The Opening Chapter

The Opening chapter
Thursday, 11 June 2009 12:31 -
The holy Quran Exegesis
Commentary on The opening chapter ( Al-Fatah )
By Magdy Abd Al-shafy
Al-Fatihah was called the Salah, because

reciting it is a condition for the correctness of
Salah - the prayer. Al-Fatihah was also called
Ash-Shifa' (the Cure).
It is also called Ar-Ruqyah (remedy), since

in the Sahih, there is the narration of Abu
Saìd telling the the story of the Companion
who used Al-Fatihah as a remedy for the
tribal chief who was poisoned. Later, the
Messenger of Allah said to a Companion,
(How did you know that it is a Ruqyah)
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Al-Fatihah was revealed in Makkah as

Ibn Àbbas, Qatadah and Abu Al-Àliyah
stated. Allah said, (And indeed, We have
bestowed upon you the seven Mathani)
(seven repeatedly recited verses), (i.e.
Surat Al-Fatihah) (15:87). Allah knows
best.
The Meaning of Al-Fatihah and its

Various Names This Surah is called
Al-Fatihah, that is, the Opener of the
Book, the Surah with which prayers
are begun. It is also called, Umm
Al-Kitab (the Mother of the Book),
according to the majority of the
scholars. In an authentic Hadith
recorded by At-Tirmidhi, who graded
it Sahih, Abu Hurayrah said that the
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The Opening chapter
Messenger of Allah said, Al-Hamdu

lillahi Rabbil-Àlamin is the Mother of
the Qur-an, the Mother of the Book,
and the seven repeated Ayat of the
Glorious Qur-an .
It is incumbent on every Moslem to

recite this sura in his prayer .
without reciting this Sura ,the
Moslem prayer will be invalid. The
Arabic word Salah (in English
prayer ) means the strong contact
to Allah .So when you are in prayer
you are in contact with Allah , so it
is incumbent on every Moslem to
recite this Sura
in his prayer as it includes all the
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meanings of the Holy Quran .

Prayer in Islam implies two
important elements : praise and
supplication and these are what
this generous Sura implies.
The comment :
(1) Praise be to God, The

Cherisher and Sustainer of the
Worlds
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This sura is very profound as

it has summed up all the
meanings of the holy Quran
.Allah , the creator of the
universe and the creator of
the seen and the unseen ,
before creating you from
what you know , has made
the whole of the universe
suitable for you and honored
you with countless bounties .
The most important of All ,
though you may not notice ,
is that His manifestation to
all of us. Allah says in
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The Opening chapter
another verse what means "

We have honored the sons of
Adam; provided them with
transport on land and sea;
given them for sustenance
things good and pure; and
conferred on them special
favours, above a great part of
our creation. When man
became helpless as to how to
praise Allah for his open
bounties , God revealed this
Sura in which Allah teaches
man how to begin his
supplication .
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This verse implies all kinds

of praise, the word
employed in the qu'ranic
verse is more expressive
and comprehensive than
any other equivalents , the
verse confirms the infinite
praise and thanks to Allah .
This short verse means

ascribing all the meanings
of praise , thanks ,
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gratitude to Allah , it is a
verse that expresses
gratitude to Allah for his
countless gifts . Though
they are many to be
counted , yet only with
two words you can
express your gratitude to
Allah , it is an overture
followed by praising Allah
by two of His fine names .
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" The merciful and

compassionate "
" The Merciful and

Compassionate " ,
these two words arouse
a feeling of ecstasy ,
once you repeat these
two words you feel
something unspeakable
; Allah's mercy is
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beyond human
description . In a
traditional saying ,
prophet Mohummed
says " God has made
mercy one hundred
parts , He has kept
ninety-nine parts to
lavish his creatures
with and he sent just
only one part to the
earth by which all the
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creatures, , including
the mute animal when
raising its feet lest it
should harm its baby,
lavish mercy on one
another .How much you
feel when you are being
lavished with His mercy
, nothing to ail you if
you trust Allah's mercy .
God , thus , introduce
Himself in this holy
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The Opening chapter
Sura as " the most

Merciful and the most
Compassionate " ; this
fills the human souls
with ecstasy and trust
that he is not alone ; the
word Al-Rahman ,
according to Qu'ran
scientists, is confined
to this life while the
word compassionate is
confined to His mercy
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on the day of
recompense , on the
day of recompense only
those who believed in
Him and only those who
did righteousness while
they were Moslems will
gain this limitless
mercy , The word (
Al-Rhaman- Merciful ) is
repeated in the holy
Quran 57 times while
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the word Al-Raheem is

repeated 114 times . In
reciting this holy Sura
you will mention Allah
by these two fine names
four times , Indeed , you
are helpless and you
seek Allah's mercy – all
people are in need to
this mercy . In another
Sura , God reveals
something that is really
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The Opening chapter
arouses passion.
God says what means

" The seven heavens
and the earth, and all
beings therein, declare
his glory: there is not a
thing but celebrates
his praise; and yet ye
understand not how
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they declare his glory

verily he is oft
forbearing, most
forgiving "
(:4) The Master of the

Day of Recompense
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A diligent sedulous
believer holds that
day within the
sphere of his mind
and act , by
mentioning this fine
name , he also
supplicates Allah for
mercy on that day ; it
is the day of ultimate
justice , it is the day
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when there is
nothing else but
paradise or hellfire .
Prophet Mohammed
said none will enter
the paradise by his
righteous act ;
whatever you do will
fall short , just
remember what you
have done since you
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were Moslem till now

. Be sure Allah will
lavish on you His
mercy as we will
show .
(5) You alone do we

worship (6) and You
alone do we turn for
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help
Then comes the

confession from
man of his deep
belief in Allah , you
ascribe to Allah the
Divinity and Deity ;
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The Opening chapter
a holy verse that

lays emphasis on
the fact that there
is no god save Him
, a verse that
confines all the
meaning of deity to
Allah , these words
reflect how you are
in need to Him to
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foster and give you

succour. These
words reflect how
much you are
helpless and you
confess that it is
Allah who helps .
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As long as you say

(that you worship
Him alone and
seeks His help ,
you can go on
supplicating Allah
to guide you to his
straight path. The
way to Allah is
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straight ,
sometimes ,on
that way , you may
be lost . You may
be faced with the
temptations of the
devil , you may be
faced with
temptations of
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your self
…Prophet
Mohummed used
to repeat " Oh ,
Allah we seek
refuge with You
against the evils of
our selves , you
may be faced with
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the allurement of
this vain world , so
you should
supplicate Allah to
guide you to the
straight way . It is
the way that leads
you to ecstasy and
happiness .
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Nothing could give

happiness more
than the straight
way. Nothing
could make you
feel the
importance of
yourself but the
straight path,
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Nothing could
arouse the peace
of your soul but
the straight path ;
all the transient
joys in this world
can't last ,nothing
to remove the
heavy burden on
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your shoulder but

the straight path ,
so much could be
written on this
point , what made
those early
Moslems bear the
torture and
suffering ?!!! It is
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the straight path .

Once you are on
the straight path ,
you will not care
about the
hardships of life ,
It is a thrust that
animates your
soul . The straight
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path is the
guidance and
understanding of
the Holy Quran as
some scholars say
; it is the way that
takes you to the
pleasure of Allah .
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(7) The way of

those whom You
have favoured ,
who did not incur
Your wrath, who
are not astray .
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This defines the

'straight way'
which we ask
God to open to
us. It is the way
which has always
been followed by
those who have
enjoyed God's
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favours and
blessings. This is
the way which
has been trodden
from the
beginning of time
by all those
individuals and
communities that
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have unfailingly
enjoyed God's
favours and
blessings. This
makes it clear
that the
recipients of
God's favour are
not those who
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appear, briefly, to
enjoy worldly
prosperity and
success; all too
often, these
people are
among those
whom God has
condemned
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because they
have lost sight of
the true path of
salvation and
happiness. This
negative
explanation
makes it quite
clear that in'am
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(favour) denotes
all those real and
abiding favours
and blessings
which one
receives in
reward for
righteous
conduct through
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The Opening chapter
God's approval
and pleasure,
rather than those
apparent and
fleeting favours
which the
Pharaohs,
Nimrods and
Korahs (Qaruns)
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used to receive in
the past, and
which are
enjoyed even
today by people
notorious for
oppression, evil
and corruption.
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The reward
Prophet
Mohummed said
that Allah said
""I have divided
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the prayer into

two halves
between Me and
My slave. One
half of it is for
Me and one half
of it is for IVly
slave, and My
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slave has what

he asks." ' The
Messenger of
Allah, may Allah
bless him and
grant him peace,
said, "Recite."
The slave says,
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'Praise be to
Allah , the Lord
of the Worlds.'
Allah the
Blessed, the
Exalted, says,
'My slave has
praised Me.' The
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slave says, 'The

Merciful, the
Compassionate.'
Allah says, 'My
slave has
spoken well of
Me.' The slave
says, 'Master of
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the Day of the

Deen.' Allah
says, 'My slave
has glorified
Me.' The slave
says, 'You alone
we worship and
You alone we
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ask for help.

'Allah says
,'This ayat is
between Me and
My slave, and
for My slave is
what he asks.
'The slave says,
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The Opening chapter
'Guide us in the
straight Path,
the Path of
those whom
You have
blessed, not of
those with
whom You are
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angry, nor those

who are in error.
' Allah says,
'These are for
My slaves, and
for my slave is
what he asks . '
"'"
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The Opening Chapter

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The Opening chapter

Thursday, 11 June 2009 12:31 -

The holy Quran Exegesis

Commentary on The opening chapter ( Al-Fatah )

By Magdy Abd Al-shafy

Al-Fatihah was called the Salah, because

It is also called Ar-Ruqyah (remedy), since

Al-Fatihah was revealed in Makkah as

The Meaning of Al-Fatihah and its

Messenger of Allah said, Al-Hamdu

It is incumbent on every Moslem to

meanings of the Holy Quran .

(1) Praise be to God, The

This sura is very profound as

another verse what means "

This verse implies all kinds

This short verse means

" The merciful and

" The Merciful and

Sura as " the most

the word Al-Raheem is

God says what means

they declare his glory

(:4) The Master of the

were Moslem till now

(5) You alone do we

Then comes the

a holy verse that

foster and give you

As long as you say

Nothing could give

your shoulder but

the straight path .

(7) The way of

This defines the

the prayer into

slave has what

slave says, 'The

the Day of the

ask for help.

angry, nor those

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