It is obligatory for us to recite the first surah of the Noble Qur’an in our five daily prayers, amounting to a total of seventeen recitations of this surah each day. This number may increase with the performance of additional voluntary prayers.
By reciting surah Al-Fatihah in our salah everyday, we Muslims are constantly asking Allah to guide us to the Straight Path. This Straight Path is the path of those whom Allah has blessed namely the Prophets, siddeeqoon (followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them), martyrs and righteous people, as Allah says in His Book:
“And whosoever obeys Allah and the Messenger [Muhammad ﷺ (may Allah send Blessings and Peace upon him)], then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Favour, of the Prophets, the siddeeqoon, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa’ (The Women), verse 4:69-79]
We are also asking Allah to bestow His Favour upon us by reciting this surah in our salah. The seventh verse of this surah refers the Straight Path as the path of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Favour. In this particular verse, the verbal word that Allah uses to describe the bestowing of His Favour is an’amta (أنعمت) which means ‘You have bestowed (Your) Favour’. The word An’amta is derived from the triliteral root nun/‘ain/meem (ن/ع/م) which, as per context of the verse, means the following:
(1) To favour someone.
(2) To bestow a thing, benefit or blessing as a favour.
(3) To bestow someone with a pleasant, good and easy life.
(4) To flourish or grow successfully.
Based on the meanings above, the seventh verse of Surah Al-Fatihah teaches us that we are actually asking Allah for the following four matters:
(1) To favour or prefer us as His chosen slaves.
When Iblis, the leader of the devils, promised Allah that he would lead astray as many of the sons of Adam as possible, he made an exception, saying:
“Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them. Allah replied: “This is the path which will lead straight to Me. Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghaaween (those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, evil-doers and etc.).” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Hijr (The Valley of Stone), verse 15:40-42]
(2) To bestow us guidance, sincerity and obedience.
It is stated in the book of Tafseer Ibn Katheer on the commentary of this seventh verse in Surah Al-Fatihah, that the Straight Path is the path of those upon whom Allah have bestowed His Favour, that is, the people of guidance, sincerity, and obedience to Allah and His Messengers.
Guidance
Concerning guidance, Allah says in the Noble Qur’an, Surah Muhammad, verse 47:17:
“And those who accept guidance, He increases them in guidance and gives them their taqwa (fear of Allah and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden and love Allah much and perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained).”
This means when Allah bestows upon a servant His guidance, taqwa will be instilled in him. Blessings such as increase in iman (faith), love of Allah, feeling of shukr (gratitude), remembrance of Allah at all times, ma’rifah (a deep awareness and knowledge of Allah), knowledge of the true teachings of Islam, hikmah (wisdom), furqan (criterion between right and wrong), tawakkul (trust and reliance on Allah) and sabr (patience) will develop gradually in one self when guidance from Allah is sought.
Sincerity
As for sincerity, it requires Muslims to ensure that their actions are in harmony with their intentions, performed solely for Allah, free from ostentation and hypocrisy. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“Verily, Allah does not look at your bodies nor your faces but He looks at your hearts.” [Sahih Muslim (2564b)]
There are two other hadiths regarding the reward of intention:
(A) “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.” [Sahih al-Bukhari (1)]
(B) Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that Allah, the Glorious, said: “Verily, Allah has ordered that the good and the bad deeds be written down. Then He explained it clearly how (to write): He who intends to do a good deed but he does not do it, then Allah records it for him as a full good deed, but if he carries out his intention, then Allah the Exalted, writes it down for him as from ten to seven hundred folds, and even more. But if he intends to do an evil act and has not done it, then Allah writes it down with Him as a full good deed, but if he intends it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” [Sahih al-Bukhari (6491) and Sahih Muslim (131a)]
Therefore, it is essential that we ask Allah for sincerity in our acts of worship to Him.
Obedience
On top of that, we are asking Allah for the sense of obedience in order to comply with and submit to His commandments. It is the strong feeling of love for Allah that drives a person to obey Him and thus develop the longing to meet Him and to attain the pleasure to see His Face. Allah says in His Book:
“Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): ‘If you (really) love Allah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Noble Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ). But if you turn away, then Allāh does not like the disbelievers.’” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Ali ‘Imran (Family of ‘Imran), verse 3:31-32]
All of the above-mentioned (no. 1 & 2) are determining factors for a servant of Allah to enter His Jannah (Paradise).
(3) To bestow us with a pleasant, good and easy life.
Allah says:
“Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah An-Nahl (The Bee), verse 16:97]
In this verse, Allah promises that He will give the believers who do righteous deeds (in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ) good life in this world and that He will reward them according to the best of their deeds in the Hereafter. The good life as explained in Tafseer Ibn Katheer includes feeling of tranquillity in all aspects of life, contentment with Allah for what He has given of good and sufficient lawful provisions and happiness. It also means being able to worship Him in this life so as to obey Him and finding joy in that.
For those whose sole concern is the never-ending reward in the Hereafter, Allah has promised them life of ease in this world, regardless of any kind of trials and tribulations they go through. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“Whoever makes the Hereafter his goal, Allah makes his heart rich, and organizes his affairs, and the world comes to him whether it wants to or not. And whoever makes the world his goal, Allah puts his poverty right before his eyes, and disorganizes his affairs, and the world does not come to him, except what has been decreed for him.” [Jami’ at-Tirmdhi (2465), Classified Sahih (Authentic) by Sheikh al-Albani]
(4) To flourish or increase us in His Blessings such as iman, taqwa, love of Allah, feeling of shukr, remembrance of Allah at all times, ma’rifah, the true teachings of Islam, hikmah, furqan, tawakkul, sabr and etc.
The purpose of salah is not only to remember Allah and make supplications to Him but also to express shukr (gratitude) for showering His Blessings on us. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would stand in prayer so long that the skin of his feet would crack (i.e. his feet would swell). His wife ‘Aishah رضى الله عنها (may Allah be pleased with her) asked him:
“Why do you do this while your past and future sins have been forgiven?” He said, “Should I not love to be a grateful slave of Allah?” [Sahih al-Bukhari (4837)]
Allah has promised to increase His Blessings on us if we express gratitude to Him by obeying Him and doing righteous deeds. He says in His Book:
“And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you give thanks [by constantly performing salah, giving sadaqah (charity) and other acts of worship], I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe.’” [The Noble Qur’an, Surah Ibrahim, verse 14:7]
To sum up, when we Muslims ask for guidance to the Straight Path in our salah everyday, we are actually asking for four matters that have been explained above. Allah bestows His Blessings and Favours upon those of His servants who are seeking success in this world and the Hereafter through salah. Only by ‘treading’ on this Straight Path, we will reach Jannah, our final destination, our true home.
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