THE MYSTERIES AND THE SECRETS OF SURAH AL-FATIHAH: Part 2
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
“LOVE ALLAH. LOVE THE HOLY PROPHET, LOVE THE QURAN. LOVE YOUR PARENTS, LOVE AL FATIHAH”.
“WE WILL BE LOVED BY ALLAH”
THE MYSTERIES AND THE SECRETS OF SURAH AL-FATIHAH: Part 2
By
Abdul Wahap Bin Abdul Hamid
IMPORTANCE OF SURAH AL FATIHAH
In
Zill Noorain Online Islamic Institute’s –Importance of Surah Al Fatihah 1-
Importance of Quranic Surah Series, the importance of Surah Al Fatihah is
explained in a very simplified manner. Below are some of the mentioned
importance :
THE VIRTUES OF SURAH AL FATIHAH
Rasullalah
(p.u.b.h) said, “Allah Swt has not revealed the likes of Ummul Kitab (Mother of
the Book- Surah Al Fatihah ) in the Tawrah, or Injil. It is the 7 most repeated
verses or ayah ( Saba’h Mathani ). Allah says in the 4th verse of
Surah Al Fatihah, “It is divided between Myself and My slave, and My slave
shall have what he asked for”
( Jami’at Tirmidhi Vol 5, Book 44,
Hadith 3125 )
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
OF ISLAM
It is
the Gem of Surah Al Fatihah. This is the important deed of the heart. It
instills sincerity and ‘tawakalul’ on Allah i.e asking help from Allah only. He
is the only one capaple of helping us. Only Allah is capable of alleviating and
removing our difficulties.
We ask Him alone and sincerely because we know that there is nobody
more Merciful than Allah, and no one can help us better than Allah. As our
Creator, he knows best what is good or the best for us. We mention this in “Iyaakanaboodu Iyaakaanastain”- we
worship only you Allah and only from You we ask for help.
GOOD COMPANY
Most
Muslims take surah Al- Fatihah for granted. Many of us recite this surah daily
in our obligatory prayer without knowing the meaning and the dynamism of surah
Al Fatihah. It is like being a parrot who can speak, but does not understand
the meaning of what it is speaking about.! We MUST understand what we are
reading in surah Al Fatihah. Each verse of surah Al Fatihah has a very
important message from Allah Swt. When we understand the meaning of these
verses, we will DEFINITELY fall in ‘love’ with this powerful surah. When we
understand and ‘love’ this surah, we will realise that the quality of our salah
has improved tremendously. We can feel the ‘sweetness’ of our salah, and our
salah has become more meaningful instead of being a daily routine. We will feel
that we are closer to Allah in salah, and Allah Swt is listening to us. We will
feel the proximity with Allah. We must love surah Al Fatihah to understand it.
Without understanding surah Al Fatihah, we cannot love it. This article will
try to uncover the dynamism of this very powerful surah-the ONLY surah sent to
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) DIRECTLY by Allah Swt through His angel
It is
quite surprising, after doing a random survey, not many have studied and
understood this surah in depth. To many, as long as they can memorise the
surah, and recite it in their daily salah or prayers, is sufficient. Very few
have done an in depth analysis or study to discover the many mysteries and
secrets this powerful surah holds. There are also not many articles that explains
the dynamism of surah Al Fatihah in detail. We sincerely hope, with the
guidance of Allah Swt, that we can successfully change the negative perception
that exist about this important surah, and help people appreciate and
understand that surah Al Fatihah should not be taken lightly or for granted.
Serious attention MUST be paid to this surah by EVERY Muslim. This article will
try to reveal the mysteries and secrets contained in this powerful surah. After
one has finished reading this article that tries to expose these mysteries and
secrets, one will appreciate the importance of this surah. The mere fact that
it is the very first surah of this Holy book, must mean something.! One will
also find that after having an in-depth understanding of this surah, one will
find that the quality of their prayers has improved, and has becomes more
focussed, meaningful and ‘beautiful’.
NEED OF GUIDANCE
We recite this surah many times (minimum of 17 times a day), and
always ask Allah to guide us. We will always need Allah’s guidance-it will
never end.
IMPORTANCE OF PRAISING
ALLAH
The surah begins with the praise of Allah. This way, we humble
ourself, and appreciate that everything comes from Allah.
We appreciate and understand that as human beings, we are powerless.
Nothing happens without His will. So it is only appropriate that we begin with
gratitude, appreciation and praise of Allah Swt,
THE BEST INVOCATE (DUA) IS ALHAMDULILLAH
The
best way of thanking Allah Swt is by praising him. By praising Him, He will
give even more. He gives us more blessing. Surah Al Fatihah begins with praise
of Allah which indicates the importance of praising Allah Swt. It is a way of
humbling ourselves, and appreciating all the blessings Allah Swt has given us.
We acknowledge that as human beings are powerless.
SURAH AL-FATIHAH - THE MYSTERIES AND SECRETS UNVEILED
This
surah consists of 7 verses. In the Hadith Qudsi it is stated that Allah SWT has
said to His Holy Prophet (p.u.b,h), that the first 3 verses of this surah are
for Him ( Allah Swt ), the last 3 verses are for His servant. The middle or 4th
verse is the most powerful verse as it is shared between Him and His servants.
Allah SWT has said, that this is the verse that establishes a direct link or
bondage between Him and his servant. This verse is, this 4th verse,
is divided invisibly into 2 parts. The first part of the verse is glorifying
the greatness of the Creator, while the other half is where the servant seeks
for His help. (This will be dealt in detail in the later part of this article).
Surah Al Fatihah is very special and unique because it is the ONLY complete
surah or chapter in the entire Holy Quran that was sent directly as a gift from
Allah SWT to Holy Prophet (p.u.b.h) through an angel in the presence of angel
Jibreel.
THE SPECIAL QUALITIES OF SURAH AL FATIHAH
IT IS THE PILLAR OF SALAH
The
Holy Prophet (p.u.b.h) said that if a person does not recite Surah Al Fatihah
in the salah, the prayer is invalid.
CURE FOR THE HEART
The
surah contains a prayer that protects one from the anger of Allah SWT and
misguidance. It also protects our heart from getting all sorts of evil
intentions. The verses contained in surah Al Fatihah are so ‘beautiful’ and
soothing to the ears, that it has varying curative effect. Surah Al Fatihah has
curative effects. It has the curative effect to the heart.Ibnu Qayyim
rahimullah has said that he frequently heard
Syaikh Islam IbnuTaimiyah rahimullah say that “Iyyaaka na’kbudu” is actually a treatment and cure for ego and
pride, while” wa Iyyaaka nasta;iin” is the treatment and cure for arrogance for
This surah contains powerful verses that has a positive effect to the person
who is reading it. It can also protect the reader from the anger of Allah SWT.
It can also prevent the person who is reading it in the prayer from the
disturbance of the satan that tries to disrupt one’s prayer
AL FATIHAH - THE JEWEL OF THE QURAN.
Why is the surah Al
Fatihah described as the ‘Jewel of the Quran’? This is because each verse of
Surah Al Fatihah has it’s own characteristic. Below is the characteristic of
each verse.
“ Alhamdulillaahi robbil ‘aalamii”
Verse 1 It characterises the Divine
Essence
All praises to Allah alone, the Lord
of the worlds
“Arrohamaannirrohim”
Verse 2 Characterises Divine
Attributes.
The Most Gracious and the Most
Merciful
“ Maaalikin yaumiddin”
Verse 3 Characterises Resurrection
Lord of the day of Judgement.
“Iyyaaka na’kbudu wa iyyaaka nasta’iin”
Verse 4 Characterises of being Omnipotent
“You alone do we worship, and unto you alone we turn for help “
“
Ihdinash-shiroothol mustaqiim,
Verse 5 Characterises of being infallible
guider
Guide us in the straight path.
Verse 6-7
“Siraatal lazeena an’amta ‘alaihim ghayril maghdoobi ‘alaihim wa
lad daaalleen”
Characterises the condition
of the believers and also Allah’s enemies
The way of those upon whom Thou hast
bestowed Thy Blessings – NOT of those who have been condemned (by Thee), not of
those who go astray.
A GUIDE TO THE PROPER AND CORRECT RECITATION OF
AL FATIHAH IN SALAH (PRAYER) FOR OUR DUA (WISH) TO BE ACCEPTED AND GRANTED.
Essence
of the Salah (prayer) is that we establish a dialogue and dua directly to Allah
Swt. This dialogue is established in the recitation of Al Fatihah. As we
already know that, without Al Fatihah there is NO salah or prayer. The Holy
Prophet (p.b.u.h ) has already mentioned that,’ a prayer without Al Fatihah is
invalid!” ( Bukhari and Muslim ). Ini Hadith Qudsi, Allah has stated Salah is
Al Fatihah. Allah has mentioned He has divided the salah between Him and his servants
- becoming 2 divisions ( Bukhari ). As such, the moment one starts to recite
the Al Fatihah is a very crucial and important moment in salah ( Al Fatihah ).
It is our golden opportunity for us to praise Him and dua ( ask/wish ) whatever
our desire is to Him only.
GUIDE ON HOW TO PERFORM IT.
SPECIFIC ACTION’S ON THE RECITATION OF AL
FATIHAH IN THE SALAH.
Most of us have known, and have recited Al Fatihah in our daily prayers. What we do not know is that during our prayer, Allah Swt gives specific attention to our recitation of surah Al Fatihah, what is that specific attention.? Allah Swt will directly reply to every verse that we recite in the Al Fatihah, during Salah, as stated in Hadith Qudsi where Allah Swt has promised as follows, “I have divided the Salah between Me and my servant into two equal halves, and for My servant is what he asked for”. It is beautifully narrated in the hadith of Abu Hurairah the following dialogue that takes place between Allah Swt and His servant during a Salah. This is the dynamism of the Salah. In the hadith, Abu Hurairah, has described the dialogue that takes place between Allah Swt and His servant as follows: -
This is what actually transpires - the dialogue, between Allah Swt
and His servant in a Salah.
v When the servant recites,” Alhamdulillahi
robbil ‘aalamiin,”
Allah Swt replies,” My servant has praised Me”
v Whan the servant recites, “ Arrohamaannirrohim,”
Allah Swt replies,” My servant has repeated his praise of me”.
v When the servant recites, “ Maalikin
yaumiddin,”
Allah Swt replies,’ My servant has exalted or glorified Me”.
v When the servant recites, ”Iyyaaka
na’kbudu wa iyyaaka nasta’iin,”
Allah Swt replies, “This half is for Me and the other half is for
my servant, and for My servant he will get whatever he asks for.” The is the
establishment of a link or relationship between Allah Swt and His servant
v When the servant recites
”Ihdinash-shiroothol
mustaqiim. Shirootholladziina an’amta ‘alaihim, ghoiril maghdhuubi ‘alaihim
waladh-dhoolliin,”
Allah Swt replies,” This half belongs to my servant, and for him he
shall get whatever he wishes for,”
THE PROPER WAY OF RECITING THE AL FATIHAH IN A
SALAH.
i. Due to this special linkage or bond between the Creator ( Allah Swt ) and His creation ( His servants ), so it is not surprising that the religious law has outlines a very stringent rule when reciting the surah Al Fatihah in the salah. The Al Fatihah MUST be recited according to the sequence or the determined arranged order by Allah Swt. There cannot be any mistake or error in the recitation. Exception being made for those are orally handicapped.
ii.
Al
Fithah MUST be recited audibly. It CANNOT be recited in the heart. It must be
recited with a soft tone, almost like a wisper, preferably only audible to the
reciter’s ear own ear only. This is to provide the reciter’s heart solace and
full concentration and focus to the prayer
iii.
The
reciter must pause in between verses i.e a short pause at the end of each verse
before reciting the next verse e.g.
after finishing verse 1 before going to verse 2, and so on. This is to
allow Allah Swt reply to each verse that we recite thus creating the dialogue
between Allah Swt and His servant through the recitation of Al Fatihah.
The
famous Islamic schlor, Imam Ibnu Hajar al-Haitsami has written in his book
entitled Tuhfatul Muhtaj, he has
explained, “It is confirmed that the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) had paused between
verses during prayer, This is how Holy Prophet (p,b,u,h) recited the surah Al Fatihah
in his prayer. He would recite: “Bismillahirrohmaanirrohim,”
then pause a moment before the beginning of the next verse. He then would
recite the next verse, “Alhamdulillahi
robbil ‘aalamiin,” then pause a moment before the beginning of next verse,
then he would recite the next verse,” Arrohmaanirrohiim”
then pause a moment before the beginning of the next verse, and did the same
until he finished the recitation of the
whole surah in his prayer. Due to this practice by the Holy Prophet (p.u.b.h),
the other famous Islamic scholars such Imam Baihaqi, Imam Halimi and others
have decreed as ‘Sunnah’ to follow the way the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) recited
the surah Al Fatihah in his prayer.
THE PROPER WAY TO INVOCATE ( DUA ) WITH AL FATIHAH.
The
Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) has said that,” Anyone who read’s a SINGLE alphabet from
the Holy Quran will be rewarded with ONE merit/deed (reward ), and ONE merit is
multiplied 10 times! Trivia. In a day, one prays 5 times day ( the wajib or obligatory
prayer). In total it consits of 17 rakaat. In surah Al Fatihah there are 156
alphabets. So, when one recites the surah Al Fatihah once, it will be 156 x 10
deeds /merit, it would amount to 1560 deeds/merit. Just imagine the number of
deeds one gets when one recites the surah Al Fatihah 17 times in a day! It will
sum up to 2562 deeds/merits per day. If one performs the 5 times a day
obligatory prayer for 50 years, one would have accumulated 128,100
deeds/merit.! The question everyone will ask is,” will our invocation { dua }
be accepted by Allah Swt? The answer lies with Allah Swt. However, in Hadith
Qudsi, Allah Swt has PROMISED that He will answer EVERY verse in surah Al
Fatihah that one recites. However, many Islamic scholars agree that the
sincerity in reading and reciting as well as applying the Al Fatihah with a
sincere and clean heart, will bring rewards that one desires from Allah sooner
rather than later. So, what should one do to achieve this? One could do the following:
-
i. Love Surah Fatihah
ii.
Learn
the meaning
iii.
Understand
the meaning of each verse while reciting it
iv.
Be
sincere and committed when facing Allah during prayer and invocating (Dua)
Some guide on how to achieve this: -
v While reciting” Bismillaahirrohmaanirrohim”, try to fill our heart with the greatness of His name and His
attributes, the Most Benificent ant the Most Merciful.
v While reciting, “Alhamdu
lillahi robbil ‘aalamiin” try to fill our heart with contentment and
satisfaction as well as be thankful to Him for all that He has given us.
v While reciting, “Arrohmaanirrohiim”,
try to fill our heart with hope of getting His Sympathy and Love.
v While reciting, “Maaliki
yaumidiin”, try to fill our heart with His Greatness and Fear of His
punishment and torture due to his mightiness because of His power ang the
greatness of His ‘government’.
v While reciting,” Iyyaaka na’budu
wa iyyaaka nasta’iin”, try to fill our heart with total and complete
submission, sincerity when performing the salah and seeking His help and
assistance in prayer. Mention our need when we recite “Iyaaka nasta’iin’, as it is here lies the linkage or bonding
between the servants request with Allah Swt’s promise of granting whatever His
servant wants. Just to refresh our memory- it is in this verse that Allah Swt
had mentioned that,” I have divided the Al Fatihah into 2 halves. The first
half belongs to Me, and the other half of the prayer belongs to my servant. So
it is in this verse, “Iyyaaka na’abud u
wa iyyaka nasta’iin” that Allah mentions, “My servant will get whatever he wishes
for”.
v REMARK: This invocation or dua must be made outside or after the
salah, as if it is made during salah, it might make the prayer invalid
v While reciting,” Ihdinash-shiroothol
mustaqiim, Shirootholladziina an’amta ‘alaihim, ghoiril maghdhuubi ‘alaihim
waladh-dhoolliin”, try to feel humble and fully focused and concentrated in
the invocation (dua) with the hope that Allah Swt will show us the true path
for whatever we asked for, and hopefully He will save us from the misguided
path, and from the people who have gone astray and condemned.
SOME TRIVIA ABOUT SURAH AL FATIHAH
- It is the BEST INVOCATION (DUA).
- The Best surah from the time of Prophet Adam to Prophet Muhammad
(p.b.u.h.) combined.
- This surah is a special light from Heaven.
- Without this surah, prayer is invalid.
- This is the only surah where Allah Swt will reply to every verse
that is recited by his servant in prayer.
- We recite this surah in every rakaat of our prayer (minimum of 17
times in a day).
- The 7 most often repeated verses
- In the history of the Universe, there is no other sentence that has
been read the most number of times than Surah Al Fatihah