Saif Morad – What Allah says when we recite Sura AlFatiha in Salah

To whom my dear brothers and sisters. May

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us with the

best in this world and the next.

Do we know what happens

when we stand in front of Allah Subhanahu

Wa Ta'ala and we recite Surah al Fatiha,

the opening chapter of the Quran?

Perhaps

understanding

and knowing exactly what happens as we recite

this Surah

is the key to taking our salah to

the next level.

Before we go into talking about what exactly

is happening as we recite Surah Al Fatiha,

we need to understand

the importance

of Surah Al Fatiha and just exactly what

is this chapter, the opening chapter of the

Quran

that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala legislated

for us to recite a minimum of

17

times a day,

and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chose this as

the greatest Surah in the Quran.

The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told us

that the greatest Surah in the Quran is

the chapter of.

One day when the prophet

was

with Jibril alaihi salam,

they heard a noise coming from the heavens.

So Jibril alaihi salam looked up, and he

said a door from the heavens has opened,

that which has never been opened before.

An angel came down from the heavens, and

he told the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam

that glad tidings to you, Absir,

Glad tidings to you with the 2 lights

you have been given,

that which no one before you has been

given it.

The opening chapter of the Quran

and

the ending of Surat Al Baqarah.

And no letter is recited

from this except that the person is given.

So this Surah,

no prophet has been given

the equivalent to it before the prophet

So what exactly happens when we stand in

front of Allah

and recite the surah in our prayers?

The prophet

told us that Allah

said that I have divided the prayer

into 2 halves

between me and my slave,

and the prayer here,

a salah,

is referring

to Surat Al Fatiha,

because

the prayer is not valid except that we

recite the surah in it. Because without the

recitation of Surah Al Fatiha in our prayers,

the salah, the prayer is not accepted by

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So when we stand in front of Allah

subhanahu wa ta'ala and we recite,

When we recite this ayah, Allah subhanahu wa

ta'ala tells us,

my slave has praised me.

All praise, everything

belongs

to Allah,

the true Lord, the one who deserves all

worship. No worship is directed except to Allah

because he is the creator.

He knows everything that happens. He's the one

who provides for us.

The Lord of the

universe, the Lord of everything.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes care of everything

in the heavens and the earth. Nothing happens

except by his permission.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, my slave has

exalted me.

The most merciful will be ever merciful. Allah

subhanahu wa ta'ala, his mercy encompasses

everything. His mercy is greater than everything. He

loves us more

than our own mothers love us,

and he's especially

merciful to the believers.

When we recite this ayah,

Allah says,

my slave has glorified me.

The king of the day of resurrection.

Allah

is the king, everything that happens in his

kingdom he knows about, everything is his kingdom,

and Allah

he gives from his kingdom to those who

he wants, and they can do what they

want in it. But on the day of

judgment, when we stand in front of Allah

subhanahu wa ta'ala, nobody

will have any authority except Allah subhanahu wa

ta'ala. That will be the day that we

will be taken into account when we recite.

When we recite this ayah, Allah subhanahu wa

ta'ala tells that this is between me and

my slave and for my slave is that

which they ask for.

When we recite

that you alone we worship

and you alone we turn

to for help.

Now exactly what is worship?

Worship is

everything that is pleasing to Allah

from actions and sayings that which is apparent

and that which is hidden

on the outside and on the inside,

and seeking aid from Allah

to

depend on Allah

to give us that which we ask for,

to ward

off the evil

with true reliance upon him, that we trust

in Allah

And some of the of the early generation

of pious Muslims used to say

that Surah Al Fatihah is the secret of

the Quran,

and the secret of this surah is in

the verse

that you alone we turn to for help,

and you alone we seek aid, and this

is the purpose that we worship

Allah

alone because He is the true Lord, He

is the one who created us, He is

the one who takes care of us, He

is the one who hears everything, He knows

everything, and He is the only one that

can help us and benefit us.

We worship Him and we seek his help

in being able to worship him

because if Allah

does not help us, we can't do anything.

And this is the state of his slave

that he or she depends entirely

on Allah

and they take the means. They do what's

necessary,

but they know that Allah

is the one who benefits them and who

wards off harm from them.

And then we recite,

That guide us to the straight path,

the path of truth, the path that is

pleasing to Allah

And who is upon this path?

The path of those that you have favored.

Those people who you are pleased with

and keep us away from the path of

those people that are astray and those people

who you are angry with.

And Allah says,

this is for my slave and for him

is what he asked for. So when we

ask for guidance, when we ask for to

be guided to his path, and we say

at the end, which means, oh, Allah accept.

Allah

is telling us for us is that guidance.

Imagine the state of our salah

if we were consciously present as we recite

the surah

that each ayah we're reciting Allah

is responding to us. Ibn Arjabi said, and

this happens every single rakah, every time we

stand in front of Allah

and we recite the Fatiha, Allah

is responding back to us.

And today's exercise is

that as we stand up for our salah,

to become mindful of exactly what is happening

when we recite this surah, Allah

is responding back to us.

And the more mindful we try to become,

the more we practice every time we stand

in front of Allah

we become mindful that he's responding to me,

that I'm standing in front of him, that

I'm about to address Allah

and he's gonna respond back to me

to increase

the concentration that we have in our salah.

And every time we stand in front of

Allah

we

focus

and we remind ourselves

that we are standing in front of Allah

subhanahu wa ta'ala,

our creator, our sustainer, the one who has

given us everything that we have is from

him alone.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase us in

in tranquility and concentration in our prayer.

Until next time.