THE THEME OF SURATUL FATIHAH
Sūrah al-Fātiḥah is described as the 'Mother of the Qur'an' and the 'Seven oft-repeated verses'. It is recited in every unit of every prayer. It is one of the chapters of the Qur'an that we memorised as children and one of the chapters that we will teach to our children. But just what makes this chapter so important? From the 114 chapters of the Qur'an, why is this the first chapter? What makes it so special? What is the message of this chapter?Each and every one of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an has a single theme and subject. Every topic within that chapter will then relate to that single theme. So what is the theme of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah?
Overview
The theme of this chapter covers the basic tenets of Islam, being; belief in Allah (swt), following the Prophet Muhammad and the purification of the soul and exalted character that those principles should bring about. In many ways, Sūrah al-Fātiḥah is a summary of the main themes of the Qur'an. The scholars have mentioned that the Qur'an is broadly divided into 3 main themes. A third of the Qur'an speaks about Allah , a third about the Prophets and past nations, and a third about the halal and haram.
To know Allah
Let us analyse Sūrah al-Fātiḥah. Allah dedicates the first three verses of this chapter to speaking about Himself. Allah mentions His lordship, His creation, His power, His Names and His Attributes. Allah (swt) says in the first three verses, “All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all that exists. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Owner of the Day of Judgement.”All three of these verses are dedicated to increasing our knowledge of Allah , because through the increase in knowledge we increase in our love, devotion and submission to Allah . It is human nature to learn about what we love most, and to love what we know most about. It is for this reason that we often love our parents, spouses and children most. We often love and are patriotic to our countries as they are most familiar to us. In terms of food, we often rate our own cuisine as most beloved to us as we've known it longest. Yet as Muslims, our love for Allah should far outstrip all of the above. Indeed, this is a claim we often make, and for the most part sincerely. But in reality, and after deep thought, the question arises, what and how much do we know about Allah ?
Allah wants us to learn about Him and thereby come closer to Him. This is why Allah praises the scholars in the Qur'an, “Indeed only the scholars truly fear Allah”. This is because their knowledge of Allah,His names, attributes, power and abilities increases them in piety and righteousness. It is for this reason that most of the passages and chapters of the Qur'an which have added virtues relate to Allah . Look at Āyat al-Kursī, the last two verses of Baqarah, Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ, Sūrahs Falaq and Nās, all of them speak about Allah.
The pinnacle and height of that knowledge is to understand Tawḥīd; the abilities of Allah which make Him alone worthy of all worship, and to seek nearness to Him by knowing, understanding and living by His names and attributes. Allah shows this in verse number 4 of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah, “You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek assistance”.
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