Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may
peace and blessings be sent off to Muhammad, the faithful Messenger of Allah,
his household and companions, and those who are guided by his guidance and
follow his Sunnah (Path) till the Day of Judgment.
Surat Al-Fatiha (the
Opening Chapter) is the Seven Mathani (i.e. Pairs, repeated, doubled,
ones to begin with) and the Great Quran that was given to the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) – Allah- Almighty- says in the Quran: (And, verily, We have
bestowed upon you seven of the (Mathani), and have given you the Grand
Quran) (15:87).
Ubayy ibn Ka’b narrates
(in part of the hadith) that the Prophet (PBUH) told him, “…I will teach a
Surat which is the greatest Surat in the Quran before you leave the Masjid.’
Then he took hold of my hand and when he intended to leave [the Masjid], I
asked him, “Did you not say that you would teach me a Surah which is the
greatest Surah in the Qur’an?” He replied, ‘Yes. It is [Surat Al-Fatiha],
“All praise are due to Allah, Lords of the worlds …” “It is the Seven Mathani
(Oft-Repeated verses) and the Great Qur’an that has been given to me.” The
Prophet (PBUH) made reciting Surat Al-Fatiha a requirement in every rak'ah (Unit) of prayer, so he was reported to have
said: “the prayer is not valid if one does not recite fatihat al-kitab
…”, 'Whoever prays a prayer without reciting the Surat Al-Fatiha in it,
his prayer is aborted, it is aborted, it is aborted, incomplete.'
Surat Al-Fatiha is tantamount to an introduction to the Qur’an. It contains
the theme of the Qur’an in its entirety; therefore, the themes of the Qur’an were
spelled out in its verses. It is called the Mathani because it comprises
of seven verses, where all prayers begin with reciting it, and its recitation
is repeated in all of them. It is also named the “Great Qur’an” for the
meanings of the attributes and monotheism of Allah -Exalted be He- and for the
great, all-encompassing supplication for all goodness, which is the guidance to
the straight path leading to Allah - glory be to Him - and to his paradise.
Sûrat Al- Fâtihah (The Opening Chapter) consists of
seven verses as follows:
1. In the Name of Allâh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
2. All the praises are due to Allâh, the Lord of the ‘Âlamîn ( mankind,
jinn and all that exists )
3. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
4. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense
(i.e. the Day of Resurrection)
5. You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and
everything).
6. Guide us to the Straight Way.
7. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way)
of those who earned Your Anger ( i.e. those who knew the Truth, but did not
follow it ) nor of those who went astray ( i.e. those who did not follow the
Truth out of ignorance and error).
1.
“In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate,” we have provided a comprehensive explanation of this
verse in a previous episode. In summary, it is, as linguists and philologists would
say, “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate,” is a
predicate to an omitted subject which is used for commencing or blessing the
speech with the blessed name of Allah. Needless to say that all of Allah’s
Names and Attributes are virtuous, with which we open, begin and bless every
worthy deed. The Qur’an, for that matter, is the greatest, most honorable and
lofty deed because it is the reading of Allah’s literal speech -Exalted be He.
The status of Allah’s speech over all other speeches is as great as Allah’s
Sublime Being over all other beings.
We read in “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate,” three
great names of Allah - Blessed and Exalted be He. First and foremost, the name
‘Allah’ is the greatest proper noun denoting the Sublime Being of God; it
is derived from the root word ilaah (i.e. deity). God is the deity,
meaning the divine being who is worthy of all worship. The name ‘Allah’ means
the one deified by all beings who are all in constant need of Him. Therefore, Allah
is the One and Only true God whom there is no god worthy of all worship except Him.
Any other god or deity besides Allah is false because true divinity belongs only
to Him, none else. A deity cannot be a
god unless he is Creator and in control of His creation as well as being
Capable of sustaining His servants by all means and beyond. This has never been
true except for Allah, alone. Other so-called gods besides Allah do possess
neither a benefit nor a harm for themselves nor for others. That’s why
everything being worshiped besides Allah is utterly false.
As for "Al-Rahman" (i.e. the Most Merciful) and
"Al-Rahim" (i.e. the Compassionate), etymologically speaking, these are
two names of Allah -the Blessed and Almighty- which are both derived from the noun
“Rahma” (i.e. mercy). Semantically, "Al-Rahman"
and "al-Rahim" are two exaggerated adjectives of the noun “Rahma”.
However, “Al-Rahman” is an exaggerated adjective akin to hyperbole, and greater
in sense than "Al-Rahim". Therefore, “Al-Rahman” is said to mean the
one whose mercy encompasses everything and intends every being that worships Him
or not. Even the nonbeliever shares in and benefits from Allah’s mercy which involves
every being to the exclusion of none. No creature can stand or survive without
it. This is best manifested in following saying of the Prophet (PBUH): “Allah
created one hundred (parts of mercy)” or “Allah Almighty has divided mercy into
one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine parts and sent down one part to earth.
Because of that one single part, creatures are merciful to one another so that
even the mare will lift its hooves away from its foal so that it does not
trample on it.”
The mare is a dumb, mindless animal, however, it has mercy for their foal;
Allah has created this mercy and cast it into the hearts of animals. The mercy
that exists in the hearts of animal and birds towards their little ones, is
merely part of the one mercy sent down by Allah to earth and distributed among
His creation. While Allah –Almighty- has kept ninety-nine parts of His infinite
mercy for the Day of Resurrection, one part of that mercy has been inclusive of
all beings. Without a doubt, the true miserable is the one who does not share
in this mercy, for Allah is the Most Merciful, whose mercy encompassed everything.
Likewise, Allah is "Al-Rahim" (i.e. the Most Compassionate), who
has a mercy specific to his devout servants and people of faith and piety. This
distinct mercy applies to them both in the world and the world to come. In this
world, Allah is merciful to them by guiding them, making piety near and dear to
their hearts, granting them patience and
strength, and inspiring them to remember and worship Him; and in the hereafter,
they enjoy the grand mercy of Allah by admitting them into His paradise of
stability and tranquility.
To be continued ,,,
