Surat Al Fatiha unlocks the keys to understanding the Quran’s main messages. It is known in various hadiths as the ‘Mother of the Quran’, the ‘healer’, the ‘7 oft repeated verses’, the ‘greatest surah in the Quran’ and a ‘light’. It is a form of prayer (supplication) to Allah where we ask and we are answered by His Grace. 

Surat Al-Fatiha establishes our relationship with Allah and outlines the three main components of love, hope, and fear or reverence.  Allah knows the nature of the human being - that we are primarily motivated by fear of pain and pursuit of pleasure. However beyond those two primary motivators is the original and highest motive which is love. 'All praise to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds' establishes our relationship first and foremost based on love with Allah (SwT). Allah comes from ‘illah’ - which means 'The One worshiped, The refuge, The One loved with an intense love, and The One that minds cannot fully comprehend' (cited from Dr. Jinan Yousef’s class on Names of Allah). We are reminded of the importance of gratitude to Allah and that one of the reasons that we are increased in blessings is gratitude: '... ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more…' (Quran 14:7). We are also told about the significance of gratitude in the hadith : 'Verily, the best servants of Allah on the Day of Resurrection are those who constantly praised Him.' (Source: al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr lil-Ṭabarānī 18/124) and  'The best remembrance is to declare there is no God but Allah. The best supplication is to declare all praise is due to Allah.' (Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3383).

Next we are introduced to Allah as 'Rab' - which according to an article by Dr. Zainab Alwani, means the ‘Sustainer, Cherisher of the worlds, and caretaker’ connected to tarbiyya which means to 'to raise and nourish at every stage until the goal is attained.' Allah is The Caretaker, Sustainer and Nourisher of our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. How could we not love Allah (SwT)? 

Next we are introduced to the concept of hope in Allah (SwT) through His attributes Arrahman, Arraheem (The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate).  Allah’s mercy surrounds us in every single aspect of our existence, from the time we are protected in layer upon layer in three veils of darkness as fetuses as explained in 39:6, to the time we live on earth with the sky raised over us without pillars with His permission as explained in 22:55, to how Allah sent us the Prophet (peace be upon him) as a form of mercy to the worlds (21:107), to how the Quran continues to be there for us as a mercy (31:1-3).  His mercy is all encompassing (7:156) and beyond the mercy of a mother with her own child.

Then, after the introduction of the relationship with Allah based on love and mercy, we are reminded of Allah as 'The Master of The Day of Judgement' and of our return to Him on that day.  We are reminded to be cautious of having committed oppression towards ourselves or towards others. This should not be a debilitating fear but a type of awareness and accountability that justice will be served that day and there will be no oppression.  Understanding that Allah is the ‘Malik' - Ruler and Owner of that day and all that lies in the heavens and the earth awakens us to the reality that we do not own anything. Understanding that we do not own anything also enables us to have immense gratitude for these blessings and liberates us from becoming too attached to them, so we recognize that if the blessing is taken away or removed, we do not feel alone or are in despair because we recognize Allah is enough for us, that to Him we belong, and to Him we will return. 

We do not even own our own bodies, minds, hearts and souls - they are gifts entrusted to us for a time and they will be returned to their Creator and Owner.  This pushes us to ponder on how we want to use and return this trust we were given for a time - how do we want to use and treat the blessing of our bodies, hearts, minds and souls?  How will we nourish them, and in which way will we use them ? 

We are told in a hadith:

'The son of Adam will not pass away from Allah until he is asked about five things: 

How he lived his life
How he utilized his youth
With what means did he earn his wealth
How did he spend his wealth
What did he do with his knowledge.' (Tirmidhi)

So let us ask ourselves how do we want our return to Allah to be? How do we want to be able to answer these questions?

Next, if we understand that Allah is The One whom we love most, The Ultimate Refuge, Our Caretaker and Sustainer (Rabb), The All-Merciful (Arrahman), The All-Compassionate (Arraheem), The Owner and Master of the Day of Judgement (Al-Malik) and temper our over-attachments to fleeting temporary pleasures, we can truly embody 'You alone do we worship, You alone do we seek help' because He is The Only One worthy of worship, The One we will return to, and The One who can ultimately help us. 

This verse brings together two of the most important matters of the heart which are sincerity in ‘You alone do we worship’ and tawakul (reliance on Allah) in ‘You alone do we seek help’. Sincerity is connected to the truth of understanding we will return to Allah, and that our intentions are for His sake and ultimate help comes from Him.  Muslim psychologist, Dr. Marwa Assar, explains having sincerity allows us to declutter mentally, emotionally, and internally from many attachments which can create inner conflict and attachment to outcomes that are beyond our control. When our intentions are for the sake of Allah, we trust in the outcomes that Allah holds for us. This verse, coming in the plural form, also reminds us of the importance of belonging to a community and supporting one another in worship and seeking help from Allah.

Finally, we arrive at the dua we make - 17 times a day, and the dua is for guidance, which is greater than any other blessing because guidance gives us direction, clarity, purpose, knowledge about God, nearness to Him and in sha Allah success in this world and in the next. Guidance protects us when we are bombarded with messages about who we should be and what we should be doing from society. We ask for guidance, once again as a collective, in plural form, emphasizing the importance of community to support us with guidance to stay on the straight path.  Staying on the straight path entails istiqamah - consistency and steadfastness and anything of value requires consistency. The prophet (peace be upon him said): 'The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small.' (Bukhari). Dr. Assar shares that Istiqamah requires showing up and dedicating ourselves to the path of guidance we have chosen, even when we don’t ‘feel’ like it. Just like we go to school, work, or commit to anything even when we don’t ‘feel’ like it, committing to a path of faith and devotion to God cannot be dependent only on when we ‘feel’ like it or experience instant gratification because emotions are states which will fluctuate. Our submission to Allah helps us to stay the course and reminds us that we do not surrender to anything, including our feelings, or anyone but Him. 

Finally we are reminded about the importance of having a good support system through friendships and a community which supports our journey to Allah when we are told ‘the path of those whom you have blessed’. May we be of them. May Surat Al-Fatiha open our hearts to the beauty of the Quran, the beauty of faith, and the beauty of continuing to seek closeness to Allah.

#alfatiha
#Divinebookclub
#mercy
#guidance

Hammad Fahim  i agree they did a rrly wonderful job

Renungan tentang Surah Luqman Ayah 1