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# Reflections on Surat Al Fatihah## "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help. Guide us on the Straight Path, the path of those who have received Your grace; not the path of those who have brought down wrath upon themselves, nor of those who have gone astray." [Al-Fatiha: 1-7] The best way to start any task and to achieve goals is to turn to Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, praising Him as He deserves and seeking help from His strength and guidance from His direction. These are the prominent themes in Surah Al-Fatiha: "Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all worlds" – praising Allah; "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help" – seeking help from Allah; "Guide us on the Straight Path" – seeking guidance by the light of Allah. This superficial view is where most of those who recite or listen to this surah stand. Perhaps many of them understand its name, "Al-Fatiha," only as it occupies the first position at the beginning of the Mushaf. But let us cast two more glances at this noble surah: one glance at its content and purposes compared to the content and purposes of the Qur'an, and another glance at its mode of address compared to the mode of address in the Qur'an. We will thus find it has even greater and more significant importance. ### Objectives of the Surah Let's begin by considering the comprehensive objectives of the Qur'an and the extent to which Al-Fatiha encompasses these objectives. The matters addressed by the Qur'an, despite their variety and abundance, can be summarized into four objectives, which are, in reality, the core demands of religion, philosophy, and ethics: two theoretical objectives and two practical objectives. The theoretical objectives are knowing the truth and knowing the good. The practical objectives are the outcomes of these theoretical understandings, which, if they bear fruit, result in the reverence and acceptance of the truth and the doing and commitment to good. #### Theoretical Objective: Knowing Allah The primary theoretical objective of the wise Qur'an is to acquaint us with the ultimate truth, elevating us through a ladder of other truths. It introduces us to Allah and His attributes by directing our attention to His signs in the heavens and the earth, in the creation of humans, animals, and plants, in the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, in the formation of clouds, in the control of birds, in the directing of winds, in the phenomena of life and death, and in all other psychological and cosmic phenomena beyond our control and the control of all creatures. The sound mind cannot explain the existence, continuity, harmony, and unity of these phenomena except through the existence of an intelligent, managing, wise power that holds the reins of everything and guides the entire universe in this unified, particular way. This stands in contrast to the countless possible conditions that must alternate in the universe at every moment if it were left to pure chance or a blind, deaf, reckless force without intelligence, a destructive force without mercy, or a playful, aimless force without purpose. When the Qur'an shows us Allah's creation in His kingdom, it does not stop at this global tableau in its present form but directs our gaze to the ends of cosmic time, showing us the world's image in its past and future, its beginning, and its end. It also directs our gaze to the ends of human time, showing us images of Allah's actions in individuals and nations in their past and future, near and distant, in their happiness and misery, in their survival and annihilation, and in their reward and punishment. This comprehensive view of Allah's creation in the soul and the horizons, and this knowledge of Allah in the manifestations of His justice and grace, in the qualities of His majesty and beauty, if properly received by the soul, inevitably demands a practical stance towards this sacred ultimate truth. This is none other than a stance of reverence and humility before this justice and majesty and a stance of loyalty and love before this grace and beauty. Whoever knows Allah, his soul humbles before Him, and his heart finds peace in Him. That is the essence and spirit of worship: complete humility by choice, and with satisfaction and love. If the primary theoretical foundation is knowing God, the primary practical foundation resulting from this knowledge is revering God. These two foundations together form the divine aspect with its theoretical and practical elements. The Qur'an elaborates on this in detail, while Surah Al-Fatiha summarizes it in its first part: **"الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ"** This is the essential knowledge: **"إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ"** This is the practical stance that stems from that knowledge. Before we move on to the human aspect, which the second part of the Surah addresses, it is worth pausing briefly to appreciate these precious pearls that make up the first section of the Surah. Let's savor their meanings and appreciate their beauty. We start with these beautiful attributes: **"رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ"**; three attributes that encompass the three pillars of the Qur'anic creed in a supremely creative and meticulous order: the beginning, the intermediary, and the end... the Oneness of God, the Prophethood, and the Day of Judgment. **"رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ"**: Not just the God of a tribe or a nation, or a God of good or evil, light or darkness alone, but the Lord of everything, its Creator and Shaper, who takes it through its stages, fulfills its needs, tests it or grants it well-being, in sum, the nurturer of everything through both evident and hidden kinds of nurture. This is pure monotheism, the cornerstone of the beginning. **"الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ"**: He is not just merciful, but He is **the** Merciful, **the** Compassionate. Not one among many who are merciful, but the sole source of mercy. Moreover, He has not just one mercy, but two distinct forms of mercy as explained in the Qur'an: a mercy that encompasses all things and a mercy specific to whom He wills. The first form of mercy encompasses all humanity, not just by the blessings of existence, life, and material provision, but also by the blessing of innate guidance, and more importantly, by the heavenly guidance itself, which is the sending of messengers to every nation: **"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger"** [An-Nahl: 36], **"And there was no nation but that there had passed within it a warner"** [Fatir: 24]. This is the first and fundamental mercy, the general mercy, making Him the **"رحمن"** overflowing with treasures of mercy, extending His hands in generosity: **"And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate them"** [Ibrahim: 34]. And another special and additional mercy is granted to those who deserve it, the mercy of being chosen and selected, leadership, imamate, guidance, and more favors: **"اللَّهُ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا وَمِنَ النَّاسِ"** [Al-Hajj: 75], **"اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُ"** [Al-An'am: 124], **"اللَّهُ يَجْتَبِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يُنِيبُ"** [Ash-Shura: 13], **"وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى"** [Muhammad: 17], **"يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ"** [Fatir: 1], **"يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ"** [Ash-Shura: 12]. This is the mercy that makes Him Merciful, and upon these two mercies rests the foundation of prophethood. He is a general mercy for those to whom He is sent and a special mercy for the messengers themselves and for those who follow their guidance. Therefore, He is the intermediary between the beginning and the end: **"مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ"**. To Him alone, all matters return, and He alone decides the final fate. All creatures stand before Him accountable, and He judges and rewards them according to their deeds. This is the third and final pillar, the pillar of the hereafter and recompense. Now we understand the significance of these three attributes and their positions among them. Let us look at their placement relative to what surrounds them, to see how they fall between two statements: **"الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ"** and **"إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ"**. They serve as a support for what precedes them and as a preparation for what follows them. Their position relative to the statement of praise is like that of evidence to a claim, and their position relative to the statement of worship is like that of the driving force to the desired action. In truth, if God alone is the One who has given everything its creation, who has ensured everything and provided it with sustenance until it reaches its end, and if He alone holds the treasures of all mercy and blessings, spending from them and multiplying them for whom He wills, and if He alone holds the power of judgment and decides the fate, then what is more deserving of the attributes of beauty and majesty than Him? Indeed, what else besides Him deserves such praise and exaltation? All praise and pure, sincere commendation are rightfully and solely due to God. This then is a claim with its proof. This inductive proof, which exhaustively surveys all manifestations of greatness and mercy across the three times—past, present, and future—centers them all in God. At the same time, it is a driving force that takes hold of your inner self and directs you toward a specific practical goal. A glance at your past, when there was a time in history when you were nothing worth mentioning, yet the Creator nurtured you through various stages until you reached your full strength and became hearing, seeing, argumentative, and capable of clear speech, fit to be a steward of the earth, must compel you to acknowledge His favor and goodness by fulfilling the duty of gratitude. A glance at your present and near future, as you continually experience His mercy and aspire every moment for more of His blessings, will undoubtedly arouse in you a motivating sense of love and hope. A glance at your distant future, as you stand before Him in the field of judgment with your fate hanging in the balance of His scales, will inevitably evoke in you a mix of desire, awe, and reverence. So, what should your stance be towards this overwhelming and encompassing truth, as every time you look back to your past, your present, or your future, you see nothing but the hand of its majesty or the hand of its beauty? The natural result that you cannot deny after these three introductions is that all the false appearances and fleeting phenomena in existence will diminish in your eyes, and you will rise above the entire world. All your desires and fears will turn towards this first and only source of all power and mercy. There, your tongue cannot help but utter in humble love: "O encompassing and exclusive truth, to You alone belongs all of me, my prayers, and my sacrifices. My life and my death are for You alone. You alone do I worship, and to You alone do I bow and prostrate." If you were of broader horizon and more awakened heart, you would find yourself not alone in this stance, but you would see the whole world around you bowing and prostrating before this overwhelming grandeur. Do not say, then, "I worship You," but say, "We worship You" — the true conclusion declared by the wise Quran: **"إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ"** — "We worship You and seek Your help!" We worship none but You, and we seek help from none but You! What should I say? We seek help from none but You! I almost hear someone whispering in my ear, saying: "As for 'We worship You,' we have understood it. But as for 'We seek Your help,' there is some reservation, for who can bear complete independence from the help of others? Don’t people help each other and seek help from one another? Isn't cooperation the foundation of life? Doesn't the Quran itself say: **'وَتَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى'** (Help one another in righteousness and piety) [Al-Ma'idah: 2]?" Indeed, I seek help from you, and you seek help from me, but as a nation, as people, and as a world, who do we seek help from beyond our limited capacities and counted resources? When I seek help from you and you seek help from me, who instills the desire to help in your heart for my assistance and in my heart for yours? Who facilitates for us the means of this assistance? Who ensures the success of this help and brings forth its fruits? God alone, in reality and in the end, is the one from whom help is sought. **'إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ'** — by the consensus of these two statements, all forms of polytheism are nullified: the polytheism of worshiping others besides God, and the polytheism of seeking help and intercession from what God has not permitted. By the consensus of these two statements, all extreme doctrines are nullified: the doctrine of absolute predestination, which denies our power and responsibility, and the doctrine of absolute free will, which claims independence from our Lord's assistance. We act and rely upon God, we worship and seek help. We worship first, and then seek help. We perform our duties and then demand our rights. Let those who constantly demand their rights without beginning with their duties listen... they have not disciplined themselves with the manners of the Quran. Let them correct their stance from the opening chapter of the book, which they recite in their prayers at least seventeen times a day. This is how we came to know God through His works in the horizons and within ourselves. We knew Him through what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. We recognized Him with our minds and hearts, and then we turned to Him with our wills and desires. This divine aspect, both theoretically and practically, represents half of the Quranic mission, and we have seen how Surat Al-Fatihah encompasses it in its first part. However, a human being is not merely a spiritual entity, such that his entire mission in life is to contemplate the works of God and be filled with admiration for them. He is a dual being: a servant of God and a master of the universe. He is His vicegerent on earth, responsible for his actions in his stewardship as much as he is responsible for his stance of servitude. God creates and makes, and man works and acquires. His natural life demands that he works, his psychological life demands that he works, his life within his family, environment, nation, the human community, and in his spiritual relationship all demand that he works. ### The Human Aspect: Theoretical and Practical Let's move to the human aspect, to the work of man. This aspect also consists of two elements: a theoretical, educational element where we see models of human actions in their various forms — the beautiful and the ugly, the praiseworthy and the blameworthy — and a practical, executive element, which is the echo of that knowledge and the fruit of its influence on resolutions. #### The Theoretical Element How does the Quran present us with the image of human action? It follows a dual methodology that combines intrinsic values and incidental values of ethics and behavior. 1. **Intrinsic Values Methodology**: This addresses the conscience, advocating virtue for its own sake, highlighting its beauty and balance, and condemning vice for its own sake, revealing its filth and deviation. 2. **Incidental Values Methodology**: This appeals to emotions, encouraging virtue and discouraging vice in the name of genuine interest, considering the consequences and effects of actions in the short and long term. It uses numerous parables and historical narratives across different eras for this purpose. The remarkable aspect of Surah Al-Fatihah is that, despite its brevity, it encompasses both methodologies in two words. When it encourages us towards the path of virtue, it first explains its intrinsic value by describing it as the straight and balanced path: **"صِرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ"**. Then it highlights its beneficial outcome by describing it as the path that leads to God's pleasure and grace, and refers to its historical exemplars in the lives of those who have set themselves as good role models: **"صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ"** — the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. Furthermore, it sets a criterion for the types of deviant paths, explaining that deviation comes in two forms: 1. **Deviation by intent and knowledge**: This is due to stubbornness, arrogance, and following whims — the path of those upon whom is wrath: **"الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ"**. These are the ones who saw the path of guidance but did not take it, and saw the path of error and chose it. 2. **Deviation by ignorance and recklessness**: This is the path of the misguided: **"الضَّالِّينَ"**, who do not pause at doubt but follow what they have no knowledge of, blundering blindly without certainty or insight. Both forms of deviation are blameworthy, though some are worse than others. The deviant scholar is blameworthy, and the ignorant deviant is not excused. The righteous scholar is the one who is blessed and rewarded. These three types are always evident among people, not just in morals and behavior but in every matter — in belief, opinion, teaching, reporting, fatwas, and judgments. Thus, it is said in the prophetic wisdom: "One judge is in Paradise, and two judges are in Hell; the judge who is in Paradise is a man who knew the truth and judged by it, and the two who are in Hell are a man who knew the truth and judged contrary to it, and a man who judged the people ignorantly." Whoever masters this theoretical principle and clearly sees the paths of guidance and righteousness and the ways of deviation and misguidance, what should be their practical stance towards them? Undoubtedly, a wise and sensible person seeks the straightest and safest path, directing their resolve towards the best one. This search, request, and direction are expressed in Surah Al-Fatihah with a single word: **"اهْدِنَا"** — "Guide us." ### Summary of the Quranic Objectives Thus, we see that Surah Al-Fatihah encompasses the four Quranic objectives: the divine aspect both theoretically and practically, and the human aspect both theoretically and practically. All this is expressed in the most concise and eloquent manner. Surah Al-Fatihah, therefore, is the map of the Quran and the index of its contents. It is the essence and core of the Quran, truly deserving the title "Umm Al-Quran" (The Mother of the Quran). ### Comparing the Style of Address in Al-Fatihah and the Quran This was our first look, where we compared the content of Al-Fatihah with the content of the Quran. Now, we will take a second, quick look to compare the style of address in Al-Fatihah with the style of address in the rest of the Quran. What do we observe in these styles? We see two completely different directions. Surah Al-Fatihah is the only surah that was initially placed not in the voice of the supreme divinity, but in the voice of the believing humanity. It expresses a collective psychological movement aspiring towards the heavens, while all other surahs express the opposite movement — the movement of mercy sent from the heavens to the earth. Thus, when we look at the Quran as a whole, we see it represented in a dual dialogue: Al-Fatihah is one party, and the rest of the Quran is the other party. Al-Fatihah is a question, and the rest of the Quran is the answer. Al-Fatihah is a request for guidance, and the rest of the Quran is the requested guidance. ### Deepening the Insight Let’s follow this perspective to its end, as it will yield valuable lessons. The first lesson we glean is that if the Quran (as the constitution of Islam) had come to us without Al-Fatihah, it would have been a constitution imposed upon the nation, presenting itself to them or being granted to them. Even if it were entirely just, entirely good, and entirely guiding, if the nation had not asked for it and had not declared its need for it, they might have received it like an unrequested commodity and said, disinterestedly, "I do not need you." However, now the situation is entirely different. The position of Al-Fatihah here is that of a collective decision by the believing nation, declaring their need for this constitution and affirming their demand for it. The position of the entire Quran after Al-Fatihah is that of acceptance and response to this demand. As soon as the believers declared their demand, saying, "Guide us to the straight path," the Quran came to them, saying: "Here is the guidance you seek," with the first words after Al-Fatihah being: "This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah" (Al-Baqarah: 2). Thus, it came to them in their thirst and longing, quenching their thirst in the most honorable way, avoiding imposition on those who might reject it, and cutting off their excuses and arguments if they neglect it later. It obligated them only with what they had committed to, and protected them with what they had requested. The best constitutions are those that emerge from the needs of the nation and clearly fulfill their wise aspirations. ### The People's Role and the Supreme Legislator Not only did the believing nation request this constitution, but they also chose and identified the authority that would establish this fundamental law. They addressed their request directly to this authority, specifying the exceptional qualifications that led to this choice. They requested that this legislation be the work of the supreme, most honorable legislator, known for his complete expertise in universal education: "Lord of all worlds, The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful," and declared that the ultimate responsibility of all executive authorities would be before this supreme legislative authority: "Master of the Day of Judgment." Moreover, the believing nation set the framework within which this legislation should fall and outlined the fundamental principles it should be based on. They demanded that it be legislation that does not sway with whims, neither to the right nor to the left, but represents strict justice and the straight path. Finally, they were not content with general descriptions and titles for this legislation but specified its model and example from historical reality. They demanded that it be of the kind of virtuous legislations known for their proven benefits and good outcomes, the path of those whom Allah has favored with guidance and righteousness. ### Conclusion Looking at Al-Fatihah from this perspective, we can rightly say that if the Quran is the constitution, then Al-Fatihah is the foundation of the constitution. In fact, if this expression is correct, we could say that it is the constitution of the constitution.