns to a man, when he turns to Him.
Al-Fatihah1-2
Praise is only for Allah,EN1-2 the Lord of the Universe,EN1-3
EN1-2-
Al-Fatihah is a prayer. It begins
with the praise of Allah to Whom it is addressed in order to teach us the right
way of making a supplication. We
should not put forward our request bluntly without an appropriate
introduction. The right way is to
acknowledge the excellences and the favors and the high position of the One to
Whom we address our prayer. That
is why we begin our prayer with the praise of Allah, for He is the perfection
of all excellences and is also our Benefactor. We pay homage to Allah to show that we sincerely acknowledge
His excellences and also are grateful to Him for His countless favors.
It should also be noted that only "Praise is for
Allah" but also "Praise is only for Allah". This distinction is very important
because it cuts at the root of the worship of any of His creation. As none of them is worthy of praise,
none is worthy of worship. No man,
no angel, no prophet, no so-called god, no star, no idol, in short, none of His
creation inherently possesses any good quality. If one has any, it is given by Allah. Hence the Creator of these qualities
alone deserves devotion, worship, gratitude, and none of His creation.
EN1-3 - The
Arabic word "Rab" which has been translated into
"Lord" stands for (a) Master and Owner, (b) Sustainer, Provider and
Guardian, (c) (c) Sovereign, Ruler, Administrator and Organizer. Allah is the Lord of the Universe in
all these senses.
Al-Fatihah 1-3
the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful,EN1-4
EN1-4 -
Although the Arabic word "Rahman" itself in the superlative
form and denotes the attributes of beneficence and mercy in the highest degree,
even this word fails to express the boundless extent of these attributes of
Allah. Hence another word "Rahim"
of the same root has been added to make up for the deficiency.
Al-Fatihah 1-4
the Master of the Day of Judgment.EN1-5
EN1-5 - After
saying that Allah is Beneficent and Merciful, it has immediately been added
that He is the master of the Day of Judgment to that the qualities of mercy and
kindness might not mislead anyone into forgetting that on that Day He will
gather together all human beings from the first to the last and require each
and every one to give an account of all one's acts to Him. A Muslim should, therefore, always keep
in view that fact that Allah is not only Merciful, but He is also Just. He has, however, has full authority to
pardon or punish anyone He pleases, for He has complete power over
everything. Therefore, we should
have full conviction that it lies absolutely in His power to make our end happy
or sorrowful.
Al-Fatihah 1-5
Thee alone we worshipEN1-6 and to
Thee alone we pray for helpEN1-7
EN1-6 - The
Arabic word "ibadat" is used in three senses: (a) worship and
devotion, (b) submission and obedience, (c) subjection and servitude. Here it implies all the three, that is.
"We are Thy worshipper, Thy subject and Thy slaves" and "We keep
these relations with Thee and Thee alone" and "We make none else the
object of our worship in all the
three senses".
EN1-7 - It
means, "We ask for Thy help because we know that Thou art the Lord of the
whole Universe and Thou hast all powers and Thou art the Master of every
thing. Therefore, we turn to Thee
for help for the fulfillment of our needs and requirements."
Al-Fatihah 1-6
Show us the straight way,EN1-8
EN1-8 - That
is, "Show us that way which may lead us right in every walk of life and
keep us absolutely free from errors and evil consequences and bring us success
in the end".
This is the request which the servant of Allah makes to Him
when he begins the study of the Qur'an.
He prays to Him to guide him in every walk of life and save him from the
labyrinths of doubt and uncertainty, which results from the lack of true
knowledge. The servant also requests the Master to show him the right and the
straight way of life from among the many by-paths and crooked ways.
Al-Fatihah 1-7
the Way of those whom Thou hast blessedEN1-9; who have not incurred Thy wrath,
nor gone astray.EN1-10
EN1-9 - The
"straight way" for which we are praying is "the way which has
always been followed by the people favored by Thee and which has always brought
Thy favors and blessings."
EN1-10 - This is
to show that the "favored people" are not those who go astray and
incur the wrath of Allah, though apparently they might be enjoying the
transitory good things of life.
The really favored people are those who receive blessings on account of
their righteous living. From this
it becomes clear that by "favors" are meant those real and permanent
rewards, which result from righteous living and from winning the pleasure of
Allah, and not those transitory good things of life which have been enjoyed by
the tyrants and worshippers of mammon and which are being enjoyed even today by
all sorts of evil-doers who have gone astray from the straight way.