WEEK 2B: Al Fatihah, or "The Opening", due 2/2/06
Read the surah "Al Fatihah" or The Opening". How do you relate the meaning of the verses to your own life?
posted by DR. AZLY RAHMAN @ 12:51 PM
Thursday, January 26, 2006
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- WEEK 2A: Muhammad and the History of Islam
- WEEK 1: Lecture 1
- WEEK 1: Class Introductions
- INTRODUCTION
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I think surah al Fatiah is the theseis statement of the Holy Quran. There is an ayat in this surah that says "O Lord guide me to the right path" and that's what the Holy Quran is all about. This surah also says that Allah is the most merciful and Gracious who is the ruler of the Universe.
It has been said, that if one were to take every tree in the world and fashioned them into a writing utensil, and all of the waters of the oceans and turned them into ink, one would still not be able to write a comprehensive study of the depth of this Quranic prelude.
It begins "Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe"; this in itself is a transcendental statement. At the time of this revelation, there was no known concept of a Universe; much of the world was still preoccupied with the notion of a geocentric universe. The thought of a heliocentric universe puzzled and deeply disturbed the people of Europe; in fact lands beyond what we know now as the Atlantic Ocean were purely a myth. So for one to say that there is worlds beyond what we know as planet Earth, at the time of this revelation is a truly revolutionary statement, and will soon be confirmed centuries later as an undoubted truth.
The scripture goes onto reveal details about the enigmatic Lord that Muslims call Allah. It says Allah is "The most beneficial, the merciful". Of all the insights given about God in the Quran, it has been chosen to give this as the first detail given about him. This book is believed to be the words of God, for God to introduce himself as the "the merciful" says much about the faith and relationships Muslims share with their Lord. Allah is initially described not as "the punisher of evil doers" but as "the beneficent and the merciful". For a Muslim to say that he or she is a slave and Allah is the slave master, is overlooking the true meaning of this profound relationship, and in a sense insulting and contradicting this opening fundamental revelation. It is almost unthinkable to describe a slave master as beneficent or merciful, so through this one can conclude that the relationship between Lord and creation is that of a nurturing and platonic one.
To add depth to this statement about relationships, "the opening" says that Allah is the "Ruler of the day of Judgment" Again this is important to state first because it reveals that there will one day be a day where man must be responsible for his actions on this physical plane, and man will also be responsible for the to repay his or her creator for the miracle of life and state of individuality that has been bestowed.
The next line also expands upon this idea of a different type of relationship by saying "you alone we worship, and you alone we ask for help". In reality that is all a Muslim should know if he or she is curious about attaining their place in paradise. Also for this to be added into the opening, there really is no secret to spiritual success in this physical realm, all one must do is be considerate to their creator and one must have the courage and humility to be able to ask for assistance.
I could go on, to complete the rest of my insight on this sura but I feel that most of you have probably lost interest by this point.
I find Al Fatihah to be very relevant to my outlook on life. As Balal began to say, one can tell by the choice of words used to describe Allah just what kind of God Allah is. For example, the "Mercy-giving" is used, not "the retribution giving," "The merciful" is used, not the angry. This in itself is a comforting notion; Allah/God is not an enemy of the people; He is their rock and ultimate source of salvation.
But even before there is a description of God, it says, "In the name of God." This shows a few things. Firstly, it shows the humbleness of the author. It also shows the seriousness and the truth that is about to come. By calling out in the name of God- the reader knows that he or she is going to be reading something profound.
"You do we worship and You do we call on for help. Guide us along the Straight Road;" this is another powerful concept. The Straight Road- the road to truth, the road to love, the road to living one's life to it's fullest- this is all accomplished through the help and guidance of God. These concepts ring true to me because they also show up in Judaism in various places. In any case, Al Fatihah, in its few words, seems to cover the basic fundamental truth's that are so important in Islam.
Surah al Fatiah is most defitnitely packed with a lot of meaning and touchs upon many subjects. The opening passage tells of many things, as balal pointed out, "Lord of the Universe" and of course the "Day of judgement." The opening passage also describes Allah (swt) as one of His main attributes "most mericiful." I believe that this is extremely important, especially for people who weren't on the straight path, but know that if in their heart are willing to be better people, they will be forgiven. People also believe that they are sometimes alone, or have been forsaken by everyone, in this first chapter of the Qu'ran people know that they can always count of Allah (swt) to be there, "Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek."
All in all surah al Fatiah is probably the most important to Muslims every where, I know before i knew anything, i was told to memorize it, both in arabic, and in English. As mr. mlotek said, this is as basic as Islam gets.
To me, "The Opening" contains a wonderful introduction to the Quran. It proclaims that Allah is the master and the only one true God. He is pure mercy and should be glorified as such by leading a noble life. As a student of religions and a non-muslim, I have noticed that most religions seem to introduce their Deity with affirmations of His uniqueness, power and glory within their sacred scriptures. Found in the Torah, Jews pray some verses known as the Shema(found in the Book of Deuteronomy). This prayer announces to their world that there is only one God whose obediance is mandatory. In the Gospel of John located in the New Testament, Christians read that their God, Jesus, was born in human form save mankind.("and the Word was made flesh.....")In all these cases, OTHER Gods are non-existent and cannot be recognized under pain of damnation. I am looking forward to learning as much as possible about this glorious religion during this course.
"praise be to god" i think it is like a thanks to god. this surah is also like an prayer to god that please god lead us to the straight path and not the path of those you are angry with nor the path of those who are lost. this surah is saying that god is the mercy-giver and the mercyful, so that means no matter what you do he can forgive you if you are really sorry for your actions. in this surah god is also letting people know that he is the the ruler and he is the one you are suppose to worship, also he is the ruler of judgement day.
I think that surah al Fatiah is similar to the prayers of many other religions. Although, it gains points in my book for being clearer and simpler.
In seven lines, it says what it takes the Catholics the Our Father, the Nicene Crede, the Apostle's Crede, the Glory Be, and about a third of the Gospel to say.
Although it means much, and touches upon many things, the language is simple and difficult to misunderstand. At least the first level of meanings gets through to anyone who hears it:
God is merciful.
God is the judge of us all.
We worship God.
We ask God for help.
God will guide us straightly and bless us if we do not wander astray.
Each of these meanings can be more closely examined in the actions of our daily lives where we experience wrongdoing and repentance, the worship of God in our own particular fashion, and the struggle to do Good in this lifetime.
I think Surah Al Fatihah is a good opening statement to the Holy Qur'an. The first statement " In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" it is stating that Allah is not to be taken lightly. He is the most powerful being and no one is equal to him, yet he shows the most kindess out of anything. In the fourth statement "Master of the Day of Judgment" It means that Allah will judge all, both living and dead on the Day of Judgment. In the last two verses, it says " Show us the straight path, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray." Allah's is straight and the most righteous of all paths. To be under Allah and to have faith in him and read the holy book, the Qur'an, is to be in the straight path to righteousness.
I think al Fatiah is the root, or core of the faith. It is a solid foundation for our everyday lives, and keeps us 'grounded' in our faith. Faith, interestingly, is embeded in the word "Fatiah."
It depicts God's nature and his strength and shows how you really have to surrender your soul to God.
I believe "Al Fatihah" is in fact an opening or a start. It is the beginning in which we base the Noble Quran. It sets the stage for what Allah is. Allah is everything good, but not to be mistaken, Allah is to be feared. Allah's power is unimaginable and therefore we may take comfort but also high respect in God, for an outcome could be either way.
In the name of God,the Mercy-giving,the Merciful
I always thought that if this world with all of its full is coming toward us such as the water wedrink,the sun the moon how it makes the day and night. We go into scientific explanations,but what is the explanation beyond science?
I think of a train and its operator. All of the wagons stick together going in one direction and there is one person who manages to work this train. We don't ask, how the train is going by itself. We know that there is someone who manages the work the train. Think of the world and all the materials inside and how we stay or work in this life and think about all the little things we have or the little things out there.
Al Fatiah gives meanings to our own life with who we are, what we do, why we do,and how we do. First Allah, then it is us to manage or to chose to live right in this world.I always asked what is right and not.I got my answer.We praise Allah for everything we are, for everything we have and for this world.There is one and only creater,"Lord of the universe".It is Allah that we worship. We are weak ,but we get strength and help from Allah. Allah is so merciful that we mercy others because we know we'll repay what we did in this world.There is one day that we'll all be questioned for our responsiobilities and actions. We'll get what we did or worked for.We pray Allah for the right path so we can be in his presence.He is the only helper and mercy-giving that we bow down.
In other suras, there is one common theme that Allah is the only creater of everything,we worship him.
We know that what ever happens comes from Allah and he has reasons and "hayr" for why we are who we are. Just a test we're taking.
To my prof. and classmate,thank you for your patience to read my writing.Sorry for my English if i said something wrong or meanless.
The surah Al-Fatiha is one of the most important in the Quran. It is the surah that we as Muslims recite 17 times a day in our prayers: Twice at fajr (dawn prayer), 4 times at thuhr (afternoon prayer), 4 times at asr (late afternoon prayer), 3 times at maghrib (evening prayer) and 4 times at ishaa (night prayer). The fact that we recite it that many times shows how important it must be. Allah says He is the most compassionate and the most merciful within the surah, that means a lot to me. It make me feel like He will forgive me for my sins, and that He will display His mercy before His punishment. He gives many chances for humans to redeem themselves and ask for forgiveness. When Allah says that He is the ruler of Judgment Day, He is the one who is going to judge us. He gave humans so many chances that when we are judged we should feel ashamed for having so little to offer. “It is You that we worship, and to You we appeal for help.” This tells me to worship Allah and Allah alone, not a statue or an animal. And when we need help we should turn to Him and no one else, for only He can answer our prayers and facilitate them; a statue or animal cannot. When Allah says, “Show is the straight way”, it confirms that my belief and my religion have put me on the right path.
I like how deep Balal wrote about the surah. He pointed out one of the many miracles of the Quran. When Allah says, “Lord of the worlds”, back then the people knew nothing about the universe and all its solar systems. It’s amazing how the Quran today still makes a lot of sense considering it was brought down over 1500 years ago. I agreed with Pete47H, how the Fatiha is the introduction to the Quran: short, simple and straight to the point.
Well to begin I will start by saying Asalamalaykum to the class as this is my first comment for the record...! Well the Fatihah is a very strong texture to show the significance of Allah supana wa taalla! For example the first line is to remind a muslim that Allah is the most gracious and the most merciful and Allah wants you to remember that everytime you pray!! So related to my life, everytime I pray I guess you could say I get reminded of Allah's Greatness and Superiorness! Allah also remindes his followers by saying in the second verse that all praises are do to him from all the worlds that exist!!! Comparing this statement to my life I become astonished over and over again when I say this because Allah is showing that he is the true way and that all worlds bow down to him and that nothing or no one is more powerful than he is!! Furthermore when you think about his next aya's to come it completely blows my mind! Allah is saying that he is the 1 and only owner of Judgement Day and the Only Judge that will be ruling that day! In resemblence to me, people can pass judgment on you your whole life but when this day comes Allah will be the only one to judge and say what goes and who goes where!! I also believe that the next aya is referring to the last because Allah tells you to worship him and him only because if you do other wise then he won't allow you into heaven and to seek assistance from him and him only because without his guidance or permission you will never recieve any help thus making this aya so powerful to me and it makes him the ultimate and only judge to pass judgment on this day!!! The last two aya's I think are pretty amazing and self explanitory but to go into depths, he talks about the (Jews and Christians) and we ask Allah to Guide us onto the right path which is obviously to believe that Allah is one and their are no partners with him and that Sayidna Muhammed (Peace be upon him) is the last Sayidna and he says that we should ask him to guide us to the straight path and not the path of those you are anger with such as the Jews nor the path of the people that went astray (Christians) because the Jews Angered Allah by changing the scriptures of a religious book which im not sure of the name but i think it's the Tora! And the Christians went astray by making partners with him so he tells us not to make partners with him!!! So in my life I know not to ever make partners with him unless I want to fo astray!!!!!! well wrote 2 much already and my hand is going to fall off so Masalama class until next time!!
In the name of Allah,Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Surah Fatiha, or the Opening Chapter. I believe in surah Fatiha,God is giving humankind a choice of life- path. Either humanity can follow the Prophet(Right path)or go Astray. Asking God to lead us in the right direction saves us humans from Hell fire. It also shows God our gratitude for His mercy and forgiveness.
Hello all. Well to begin, as Ashar stated, I also believe the surah Al Fatihah serves as the thesis statement for the Quaran. It is simple, but full of meaning & stresses the importance of Allah and his power as a higher being. It allows each individual to know that everyone is being guided in the right direction, yet it is up to them to continue that path. It is very clear in this surah that we are to worship Allah, for he is mercy giving & forgives all.
The beginning of Surah Al-Fatiha talks about Allah (Swt) and his attributes and characteristics. Firstly, saying how Allah is most beneficial and merciful. Then it goes on to talk about the characteristics that Allah swt has such as the master of the Day of Judgment. In the second half of the Surah, Allah swt talks about how he is the only one that has the right to be worshipped. It is in a Duah that we ask Allah swt to guide us on the straight path and only seek him for help; putting our full trust in Allah swt decree. Surah Fatiha, The Opening, does not direct itself only to Muslims that is why many people are intrigued by the Religion. The book was revealed to all people talking about Allah swt is the only that that should be worshiped and has the knower and creator of things.
Surah Fatiha:
Simply as something I do for ALlah (SWT) and as something I ask of Him in prayer.
As people have stated, Surah Fatiha is jam packed with many topics.
Foremostly, All Praise Really Are for Allah (SWT) for everything He has bestowed upon all of us, the good and the bad. No matter how much we thank Him during the course of the day, it really is no match for everything He does and has done for mankind.
In it, I do also testify that Allah (SWT) is the only owner and judge of everything, and the one being worthy of worship. And it is He that should be sought for help and guidance.
And the last two verses are a little prayer in itself asking of continous guidance unto the straight path, the path to those in which He has bestowed grace.
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