Chapter
1 - Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening)
Translation:
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Praise
be to God, Lord of Creation; the Compassionate, the Merciful; Master of the Day
of Judgment. You alone we worship, and to You alone we pray for help. Guide us
to the straight path, the path of those whom You have favored: not of those who
have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.
Tafsir
(Commentary):
It
befits man to commence all tasks in the name of God, his master. God is the
source of all mercy and compassion. His blessings are continually descending
upon creation. To commence any undertaking in His name is to pray that God, in
His infinite mercy, should come to one’s assistance and bring one’s work to
a successful conclusion. This is man’s acknowledgment that he is God’s
servant, and also brings divine assurance of success.
The
Qur’an has a special way of expressing a believer’s inner sentiments in the
best possible words. The Invocation of God and the opening chapter of the
Qur’an constitutes a supplication of this nature. The feelings which are
naturally aroused in one after discovering the truth are expressed in these
lines.
Man’s
being is a great gift of God. It is so precious to him that he would never
exchange it, or even any part of it—his eyes or hands, or any organ of his
body—for the greatest treasures of the world. This basic gift of God is even
more precious to man than a kingdom is to kings. When man looks at the world
around him, he cannot fail to notice God’s power and mercy in evidence
everywhere. With what care God watches over the world! Everything in it has been
adapted to man’s needs. This observation shows that the great cosmic machine
cannot be in vain. One realizes that there must come a day when the ungrateful
will be taken to task and the grateful rewarded. One spontaneously entreats God
in words to this effect: “Lord, You are Master of the Day of Judgement. I have
submitted to You and humbly seek Your help; have mercy on me. Lord, show us the
path that is, to You, the true path. Enable us to tread the path of Your chosen
servants. Help us to avoid the path of those who have gone astray, and the path
of those who have incurred Your wrath due to their obstinacy.”