Let’s admire Surah Al Fatiha, and try to brush up our knowledge. Let us dive deeper and understand why Surah Al Fatiha is Umm Ul Quran. So, when you’re in Salah, you’re in front of Allah and without Surah Al Fatiha, your Salah is undone. You can realize how crucial it is for us, the people of faith. This beautiful surah is not just confessing something to Allah but a wholesome talk. It’s a Dua, it’s a praise, it’s an acknowledgement, it’s an act of worship, it’s an oath, it’s everything. It’s an extraordinary dialogue between you and Allah.
A Dialogue with Allah
The next time we recite it, we should know that Allah is replying to us. It doesn’t matter how much we are troubled, we will surely find peace. It contains seven magnificent verses of the Quran. Within those seven verses, it encompasses all of the teachings of the Quran. Indeed, That’s the strength of Allah only, to inculcate all of the concepts beautifully in a few words.
Okay first, let’s recall it’s a Meccan surah, which means it got revealed in Mecca, before hijrah to Al Madinah Al Munawwarah. Meccan surahs are special because
- They are short
- They are poetic
- In these surahs, Allah presents a logical analysis for all mankind, and ask them to think.
Okay, let’s deep dive into the words of Allah subhanahu wa taala
Diving Deeper
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds,
ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
An impressive Arabic word hamd, that none another single word can do justice to and just following to hamd, lillahi come up, Allah has told us, that it’s only and only for Allah. You can’t praise and show gratitude to someone at the same time. Try it yourself, you will be amazed. Sana and shukr are for Allah who is Rabb, Rabb of the worlds.
All of the worlds, the worlds out of our limited knowledge.
He provides, he guides.
Our nurture, our owner.
Our protector, our sustainer.
And a beautiful reminder, you know that dua in Surah Al-Isra 17-24.
رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا Rabbir hamhuma kama Rabbayani Sagheera "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small.
Here Allah used Rabb for our parents or whoever took care of us when we were tiny-little babies, we were powerless, vulnerable, and they watched out, they did everything to lead the way through the weakest state towards adulthood.
And if they hadn’t done all this for a slight moment, we wouldn’t have been survived.
And Allah, he is the Rabb of the aalameen, not just of one but of many.
And before telling us of the judgement day, Allah told us he is Rahman and Raheem.
So, don’t lose hope.
مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ Lord of the day of judgement. 1:4
We need to worry about this, that this day of judgement is waiting for us. On the day, on which there will be no way out unless there are people upon which Allah has mercy. We will be given what is due to us, which will be decided by our actions of Duniya, the choices we have made now.
About haqooq ullah and haqooq ul ibad.
For us, the true test is how we make this effort to do well and let there be no lapse in both, submitting to Allah, his rights upon us for being our creator and his creation around us. There is a serious hadith on this.
He SAW asked among the companions, “Do you know who is bankrupt of my ummah?”
They replied, Ya Rasool Allah, the bankrupt among us is one who has neither money with him nor any property.
On which he explained that
No, who will come on the day of judgement with many rewards regarding the salah, fasting, charity but will end up bankrupt.
Why?
Because he has wronged many of Allah’s creations.
Backbiting, slandering, not fulfilling the rights of people that were on him.
Because people will be given justice that day.
And the people who had gone through troubles because of us, they will ask for Justice and it will be given. It will be dealt with only one means, which is good deeds.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ You ˹alone˺ we worship and You ˹alone˺ we ask for help. 1:5
We say we only worship you Ya Allah, but do we do what we say?
Worship means to submit to him fully.
If we look at our routine and the life we please, we will see clearly to whom we bow down.
Sometimes consciously and most of the time, unconsciously, we submit to our nafs, our desire.
There are other subtle ways that we might be submitting to other than Allah.
Like what will people say?
Sometimes going against our own will, integrity, our deen just because my friends will mock me?
And sometimes it can be our desires too.
And you alone we seek help.
Help for what?
Remember this place for the test. Allah has sent us here for the test.
Everyone will be tested one way or another.
Our minds tell us when someone gets afflicted by some loss or in critical disease, we think they are being tested.
When a person is blessed with good health, vitality, abundance in wealth, honor amongst people, popularity, all forms of goodness and comfort, that is also a test, friends.
It’s not like Allah is gifting one after another all these blessings and bounties and that person is not getting tested.
What is that person being tested for?
For shukr!
It’s about, will we be grateful?
Will we be humble?
The worst form of behavior is when those blessings that Allah has given us, we use them and utilize them in open disobedience of Allah.
Allah has blessed us with the ability to speak.
And when we open it, we backbite, we complain, we express how ungrateful we are.
We use nemah of speech, in all types of stuff which Allah dislikes.
Allah may test us by giving abundantly or restricting our rizq.
Name every nemah given to us and observe how we are exploiting them.
I have read somewhere,
“Don’t look at the size of sin itself, look at the one that you have disobeyed.”
This shook my soul; don’t we sometimes just do things out of ignorance and laziness.
Such as,
Oh, it’s just a small sin.
Chill, there’s still time to focus on Qur’an, I am still young.
Yeah okay, I do this but at least I don’t do that sin!
It’s ok, Allah will forgive me, let me just enjoy this now and repent later.
I’m never going to be as good as them, what’s the point in even trying?
Allowing others to oppress us when we can change things is not a form of patience but slavery.
And remember we are only slaves of Allah.
We need to be conscious of what we say, what we do.
To Whom we should go to ask for help in these trails?
Who knows us better than us?
Who is more knowledgeable of us than us?
We need to realize and make a lot of dua.
O’ over-turner of hearts, make my heart firm on your religion.
Ya Allah, make my heart enthralled by your love.
Ameen Ya Rabb.
And What is ibadah?
Helping someone, being kind to a neighbor, upholding the Sunnah and smile is Sunnah.
Is it difficult to do?
If we look deep, we will see how we can do ibadah 24 hours effortlessly. ?
Let’s make our Rabb Raazi. ?
Let’s show our Rabb that we are his sincere slaves. ?
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Guide us to a straight path.
But one would think, what is that straight path?
صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
the Path of those You have blessed—not those You are displeased with, or those who are astray.
So, right after it, Allah told us about the ones who were on the straight path.
That’s how Allah teaches us through Quran, he will advise something then he will explain it, then he will give an account of its pros and if not done then its cons.
So, the ones who were on the straight path are Prophets, truthful ones, pious ones, and the martyred.
The ones on whom Allah’s mercy bestowed.
It’s mentioned in Surah An Nisa, 69th verse.
This gives us understanding of what we as a Muslim should be doing to strive in the way of Allah to walk on the path of sirat-ul-mustaqeem. ?
Surah Fatiha serves as a Dua to Allah that He may make us from blessed ones, which is association of Guidance to Allah, as no book, be it Quran is capable of guiding anyone unless Allah wills. ?
And with that Allah also reminds us, not on the path of those who gained Allah’s wrath and gone astray.
Allah’s wrath was gained by the ones who killed their prophets and to know what else they did, you should read Surah Bakrah, you will be amazed by how can someone do such disobedience and show such arrogance when they are directly getting blessing upon blessing with open eyes. And the ones who made their prophet their lord, gone astray.
And when you will read it, you will find it very easy to be able to relate to those disobediences.
Allahu Akbar.
Let’s inspect ourselves, on which path are we?
Who is our Alpha?
Who is the one we strive to be like?
Ya Rabb, we all need your help, support, mercy for all of our affairs, do not leave us to ourselves, even for the blink of an eye. ?
And honestly one cannot put out everything about this surah or any surah, it will take ages to comprehend and grasp most of Allah’s word. ?
The more you will notice it, the more it will convey to you, its secrets. ?
Subhan Allah
That’s the beauty of the Quran. ?
It never gets aged; it never gets regular. ?
