O servants of Allah! Know that the best word is the Word of Allah, the best path is the path of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the worst of deeds is religious innovation. And every religious innovation is a heresy, and every heresy (bid’a) leads to Fire.
O servants of Allah! If I ask you which surah in the Quran is the best, many of you will probably say that it is Surah al-Fatihah, which opens the Quran, and the best verse in the Quran is verse al-Kursi.
Imam al-Bukhari cites a hadith from his companion Abu Sa’id ibn al-Mu’alla (may Allah be pleased with him). He says:
كُنْتُ أُصَلِّي فِي الْمَسْجِدِ، فَدَعَانِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَلَمْ أُجِبْهُ، فَقُلْتُ:
“I was performing a prayer, and at that time the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called me, but I did not answer him (because I was busy with prayer). Then I told him:
“O Messenger of Allah, I was busy praying.”
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
أَلَمْ يَقُلِ اللَّهُ: اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ؟
“Didn’t Allah say: “Answer Allah and his Messenger when he calls you”?”
And then he told me:
لأُعَلِّمَنَّكَ سُورَةً هِيَ أَعْظَمُ السُّوَرِ فِي الْقُرْآنِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَخْرُجَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ
“I will teach you the greatest surah in the Quran before you leave this mosque.”
ثُمَّ أَخَذَ بِيَدِي، فَلَمَّا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَخْرُجَ قُلْتُ لَهُ أَلَمْ تَقُلْ:
Then he took me by the hand, and right before leaving the mosque I told him:
لأُعَلِّمَنَّكَ سُورَةً هِيَ أَعْظَمُ سُورَةٍ فِي الْقُرْآنِ
“O Messenger of Allah, you said that you would teach me the greatest surah from the Quran.”
And then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
(الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ)، هِيَ السَّبْعُ المَثَانِي، وَالقُرْآنُ العَظِيمُ الَّذِي أُوتِيتُهُ
““All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds” – these are the seven repeated verses (these verses are read in each rak’ah), and the great Qur’an that was given to me.”
[al-Bukhari (4474)]
It means, Surah al-Fatiha is the best sura in the Quran and, in general, in all the Books that were sent down by Allah (pure and exalted is He). And the exalted position of the merits of this surah is indicated by many arguments from the Quran and Sunnah. We will give just two indications that will make it possible to understand what the position of this surah is.
1. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says:
قالَ اللَّهُ تَعالَى:
“Allah Almighty said:
قَسَمْتُ الصَّلاَةَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي نِصْفَيْنِ فَنِصْفُهَا لِي وَنِصْفُهَا لِعَبْدِي وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ”
“I have divided the prayer /as-sala/ between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant will have what he asks for [reading this surah].”
فإذا قالَ العَبْدُ: {الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العالَمِينَ}، قالَ اللَّهُ تَعالَى: حَمِدَنِي عَبْدِي
When a servant says: “All praise is to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,” Allah Almighty says: “My servant has praised Me.”
وإذا قالَ: {الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ}، قالَ اللَّهُ تَعالَى: أثْنَى عَلَيَّ عَبْدِي
And when [the servant] says: “All-Merciful and Who gives Mercy,” Allah Almighty says: “My servant spoke well of Me.”
وإذا قالَ: {مالِكِ يَومِ الدِّينِ}، قالَ: مَجَّدَنِي عَبْدِي
And when [the servant] says: “To the King [Lord] of the Day of Judgment!”, Allah Almighty says: “My servant has glorified [exalted] Me.”
فإذا قالَ: {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وإيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ} قالَ: هذا بَيْنِي وبيْنَ عَبْدِي، ولِعَبْدِي ما سَأَلَ
And when [the servant] says: “Only You we worship and only You we ask for help,” Allah Almighty says: “This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will have what he asks for [after these words].”
فإذا قالَ: {اهْدِنا الصِّراطَ المُسْتَقِيمَ صِراطَ الَّذينَ أنْعَمْتَ عليهم غيرِ المَغْضُوبِ عليهم ولا الضَّالِّينَ} قالَ: هذا لِعَبْدِي ولِعَبْدِي ما سَأَلَ
And when he says: “Lead us along the Straight Path – along the path of those whom You have blessed, but not along the path of those who are under Your wrath and are not astray,” Allah Almighty says: “This is for My servant, and it will be for My servant what he asked Me for.”
[Muslim (395)]
One of the names of Surah al-Fatiha is prayer /as-sala/, because it is being read in every prayer.
O brothers! O believers! O Muslims! This happens in every rak’ah of prayer that we perform. Therefore, our hearts must be present in prayer and we must be aware of who the person is standing in front of while performing this worship. When one of us reads Surah al-Fatihah, they must realize that we are weak creations, one of the countless creations of Allah (pure and exalted is He). How many of these creations are there in the heavens, on the earth, in the sea, on the land? We are just a particle among these countless creations. And you, such a weak creature, say: {الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العالَمِينَ}. And then to you, a weak man, insignificant creation, the Lord of the worlds Himself, the Mighty Lord of heaven and earth / Jabbaru al-Samawati wal-ard / says: “حَمِدَنِي عَبْدِي” “My servant has praised Me.” When you say: {الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ}, He says: “أثْنَى عَلَيَّ عَبْدِي” “My servant spoke well of Me.” O servants of Allah, therefore, when we perform namaz (prayer) and read Surah al-Fatihah, let us feel these meanings, being aware and imbued with them.
2. O servants of Allah, this prayer, which is the support of this religion /’amudu ad-diin/, is impossible without Surah al-Fatihah. This is the second argument pointing to the greatness of this surah.
As reported in the hadith from ‘Ubad ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
لَا صَلَاةَ لِمَن لَمْ يَقْرَأْ بفَاتِحَةِ الكِتَابِ
There is no Salah for one who does not recite Fatihatil-Kitab (the Surah which opens the Book). [Bukhari (756) and Muslim (394)]
If this surah didn’t have such a high position and degree, it would not be a pillar of Salah (prayer) which is a pillar of this religion.
O servants of Allah, do you know that Surah al-Fatihah has many names? One of them is “Umm al-Quran” “Mother (foundation) of the Quran”, because this surah contains in general all the meanings that are in the Quran. Surah al-Fatihah contains the entire religion, and the Quran is an explanation for this surah. Surah “al-Fatiha” generally says everything that is said in the Quran, it contains all the most important things, the foundations of this faith and the essence of this religion: sincere worship only of Allah, following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Have you ever wondered why Surah Al-Fatihah is the best Surah in the Quran? Of course, because of the meanings that it contains. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“The entire Quran in its meanings comes down to Surah al-Fatihah, and the whole Surah al-Fatihah comes down to the words: {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وإيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ} “Only You we worship and only You we ask about help.”
The entire Qur’an comes down to these words, which is why Ibn al-Qayyim devoted three volumes of the book “Madarij al-Salikin” to explaining these words.
O servants of Allah, this surah contains a huge number of useful conclusions and lessons for us. Scholars have listed more than 100 edifications, but we will mention only a few.
FIRST. If you reflect on Surah al-Fatiha, you will find that it indicates three types of Monotheism /Tawhid/. Don’t say that you don’t know what it is, because if you don’t know what Monotheism (Tawhid) is, then you are not Muslims, because you can become a Muslim if you embrace Monotheism (Tawhid). The words “Muslim” and “monotheist” are synonyms. You will be a monotheist person who professes Monotheism (Tawhid) if you understand (embrace) three types of Monotheism (Tawhid):
You must recognize that Allah is the Only Lord /ar-Rabb/, the Lord, the Creator, the Master of the worlds and all things.
Allah is the only “Ilah” to whom all types of worship could be addressed, the only Who is worshiped and deified.
Allah is the Only Possessor of the divine Names and Qualities, which are mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
You must embrace all these three types of Monotheism (Tawhid), and if you don’t, then you are not a monotheist.
Surah al-Fatihah contains an indication of all these three types of Monotheism /Tawhid/. When you say: {الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العالَمِينَ} “All praise is to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,” that is, all our worship occurs with the praise and exaltation of Allah – this means that Allah is One God /Ilah/, to whom worship is dedicated. When you say: {رَبِّ العالَمِينَ} “Lord of the worlds,” you claim that Allah is the Only Lord (ar-Rabb), the Master of the worlds. When you say: {الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ}, you thereby acknowledge and affirm that Allah has beautiful Names and great (high) Attributes. Thus, this surah points to all three types of Monotheism /Tawhid/.
O servants of Allah, think about Surah al-Fatihah. It is very important! Whatever we think about usually, whatever empty things we are happy to waste our thinking abilities on, but when it comes to religion, for some reason we say “it’s difficult for me.” A person understands very subtle, complex things, but when it comes to religion, about the three types of Monotheism (Tawhid), he says that it is difficult. There is nothing complicated here! This is your religion!
SECOND, Surah al-Fatihah indicates that Allah is the only God /Ilah/ who deserves worship; that He is the Only Lord /ar-Rabb/, the Owner and Ruler of all things, and indicates that He is the Lord and the King. So it points to His divinity, His lordship, and His kingdom and power.
Now mentally transport yourself to the end of the Koran, to the last sura of the Koran, surah an-Nas:
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ✿ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ ✿ إِلَهِ النَّاسِ
“I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind, the Master of humankind, the God of humankind
[Quran, Surah “People”, 114:1-3]
Again these three things are emphasized: His lordship, His kingdom, and His divinity. Isn’t this surprising? The beginning of the Quran and its end coincide: Surah al-Fatiha and Surah an-Nas.
O servants of Allah, this is Surah al-Fatihah. You do certain deeds, you say that Allah will reward you, and on the Day of Judgment this deed will help to outweigh. Remember! Whatever you do, Allah will accept from you only if you fulfill two conditions:
The first condition: what you do must be only for the sake of the Almighty. This is called sincerity (ikhlas).
The second condition: what you do must correspond to what Allah has established through His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the Quran and Sunnah.
If these two conditions are not present, then your deed will not be accepted: maybe you are doing it sincerely, but Allah did not indicate this in the Quran or Sunnah, or the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not teach it; or maybe the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught this, but you are not doing it sincerely for the sake of Allah, but for the sake of people (for showing off). Surah al-Fatihah points us to these two conditions right at the beginning of the Quran.
{إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “We worship You only,” that is, all our good deeds are only for the sake of Allah, and not for the sake of someone or something.
“Guide us to the Straight Path,” that is, the path of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and all our actions should be in accordance with what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came with.
O servant of Allah, know that your heart has three drivers, without which your heart is dead and no worship is possible. Worship must contain three things (drivers):
The first is love for Allah, because it makes you go to Allah, strive for Him.
The second is the hope for the reward of Allah (pure and exalted is He). It spurs you on and guides you.
The third is fear of Allah and His punishment. This forces you to stay within limits and not go beyond the boundaries of the Straight Path.
All these three things are in Surah “al-Fatihah”: {الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ} “All praise is to Allah” – this is indication of love for Allah (The most glorified, the most high), because in Arabic “الْحَمْد” /al-hamd/ – This is not just praise, but praise with love. When you simply praise someone and do not love it, it is called “madh”, but when you praise someone out of complete love, it is “al-hamd”. So, “الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ” is an indication of love.
{الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ} is an indication of hope, Allah is “All-Merciful and Encompassing all creations with His mercy.” He is the One who shows us His mercies day and night in this world, and to believers in the eternal. It makes you hope.
{مَالِكِ يَومِ الدِّينِ} “Lord of Doomsday!” Lord of the day when we will all appear before our Creator completely naked (nothing will be from the clothes that we now have on), barefoot. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
«يُحْشَرُ النَّاسُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عُرَاةً غُرْلًا بُهْمًا»
“The people will be gathered together on the Day of Judgment naked, uncircumcised, and /bukhman/.”
وَمَا بُهْمًا؟
“What is bukhman?”
And he replied:
لَيْسَ مَعَهُمْ شَيْءٌ
“That means they won’t have anything.”
[al-Bukhari (514), Ahmad (16042)]
Nothing will be there with you: neither the property that you acquired here, nor real estate, nor any post, position or connections. You alone will be standing before Allah (The most glorified, the most high) without anything. When you say {مَالِكِ يَومِ الدِّينِ}, you remember this and it makes you fear Allah (exalted and exalted is He).
A person must necessarily combine these three things in any of his worship: love, hope and fear. The predecessors say that the one who worships Allah (The most glorified, the most high) only on the basis of hope is a lost person (Murjiite), who thinks that no matter what he does, Allah is Merciful, so everything will be fine. As scholars say, the one who worships Allah (The most glorified, the most high) only on the basis of fear is /Kharijite/, and the one who worships only on the basis of love is a wicked atheist /zindik/.
While the worship is a combination of all these three things, Surah al-Fatihah contains them. Look how wonderful it is! Now think about it, when you start reading this surah and say: {الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العالَمِينَ} – your heart is filled with love for Allah (exalted and exalted is He). {الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ} “Merciful, Shower of Mercy” – the heart is filled with hope for the reward of Allah (pure and exalted is He).
{مَالِكِ يَومِ الدِّينِ} – “Lord of the Day of Reckoning, the Day of Judgment /yaum ad-din/.” You are filled with fear of Allah. And when you have collected all these three things in your heart, then: {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “Only You we worship,” because worship is possible only if you have love, hope and fear, O servant of Allah.
Further, O servant of Allah, considering Surah al-Fatihah, think now about only one sentence: {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “Only You we worship.” Do you know what this is? This is what Allah (pure and exalted is He) created us for. And He created us so that we would worship Him alone. This is the Uniqueness of Allah in the right to worship /Tawhid al-Uluhiyya/. All our worship is only to Him (The most glorified, the most high)! For the sake of these words: {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “Only You we worship” the heavens were raised and the earth’s spread out. For the sake of these words there will be a Day of Judgment, a catastrophe and the shaking of the Day of Judgment. For the sake of these words, Allah (The most glorified, the most high) will gather us, scales will be installed, a bridge will be built. For the sake of these words, scrolls will be distributed, to whom in the right hand (may Allah make us out of them), and to whom in the left hand and from behind (may Allah (pure and exalted is He) save us from this).
So, {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “Only You (O Allah) do we worship.” We ask no one for salvation and help, just You; we address our prayers /du’a/ just for You; We make sacrifices /kurban/ only for Your sake; Our hope is only in You; we connect our hopes only with You; fear only of You (pure and exalted is He).
And the Quran tells us about this from beginning to end: {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “We worship You only.” But at the same time, there are people, blessed be Allah (subhanAllah), who consider themselves Muslims and worship someone other than Allah, and commit polytheism (shirk). They go to the graves and ask the dead for something, wipe themselves on the ashes, believe in some amulets, talismans, some superstitions, worship some sheikhs and saints, may Allah (pure and exalted is He) save us from that.
Every Muslim must believe in predestination. But what is it? A person is considered a believer in predestination if:
- He relies on Allah because he knows that everything depends only on Him: what He decides will happen, what He does not want will never happen – His decision is inevitable, no one can change His decisions, and therefore we rely only on Him;
- He must do what depends on him,while trusting that everything is under Allah’s control: if someone followed the Straight Path, it is because Allah led him, and if someone got lost, it is because Allah did not guide him. You have to believe in it, but at the same time do your best. Do everything to get closer to Allah. Perform all godly deeds. Do your best. So, you must do your best and at the same time rely on Allah – this is faith in predestination.
And Surah al-Fatihah points us to this in the words {إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ} “We worship only You” – we do everything in our power to get closer to You. But at the same time {وإيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ} “We ask only You for help” – we hope for Your help. Do not rely on yourself when you worship Allah. If He leaves you without His support and help, you will not be able to do anything good, you will perish and be lost!
Therefore, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“People in this matter are divided into four groups:
The first group are those who worship Allah and at the same time, in their worship, rely on Him, on His help, performing prayer with the words: “O Allah, help me.” Hearing the words “Go to prayer” /hayya ‘alas-sala/, they say: “There is no power and strength except with Allah” /la hawla wa la kuwata illa billah/. If Allah does not help, then they will not be able to achieve anything. They combine both worship and the hope for help.
The second group is those who seem to worship Allah, but do not trust in Him. They will not succeed and will not receive success.
The third group is those who trust in Allah but do not worship Him. They trust in Him in some forbidden things: they sell alcohol, engage in usury (interest) /riba/ with the words “O Allah, help,” and at the same time they trust in the help of Allah.
The fourth group is those who neither worship Allah nor trust in Allah. And this is the worst group.
“Lead us along the Straight Path.” How many Straight Paths /as-syraat al-mustaqim/? Two? Three? Five? Ten? No! Only one, because there is only one truth. And therefore the word “syraat” does not have a plural form, because it is one. What is the only right way?
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
تَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً كُلُّهُمْ ف ِي النَّارِ إِلَّا مِلَّةً وَاحِدَةً
“My community /umma/ will be divided into seventy-three groups – all in the Fire, except one.”
The Companions asked: “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?”
He said:
مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِيْ
“These are the ones who are on what I and my companions are on.”
[at-Tirmidhi (2641), at-Tabarani (14646) and al-Hakim (444)]
“The Straight Path” /Syraat al-Mustaqim/ is the path of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), his companions /Sahab/ and their followers, the imams of the Straight Path. The path of original Islam, until these groups and this split appeared, is the Islam of the Companions, this is the Straight Path /syraat al-mustaqim/. May Allah (pure and exalted is He) guide us along this path.
Then Surah al-Fatihah tells us that people consist of three groups:
1) “In the way of those whom You have blessed.” That is, these are those blessed by Allah who receive His mercy from Him (ni’ma).
2) “الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ” “those who are under the Wrath of Allah.”
3) “الضَّالُّون” “lost”.
May Allah make us from the first and not from the other two groups.
Who are those “whom Allah has favored”, that path we all want to follow and ask Allah for this? These are those who have correct knowledge /al-huda/ and translate this knowledge into deeds /al-‘amal al-salih/. A person who knows the right religion, especially its beliefs /aqida/, and acts in accordance with knowledge.
Second group: “الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ” “who are under the wrath of Him (Allah)” – these are those to whom Allah has given knowledge, but they do not act in accordance with what they know, but act as they want. And Allah (The most glorified, the most high) says about the Jews that the Taurat (Torah) was entrusted to them:
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا
“The example of those who were entrusted with ˹observing˺ the Torah but failed to do so”
[Quran, Surah “The Gathering”, 62:5]
There was knowledge, but they could not carry it out in deeds and therefore they are under the wrath of Allah. May Allah protect us from knowing the truth and not acting in accordance with it.
Third group: “الضَّالُّون” “lost” are those who seem to want to worship Allah, but do not have knowledge and worship Allah on the basis of ignorance, without knowing or studying religion.
O servants of Allah, O brothers, I conjure myself and you, be one of those who receive this light of religious knowledge. Don’t be lazy! It’s the most important matter! This is what you were created for, learn the religion of Allah and do what you learn. Don’t let Satan distract you from this. And in no case be one of those who worship Allah without knowledge, on the basis of some customs /’adat/ and traditions /’urf/ or what he prefers, or how he sees it as beautiful. How many people who do something that is not in the Qur’an and Sunnah, worship without knowledge! And do not be one of those who have studied and know, but at the same time, either because of their arrogance, or because of their passion, whim, do not do what Allah (pure and exalted is He) has commanded.
O servants of Allah, do you know that Surah al-Fatihah teaches us how to properly turn to Allah with supplication (du’a). After all, this surah itself is a prayer /du’a/. Many people read it without thinking that this is the best prayer to Allah (pure and exalted is He). This surah teaches us that before you ask Allah (pure and exalted is He) for something, you first need to praise Him and mention His Names. This is one of the best means of getting closer to Allah and receiving an answer to a prayer (du’a). Exalt Him, praise His Names:
الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ✿ مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment.
[Quran, Surah al-Fatihah, 1:3-4]
And then ask! Admit that you worship Him and that without His help you cannot:
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
“Only You we worship and only You we ask for help.”
[Quran, Surah al-Fatihah, 1:5]
And then ask:
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ✿ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
“Lead us to the Straight Path, the path of those whom You have blessed.”
[Quran, Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6-7]
This is how Allah (pure and exalted is He) teaches us the norms / adab / how to turn to Allah in order to receive an answer. And if a believer turns to Allah with such a prayer (du’a): first he praises and exalts Allah, admits his weakness and his need for Allah, and then asks, Allah (pure and exalted is He) will not turn away such a prayer and will accept it.
And finally, O servants of Allah, hear this! In Surah al-Fatiha there is an indication that the most important thing we should ask Allah for is not property, money, position, not this world – it is the Straight Path /syraat al-mustaqim/. If Allah leads you on this Straight Path – the path of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions, you will be happy and blissful both in this world and in the eternal world. Therefore, the first prayer /du’a/ in the Qur’an is the prayer /du’a/:
“Guide us to the Straight Path.” May Allah (pure and exalted be He) guide us all along the path of Tawhid and Sunnah and allow us to live on this and die on this.
