Juz 1 - Al-Fatiha
Al-fatihah ~ The Opening, fatiha-tul-kitaab /The Opening of the Book, umm-ul-kitaab /The Source/Womb of the Book, sab'al mathaanie /the Seven oft-repeated verses, asaas-ul-Qur'an / The Essence of the book, ad-du'aa /The Supplication.
Uniqueness:
- First complete surah /chapter to be revealed
- Appears at opening of the Qur'an
- Recited in every salaah /prayer
Themes:
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) is reported to have said: " Any action of importance not begun with basmalah is devoid of blessing and therefore incomplete. " The basmalah begins the Surah al-Fatihah and therefore opens the whole Qur'an. At the very threshold of one's study of the Sacred Scripture, one is ushered into the awareness of the Creator and made conscious of His Holy Presence and reminded of His boundless grace and limitless Mercy.
- Allah introduces Himself by His supreme name/ laf-zul-jalaalah ; (Allah) followed by His two primary attributes, al-rahman /most compassionate & al-raheem / and most merciful; then proceeds to refer to four divine characteristics Rabb-ul-'Aalameen (Facilitator of development for all existence), Ar-Rahman-ir-Raheem (the Beneficent, Most Merciful), Maalik/Malik-I-yawm-id-Deen (Master and King of the Period of Recompense)
- Then follows the epitome of the prayer and the beginning of the supplication proper ?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ Thee alone, O Allah, do we worship and Thee Alone, do we beseech for help . Allah is spoken of in the first four verses in the third person, but in this (the fifth verse) He is directly addressed in the second person. Thoughtful contemplation of the four previous verses create in a person such an attraction to and an irresistible longing for the Creator that to satisfy this desire for Divine proximity the direct address is being used.
- When we analyze Surah Al- Fatihah, we find reference to the grandeur of Allah in the first four verses. The verse Iyyaka Na' budu wa Iyyaka Nasta' een= Thee do we worship and Thy aid we seek refers to the relation of the human spirit to the Divine; attaining felicity through Ibaadah (obedience combined with humility) and Isti' aanah (soliciting Divine help unselfishly).
- We pray in the plural ?¢‚Ǩ?ìwe?¢‚Ǩ¬ùThrough this verse we acknowledge our relationship with Allah and actually commit ourselves to Obedience to Allah
- The last two verses pertain to the aspiration of human soul to attain spiritual loftiness; constituting a plea for guidance to the sirat al- mustaqeem /straight path/path of integrity; with a clear understanding of the distinction between?¢‚Ǩ¬¶
- the path of righteousness traversed by the Anbiyaa', Siddiqeen, Shuhadaaa' and Saaliheen. What an excellent companionship that is! [Qur'an 4:70].
- the path of corruption and wrongfulness that we must avoid.
The Fatihah could be considered as a synopsis of the fundamental principles of Islam?¢‚Ǩ¬¶.
- Allah's supremacy, Allah's primary attributes
- human accountability, human choice
- consequence for following particular paths, the instruction to follow the path of righteousness and to avoid the ways of deviation.