Prayer in Islam (Part 2)
A Spiritual Tonic – The Secret of Scientific Living
By Muhammad Yakub khan
Imam, Shah Jehan Mosque, Woking, Surrey, England
(The Islamic Review,September 1957)
The Main Prayer – Fatiha
The main prayer consists in the chanting of the first chapter of the Quran, which is considered by all the authorities to constitute the epitome of the whole of the Book. Anyone who has grasped what has been bottled up in the brief seven verses in this chapter has got a firm grip on the whole of the essence of Islam.
It should be noted that no translation, however perfect, can give all the connotation which the original Arabic words carry.
The fact that they are the very words that came from God (the Prophet Muhammadﷺ being a mere channel or vehicle) invests these words with added charm and majesty. This is not the place to remove the misconception in some circles who look upon revelation as a purely subjective phenomenon, having no objective source, outside the recipient´s own mind. Revelation, like the light of the sun, comes from outside. No one would say about the latter that since the receiving set (eye) lies within man, it is a subjective experience. Only a man born blind will belie the reality of the external source of light. In like manner, the light of revelation cannot be dismissed as a mere subjective experience for the reason that its receiving set lies within the recipient.
In these days of the Radio and the TV it should not be difficult to comprehend that a spiritual message can be picked up by the highly spiritual receiving set of the prophetic mind when it is “tuned in” to the appropriate spiritual “wave-length”.
It is imperative, therefore, that we must dig into the depths of these words to get at the pure jewels embedded therein if we want to treasure all that spiritual wealth in the recesses of our own subconscious mind. These are but a few words, and it should not be difficult for a non-Arab to memories them and assimilate their significance.
Before we proceed to the understanding of the meanings of the Fatiha, word by word, let me explain how it is charged with psychological magnetism which cannot but draw the soul of man closer to God. All forces in human life which exercise an irresistible pull on the mind of man ultimately fall under two main categories – beauty and benevolence. Beauty, whether in Nature or in human form, instantaneously touches the tenderest spot in the heart of man, who feels irresistibly drawn towards it, evoking in him the deepest emotions of admiration, love and adoration. The other force which touches the springs of gratitude and affection in the heart of man is the kindness, solicitude and care we receive from others. The mother symbolizes in the highest degree this kind of solicitude and affection to the child. Love begets love. The mother´s love for the child cannot but evoke a corresponding response in the child´s heart.
The Fatiha, by depicting God as All-Beauty and All-Benevolence (as we shall presently see), draws upon both these factors to exercise a Godward pull on the worshipper´s heart, so that, at the highest level of that experience, he finds his identity merged into that of God. The chains that bind him to low, petty mundane desires are cut asunder. From the cloudland of doubt and dismay, he is transported into the sunshine of Faith and hope. To a Muslim, the much talked-of release from passion, pain, sorrow and grief is a daily experience. On the spiritual wings forged in the Fatiha, he soars to realms beyond the dust and storm of baser passions, and the cares and worries, and sorrows and suffering that are born of them.
He finds himself at the serene heights of the Divine beatitude where there is “neither hail nor storm”.
Apart from the discovery of this source of abiding mental peace and poise, the Fatiha provides the only rational, scientific and true-to-Nature explanation of the game of life and how to play it. The four attributes of God enunciated therein are the basic principles to make a rich, abundant, civilized, progressive life possible.
Rabb is the attribute which looks to the growth and development, stage by stage, of everything in Nature, from the lowest to the highest rung of its potentialities. In other words, the purpose of life is to bring to blossom, fructification and fruition all the latent powers – physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual – man has been gifted with.
Rahman denotes the attribute which places an abundant and free supply of all the basic material for such development at the disposal of man – a material which is indispensable for sustaining life, and making its growth and development possible. The air, sunshine, soil, water, and all the unbounded resources which have been locked up in the bosom of Nature, constitute the “raw material”, so to say, for human life to grow and develop.
Rahim is the attribute which has bound up all that growth and development with appropriate endeavour on man´s own part. Unlike most other religions, Islam has no cheap salvation to offer, nor does it provide escapes from life. It is essentially a religion of action. Indeed, it is another name for grappling with life as it presents itself. For a Muslim there is to be no turning away from life. That means the scuttling of his personality. Nor is he to be a passive onlooker of the game of life or a dumb, driven cattle. He is to be the hero of the drama of life, reacting actively to every one of its facets and vicissitudes, with faith, hope and courage. And the attribute of Rahim sees to it that his endeavour and strife and struggle do not go unrewarded, that they bear plentiful fruit. A grain put in the soil by the farmer, after undergoing the toil and sweat of ploughing, sowing and watering, is blessed by Rahim with a hundredfold fruit. The whole of the civilization man has built up is but an amplification of these two attributes of God – Rahman supplying the needful “raw material” and Rahim harnessing that material to the service of man and his mastery over the forces of Nature.
Malik, is the fourth attribute, exercises supreme control over the whole machinery of the rule of the law, to see to it that no violation of it gets away with impunity, and that omissions due to human frailties are condoned, to enable man to rise after every fall, and march ahead, on and on – stumbling, falling, rising – towards his great Destiny.
Light and inspiration, which is an essential inner equipment for the struggle of life, is provided by the invocation: “Thee do we worship, and Thee do we ask for assistance”.
This is further reinforced by focusing attention on those in man´s annals who, by following God´s laws, made good in life, and showing the doom of those who flouted or belittled that Law as a red danger signal for others against taking that perilous path.
In brief, the Fatiha comprises, in a nutshell, the whole essence of the message of Islam, providing man with a rational, intelligible programme of life, and injecting him with the soul-tonic to enable him to play his role in life worthy of his high destiny as God´s vicegerent on earth.
TRANSLITERATION OF THE FATIHA:
Bi-sm-illah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim.
Al-hamdu lillahi Rabb-il-alamin,
Ar-Rahman-ir-Rahim,
Maliki yaum-id-din,
Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in,
Ihdi-nas-sirat-al-mustaqim,
Sirat-al-ladhina an amta alaihim,
Ghair-il-maghdzubi alai-him wa la-dz-dzalin.
TRANSLATION OF THE FATIHA
Now, let us take the verses one by one.
Bi means with, or in. Ism means name.
Bism-il-lah means in the name of God.
Rahman means Gracious (see below)
Rahim means Merciful.
Bism-il-lah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim means In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful.
Al-hamd means all that is good and beautiful
Lillahi means is for God. That is to say, God is the Supreme Fount of all that is good and beautiful.
Rabb means Creator, and much more. It also comprises the significance of taking a created thing from the lowest to the highest point of growth and development, along various stages.
Rabb-il-alamin means Creator, Sustainer, Nourisher, Up-bringer.
Ar-Rahman denotes that bounteousness of God which comes to man gratis – that is to say, without any effort on his part to earn it, such as his various faculties (physical and mental), as well as numerous other such free gifts as air, water, sunshine, without which no life is possible. The nearest English equivalent would be Gracious or Beneficent.
Ar-Rahim denotes God´s bounteousness which rewards right endeavour or man´s part manifold. When a farmer has well ploughed his soil, sown his seed, looked to its regular watering, weeding and all the rest of it, then – not before – God blesses him with an abundant harvest, growing scores of grains out of the one sown by him.
Malik means Master.
Yaum-id-Din means Day of Requital.
Malik-i-yaum-id-din means Master of the Day of Requital.
These three facets of the Divine constitute the pivot around which all progressive life revolves. Rahman supplies all the “raw material”, as it were, for man´s existence and progress. Rahim ensures him the fruits of his labour, but for which there would be no incentive to work and effort. Malik-i-yaum-id-din keeps him alert against the consequences of slackness or wrongful or evil actions, thereby keeping the wheels of his life on the right rails.
Iyyaka means Thee.
Na`abudu means we worship.
Iyyaka na abudu means Thee do we worship.
Wa means and.
Nastáin means we implore for help.
Wa iyyaka nastáin means and Thee do we implore for help.
Ihdiná means guide us.
Sirát means path.
Musttaqím means straight.
Ihdina-as-sirat-al-mustaqim means Guide us in the right path.
Sirat-al-ladhina means the path of those.
An´amta means Thou hast bestowed blessings.
Alaihim means on whom.
An´amta álaihim means on whom Thou hast bestowed blessings.
Ghair means other than those.
Maghdzub means who incur displeasure.
Wa means and.
Lá means not.
Dzállin means gone astray.
Ghair-il-maghdzub-I álaihim wa la-dz-dzallín means not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, nor of those who have gone astray.
The meaning of the whole of Fatiha would thus be:
In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful,
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds,
The Gracious, the Merciful,Master of the Day of requital.
Thee (alone) do we worship and Thee (alone) do we beseech for help.
Guide us on the right path – The path of those on whom Thou has bestowed Thy blessings, not of those who incur Thy displeasure, not of those who go astray.
