Page 25 - Pakistan Link - August 21, 2020

RELIGION
Al-Fatihah: The Prayer and the Message
n By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi
(Khutbah at ISOC – Dhul
Qi’dah 1, 1421/ January 26,
2001)
In the name of Allah, Most
Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise belong to Allah, the
Lord of the worlds. 2. Most Gra-
cious, Most Merciful. 3. Master of
the Day of Judg-
ment. 4. It is You
we worship, and it
is You we ask for
help, 5. Guide us to
the straight path, 6. between Me and My servant in
The path of those
you have blessed. 7.Those who in-
curred no anger, and who have not
gone astray. (al-Fatihah 1:1-7)
Surah al-Fatihah is the first
Surah of the Qur’an. According
to most of the authorities this was
the first Surah that was revealed
to Prophet Muhammad – peace
be upon him - when he was in
Makkah. Before this he received
some verses of Surah al-‘Alaq,
Surah al-Muzammil and Surah
al-Muddathir, but as a complete
Surah, al-Fatihah was the first
one.
The word al-Fatihah means
“opener”. So this Surah is the
opener of the Qur’an. It has seven
verses that are repeated by every
Muslim many times during the
course of his/her daily prayers.
Thus the Surah is also called the
“al-Sab’ al-Mathani” (al-Hijr
15:87) that is “the Seven Oft-
repeated.” This Surah has many
other names: Umm al-Qur’an
(the Essence of the Qur’an), Al-
Asas (the Foundation), Al-Shafi-
yah (the Healer), Al-Kafiyah (the
Sufficient) etc. In Al-Bukhari it
is mentioned that the Prophet
– peace be upon him - said that
this was “the greatest Surah in the
Qur’an.”
(al-Bukhari 4114) It is also
reported:
Ubayy ibn Ka’b reported that
the Prophet – peace be upon him
- said, “Allah did not reveal in
the Torah, nor Injil like Umm al-
Qur’an and this is the Seven Oft-
repeated and it is (the one about
which Allah said) ‘it is divided
between Me and My servant and
for My servant is whatever he asks.’
(al-Tirmidhi 3050)
Surah al-Fatihah is both a
prayer and a full introduction to
the message of the Qur’an.
As a prayer it contains the
praise and glorification of Allah
and the human request for Allah’s
guidance, direction and blessings.
According to a Hadith:
Abu Hurairah says, “I heard
the Messenger of Allah says, ‘Al-
lah says, I have divided the prayer
two halves and for My servant is
whatever He asks for. When the
Servant says, ‘Praise be to Al-
lah the Lord of the worlds,’ Allah
says, ‘My servant has thanked Me.’
When he says,’ the Most Merci-
ful, the Most Compassionate’ Al-
lah says, ‘My servant has praised
Me.’ When he says, ‘Master of the
Day of Judgment’ Allah says, ‘My
servant has glorified Me.’ And He
says, “My servant has submitted to
Me.’ When he says, ‘You we wor-
ship and You we ask for help.’ Al-
lah says, ‘This is between Me and
My servant and for My servant is
whatever he asks.’ When he says,
‘Guide us to the straight path…’
AUGUST 21, 2020 – PAKISTAN LINK – P25
Gems from the
Holy Qur’an
Allah says, ‘This is for My servant only one who can really guide
and for My servant is whatever he to the straight path. It calls for
asks.’ (Muslim 598) righteous actions in this life. It
speaks about life after death and
As an introduction to the of the consequences of human
action and behavior. It tells that
After this the true guidance comes through
introduction comes God’s Prophets and Messengers.
the whole Qur’an. Al- They were the people who were
Fatihah is the prayer truly guided and they received
and the Qur’an is Allah’s grace and mercy. Those
the answer to our who turned away from that path
prayers. Al-Fatihah were those who went astray and
is the introduction to they incurred the wrath of God
the Qur’an and then and His punishment.
we have the whole
The Surah tells us:
Qur’an 1. The essence of religion is
thankfulness to Allah.
Qur’an it contains all the basic 2. Allah is the Lord and Sus-
principles that are given in detail tainer of the whole universe.
in the Qur’an. It tells us that we 3. Allah is very kind, loving
and merciful.
are surround- 4. Allah is also the Judge and whenever they pass by [people en-
ed by Allah’s He does not tolerate injustice,
grace and fa- evil and sin.
vors. He is the 5. The Day of Judgment will
Source of all come.
love and mer- 6. Worship should be only to
cy. We should Allah and all prayerful requests
be thankful to should be directed to Him alone.
Him. Our life 7. One should continuously
is not perma- seek Allah’s guidance and remain
nent. We shall on the path of truth and righ-
die one day and teousness.
He will judge 8. True righteousness comes
us. He alone is when we follow the example of
the Master of those who were righteous and
that Day. We who were under Allah’s grace:
must worship the Prophets, Messengers, and
Him and Him pious and devoted people of Al-
alone. We must lah.
seek His help 9. One should always be
and He has all careful not to make the most
the power to Merciful angry with him.
give us what- 10. One should never ignore
ever we need. the path of guidance and should
It reminds that always be careful not to go astray. the lie [to God’s message], and in
Allah is the After this introduction
comes the whole Qur’an. Al-Fati-
hah is the prayer and the Qur’an
is the answer to our prayers. Al-
Fatihah is the introduction to
the Qur’an and then we have the
whole Qur’an.
www.PakistanLink.com
From the translation by Mu-
hammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)
AMbuohuatmtmheatdranAsslaadto, r:Leopold
Weiss, was born of Jewish parents
in Livow, Austria (later Poland) in
1900, and at the age of 22 made his
first visit to the Middle East. He
later became an outstanding for-
eign correspondent for the Fran-
furter Zeitung, and after years of
devoted study became one of the
leading Muslim scholars of our
age. His translation of the Holy
Qur’an is one of the most lucid
and well-referenced works in this
category, dedicated to li-qawmin
yatafakkaroo (people who think).
Chapter 25, Verses 72 – 77
And [know that true servants of
God are only] those who never bear
witness to what is false, and [who],
gaged in] frivolity, pass on with dig-
nity; and who, whenever they are re-
minded of their Sustainer’s messages,
do not throw themselves upon them
[as if] deaf and blind; [ 1 ] and who
pray, “O Our Sustainer! Grant that
our spouses and our offspring be a
joy to our eyes, and cause us to be
foremost among those who are con-
scious of Thee!”
[Such as] these will be rewarded
for all their patient endurance [in
life] with a high station [in paradise],
and will be met therein with a greet-
ing of welcome and peace, therein to
abide; [and] how goodly an abode
and [how high] a station!
Say [unto those who believe]:
“No weight or value would my Sus-
tainer attach to you were it not for
your faith [in Him]!
[And say unto those who deny
the truth]: “You have indeed given
time this [sin] will cleave unto you!”
Chapter 26, Verses 4 – 6
Had We so willed, We could
have sent down unto them a message
from the skies, so that their necks
would [be forced to] bow down be-
fore it in humility.
[But We have not willed it:] and
so, whenever there comes unto them
any fresh reminder from the Most
Gracious, they [who are blind of
heart] always turn their backs upon
it: thus, indeed, have they given the
lie [to this message as well]. But [in
time] they will come to understand
what it was that they were wont to
deride!
___________
Translator’s Notes
[ 1 ] Explaining this verse, Za-
makhshari remarks that whereas the
average run of people approach the
divine writ with a mere outward
show of eagerness, “throwing
GEMS, P28