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It provides guidance in a nutshell
The core of Islamic teachings is that:
There is a Creator, Lord, Master and Sovereign of this universe and human beings Who is One and Unique. It behoves human beings to worship only Him and to be obedient and fully submissive to Him by their own choice (Towheed )
For that they will be held accountable, rewarded or punished forever in the life Hereafter (Aakhirah)
He has sent messengers and books to let people know how he wants them to live (Risaalah)
This soorah reinforces all the three fundamentals of faith. In addition, the pronouns (We and us) used in this soorah, underscore another basic Islamic reality. Although Islam encourages people to strive for individual excellence, it places an equal importance on the collective goals of establishing an Islamic, egalitarian human society. Islam wants people to live together in a loving, caring community of believers that is well organized and that aspires to establish freedom, equality, peace and justice for the benefit of all people. By addressing both personal objectives of the individuals and the collective goals of the society, it provides the crux of Islam in a very concise manner from the very early days of Islam. It is a summary refresher of basic Islamic teachings.
People can more easily succeed if they have a clear understanding of the goals they have to achieve, the path that will take them there and the risks along the way that may impede the achievement of that goal. This brief soorah clearly demarks all three segments: The goal is living a life of slavery to Allaah, seeking only His help, the path is the path followed by the messengers of Allaah and their sincere and truly dedicated followers and the risk is deviation from the path like the Jews and the Christians .
Avoidance of both types of these deviations is such an important objective that Qur-aan has dedicated substantial space to elaborate the details of these deviations and warning of the consequences of those deviations. In addition to the coaching by the Qur-aan, the Prophet himself warned his followers in different styles and at different occasions. For example, he said, “Eventually you will follow the footsteps of the followers of the previous prophets, so much so that if they entered the burrow of a lizard, you will do the same.” The companions asked if he meant the Jews and the Christians. He responded, “Of course! Who else?”
This soorah sets the human mind at the very outset on a well-balanced ideological ground about the position of human beings in this universe, its relationship with the Creator, man’s need for guidance from the Creator, and the path that should be followed in life. It sets people free from being over-awed by the superior performance of some human beings in their fields of endeavour by making them realize that the real praise and credit belongs to God. It is God, their Lord, who has created the resources and given these individuals the capacity and capabilities to excel in whatever they devote their energies to. By concentrating on the perfection of the Creator and immersing people in His praise and gratefulness, the soorah saves people from hero-worship and “fan-fads”.
It sets the right tone and approach about Allaah Himself. It indicates, on the one hand, that the Lord of the Universe is not a God of vengeance and anger but a God of mercy and kindness; on the other hand, it reminds us that He is a just and equitable God who will hold everyone accountable for their actions, deeds and behaviour. It establishes a relationship that is balanced between hope and fear, and God’s love and human accountability.
It also brings out the fact that people on their own can neither find the properly balanced right way and straight path of success and salvation nor can stay on that course without active Divine guidance and help. Imperfection of human knowledge, a short term view of things and the incapability to simultaneously consider all aspects of an issue and its ripple effects on other issues makes it impossible for human beings to find the straight path on their own.
The commitment to dedicate our servitude only to Him and to seek only His help, in fact, is the most liberating idea for human beings. Exclusive submission to Allaah SWT frees a believer from his/her mental and psychological slavery towards any human being on the earth. People mostly fall into the servitude of other human beings only because of their hopes for help and support from them. After acknowledging Allaah as the Lord who has all the power in this world and in the Hereafter, no one else matters anymore, except for the rights and responsibilities defined by Allaah SWT Himself.
It also underscores the need to strike a balance between individual piety and community behaviour. It subtly suggests that although the relationship of a believer with the Lord is a very individual and personal relationship (first three verses), the believers must live together as a community in an organized egalitarian society (last four verses).
The single most important aspect of this soorah is that it is a dialogue and a covenant between a believer and His Master. The slave recognizes the true status of His Master, appreciates His kindness, and acknowledges his accountability to Him about his performance. After this acknowledgement, he promises to serve only Him and to seek support only from Him. This is the covenant that he will be judged against. Then the slave seeks the help of the Lord to enable him to fulfill the covenant successfully .
This dialogue and covenant is well-described in a Hadeeth [1] Qudsi [2] reported from Aboo Hurayrah [3] in Saheeh Muslim [4] . It indicates that when this soorah is recited consciously and sincerely in the salaah (prayer), Allaah interacts with His slave in the following manner:
“Allaah Ta’aala says: I have divided the salaah between Myself and My slave, one half for each, and I grant My slave what he asks for. When the person says, ‘The grateful, appreciative praise is only for Allaah, the Lord of the universe.’ Allaah says, ‘My slave has thanked me.
When he says, ‘the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful’. Allaah says, ‘My slave has praised me.’
When he says, ‘Owner of the Day of Recompense.’ Allaah says, ‘My slave has glorified me.’
When he says, ‘Only You we serve as slaves and only You we call upon for help.’ Allaah says, ‘This is between Me and My slave, and I grant to My slave what he sought.’
When he says, ‘Guide us to and keep us on the straight path -- the path of those whom you blessed, not those who attracted anger, nor the misguided.’ Allaah says, ‘this is for my slave, and My slave’s request is granted.’
It is a du'aa [5]
It must be clear by now, that this soorah is in essence a du’aa in which the believer asks for guidance from the Lord. As the Hadeeth indicates, this supplication gains acceptance immediately and is granted mercifully -- if offered sincerely and consciously. If we look at the arrangements of the Holy Qur-aan, immediately after this supplication, Allaah has put the whole Qur-aan in front of us as the guidance. In fact, the very first sentence of the next chapter states clearly, “This is the Book of Allaah, without doubt. It is guidance for the God conscious.”
Moreover, chapter two of the Qur-aan not only indicated the path of the blessed but also details the wrongs Israelites committed, for which they were condemned with the anger and wrath of Allaah. Similarly, the third Chapter provides the path of the blessed but with it also points out the misguidance the Christians adopted. In this way, the guidance has all been arranged in the same order as the words of the du’aa.
However, this du’aa goes beyond just receiving the guidance from Allaah in the form of the Qur-aan. This du’aa is to seek help and guidance from Allaah SWT on an ongoing basis in reflecting on the Qur-aan, in understanding its message and its implications on our daily life, and in deriving the right conclusions and lessons so that we can make the right choices and decisions on a day to day basis in every aspect of our individual and collective life. This part of the du’aa is, naturally, responded to in accordance with the sincerity and dedication of the seeker.
The beauty of soorah Al-Faatihah as a du’aa is that:
This soorah also teaches us the manners about how to approach our Lord and how to supplicate to Him. It shows us how our du’aa should start with appropriate appreciation and acknowledgement of the bounties of Allaah, and mention of His praise and glory. Only after these acknowledgments, should we present our request respectfully.
It also teaches another important manner. When mentioning the people who were bestowed with blessings and bounties, the style was direct – “… You blessed …”. It is because Allaah bestows favours to the slaves for their obedience because of His Grace, otherwise people should obey Allaah any way because that is why they were created. On the other hand, when talking about those who incurred the wrath and who went astray, the style is indirect. Because Allaah does not want to condemn people, they suffer the natural consequences of their own actions and behaviours .
It is a well-known Hadeeth [7] reported in both Bukhaari and Muslim [8] that “salaah of a person who does not recite Al-Faatihah is invalid.” Accordingly, this soorah is recited in every raka’ah [9] (unit) of salaah five times a day. In other words, a believer recites it at least 17 times [10] a day, if not more, so that frequently during the day:
Considering the profoundness of this brief soorah, it becomes evident why this soorah was called by names like ‘Kafiyah’ (complete and sufficient), ‘Ummul Kitaab’ (essence and substance of the Book -- the Qur-aan) and ‘Faatihatul-Kitaab’ (Preface of the Book).
As a preface to the Qur-aan, it sets the reader in the right frame of mind. People seek what they earnestly cherish and seek it only from someone who can really deliver. To all those who cherish truth and seek guidance, Faatihah reminds them to ask for guidance from the source of all knowledge and wisdom, the Lord and the Creator, Who has already delivered in the form of the Qur-aan what they seek in terms of guidance. In addition, He also arranged for its practical demonstration through Prophet Muhammad Sall-Allaahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam [11] (SAAWS).
To every reader of this Miraculous Book, it suggests that to benefit from it, one must approach it with a sincere desire for truth and guidance while praying earnestly to gain the guidance from the eternal knowledge and wisdom of the Lord of the universe Himself. The person who approaches it with this kind of sentiment will naturally put aside his own preconceived ideas, notions and theories, and approach the Qur-aan with an open mind and pure heart. Hence when reciting this soorah, we should remember all its features and keep all its teachings in mind:
The grateful, appreciative praise is only for Allaah, the Lord of the universe, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the Owner of the Day of Recompense. Only You we serve as slaves and only You we call upon for help. Guide us to and keep us on the Straight Path – the path of those whom You blessed, not those who attracted anger, nor the misguided.
[1] Hadeeth is a term used for the quotations or reports of the actions, words, approvals or disapprovals of the Prophet reported by his companions.
[2] A Hadeeth is called “Qudsi” when the Prophet quoted Allaah in his statement. So the Prophet told the companions that Allaah has said such and such, then the companions reported to others what they heard from the Prophet. In brief it is a narration quoting Allaah in the words of the Prophet.
As you can see the Islamic knowledge coming through different channels has been painstakingly preserved distinctly. The Qur-aan is literally the word of Allaah, so it has preserved as such. When Prophet quoted Allaah in his own words, it was kept totally separate from the words of Allaah. Similarly, the words of the Prophet were preserved separately and distinctly from the words of Allaah.
[3] One of the companions of the Prophet.
[4] Different researchers compiled books of Hadeeth. This is one of the most authentic ones.
[5] Supplication, prayer to Allaah
[6] A Muslim is supposed to stop everything and take a few minutes five times a day to concentrate on remembering and glorifying Allaah and indicating his submission to Allaah. This activity is called salaah and usually is translated as ‘prayer’, but it is not prayer in the sense of ‘supplication’. Although it does contain a little prayer at the end, but it mainly consists of recitation of parts of the Qur-aan, and utterances of glorification of Allaah in a few different positions.
[7] A narration or report of any words, deeds, approvals or disapprovals of the Prophet.
[8] Bukhaari and Muslim are names of two most authentic collections of Hadeeth.
[9] Salaah is made up of two, three or four sets (units or raka’aat) of certain movements and positions. Each unit (raka’ah) consists of standing, bowing and prostrating positions in which specific words of glorification are recited. Recitation of soorah Al-Faatihah is an essential action in the standing position.
[10] The total obligatory units or raka’aat that a Muslim offers in five daily salaah.
[11] The phrase means, “blessing of Allaah and peace be upon him”. The mention of Prophet or his name, Muhammad Sall Allaahy alayhi wa sallam, will usually be followed by this complete Arabic phrase or its abbreviation SAAWS throughout this document.