Al-Fatiha is the essence of The Qur'an.
This is reflected in the many names given to this chapter.
Al-Hamd (The Praise)
As-Salah (The Prayer)
Al-Kafia (The Sufficient)
Al-Kanz (The Treasure House)
As-Shifa (The Cure)
Al-Ruqyah (The Remedy)
Sab'a Mathani (The Seven Often Repeated)
Umm-al-Kitab (The Core of The Qur'an
Asasul-Qur'an (The Basis of The Qur'an)
The Almighty divides this chapter into two parts:
"The first part is for Me (when the slave praises His Lord)
and the rest is for My slave who shall receive what he asks."
(Muslim)
Al-Fatiha is a prayer of the Believer.
The Believer acknowledges the sovereignty of Allah
over all things.
He pledges his obedience to Allah as The only One that he worships.
The Believer seek Allah's guidance to live in The Straight Way.
The chapter begins with the invocation of the name of Allah The Merciful.
This lays the foundation as the Believers are encouraged to start every
act by invoking the name of Allah so that they will develop the habit
of reflecting on the righteousness of their actions at the point they are
about to start them.
In the next verse, the Believer says, "All praise is due to Allah."
This helps to prevent the Believer from becoming arrogant by
believing that his success is the result of his cleverness.
All things happen only by the Rahma or Mercy of Allah. The Believer
acknowledges this Truth when he says, "Alhamdulillah."
Human beings will therefore have to accept responsibility for all
their actions and they will be judged accordingly on The Day of
Judgement by their Lord (Rabb).
Those who obey Allah's commands will be rewarded. From this
recognition flows gratitude and the desire to please Allah The
Merciful as the only One the Believer will worship and turn to
for everything.
The Believer makes this pledge not only for himself but also on
behalf of all created things as Man is Allah's khalif on Earth (2:30):
You alone we worship,
You Alone we call on for help.
In the prayer to The Almighty to show us The Straight Way,
the Believer pleads for guidance through human models.
The Believer prays for examples of those favoured by The Lord
and are therefore in The Straight Way, as well as examples of
those who have earned His anger or have lost The Way.
Allah The Merciful places the whole of The Noble Qur'an before
the Believer in answer to this prayer, as if to say,
"This is My guidance to you."
The Prophets (peace be upon them), the Truthful, the Martyrs
and the Righteous are favoured by Allah. (4:69)
Those who "disobeyed and exceeded all limits" (2:61)
set by The Lord are the models to be avoided.
The Qur'an describes Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the
"Best Model" (33.21) for everyone to follow.
The Qur'an describes the Prophet (pbuh) as "a mercy for
all the worlds." (21:107)
The Qur'an commands the Believers
"to obey The Lord and obey His Messenger." (64:12)
Those who accept and follow the confirmed traditions of Allah's
final Messenger are in The Straight Way.
Al-Fatiha is a miniature portrayal of Islamic beliefs and values.
By: Dr. Y Mansoor Marican, Ph.D
www.hajtips.com
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