Commentary on Surat al-Fatiha
Translated from the Arabic: تفسير سورة الفاتحة


[Page 1]

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Surah Al-Fatiha
﴾In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful (1) All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds (2) The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful (3) Master of the Day of Judgment (4) You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help (5) Guide us on the Straight Path (6) The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray (7)﴿
Surah Al-Fatiha: There is a difference of opinion regarding it; the majority hold that it is Meccan, and indeed one of the first revelations of the Qur'an, according to a narration attributed to Ali, Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and most of the Companions. However, Mujahid claimed it is Medinan, and he was unique in this view to the extent that it was considered a slip on his part. It is said that it was revealed in Mecca when prayer was made obligatory and in Medina when the qibla was changed, to indicate that it is part of the prayer as it was (1).
And the view that it is Meccan is more correct due to His saying: ﴾And We have certainly given you seven of the oft-repeated [verses] and the great Qur'an﴿ [Al-Hijr: 87], and Al-Hijr is Meccan by consensus.
Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has not revealed in the Torah or the Gospel anything like Umm al-Qur'an, which is the seven oft-repeated verses, and it is divided between Me and My servant, and My servant will have what he asks." Al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Mu'alla who said: I was praying in the mosque when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called me, but I did not respond. I said: O Messenger of Allah, I was praying. He said: Did Allah not say ﴾Respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you﴿ [Al-Anfal: 24]? - Then he said: "I will teach you a surah that is the greatest surah in the Qur'an before you leave the mosque." Then he took my hand, and when he was about to leave, I said to him: Did you not say you would teach me a surah that is the greatest surah in the Qur'an? He said: ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿; it is the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Qur'an that I have been given (2).
__________
(1) Ruh al-Ma'ani, Tafsir al-Alusi
(2) Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafsir: - Scholars have differed regarding the preference of some surahs and verses over others, and the preference of some of Allah's names over others. Some said: There is no preference for some over others because all are the words of Allah, and likewise, His names have no preference among them. This view was held by Sheikh Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, Qadi Abu Bakr al-Tayyib, Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Hibban al-Busti, and a group of jurists. Its meaning was also narrated from Malik. Yahya ibn Yahya said: The preference of some of the Qur'an over others is a mistake, and Malik disliked repeating a surah or reciting it more than others. Malik said regarding Allah's saying: ﴾We will bring forth better than it or the like of it﴿ [Al-Baqarah: 106]: It is an abrogated verse. Ibn Kanana narrated similar views from Malik. These scholars argued that to say one is better implies a deficiency in the lesser one, and the essence of all is the same, which is the word of Allah, and the word of Allah has no deficiency. They said that the meaning of "the greatest surah" refers to its reward, not that some of the Qur'an is better than others. Among those who said there is preference are Ishaq ibn Rahawayh and other scholars and theologians, which is the choice of Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi and Ibn al-Hassar due to the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Mu'alla and the hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Abu, which verse do you have in the Book of Allah that is the greatest?" I said: ﴾Allah! There is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence﴿ [Al-Baqarah: 255]. He then struck my chest and said: "May knowledge be easy for you, O Abu al-Mundhir." It was narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Ibn al-Hassar said: I am astonished by those who mention the disagreement in light of these texts.


[Page 2]

For a reason, Allah, Exalted is He, made it a fundamental part of the prayer, such that a Muslim recites it in every unit of prayer (rak'ah), and in the noble hadith, "There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Fatihat al-Kitab) or the Mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitab)." Therefore, this surah requires contemplation on its vocabulary, both in its entirety and in its details.
Surat al-Fatiha is one of the surahs with many names; the author of al-Itqan counted more than twenty titles and descriptions that have been mentioned by the reciters since the time of the predecessors. However, in the authentic Sunnah and what has been transmitted regarding its names, only Fatihat al-Kitab, the seven oft-repeated (al-sab' al-mathani), and Umm al-Qur'an or Umm al-Kitab have been established (3). Thus, let us limit ourselves to explaining these three names.
As for its being called Fatihat al-Kitab, this has been established in the Sunnah in many hadiths, including the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book." The term "Fatiha" is derived from "opening," which means removing a barrier from a desired place of entry. Its formulation implies that its subject is something that removes a barrier. In any case, "Fatiha" is a description attributed to the beginning of the Qur'an and is treated like a generic name, then it was added to the Book, and this compound became a dominant name for this surah (4).
Al-Bukhari reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Mother of the Book is the seven oft-repeated and the great Qur'an."
As for the seven oft-repeated (5), they are seven verses that are recited repeatedly, and they are the great Qur'an. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to them as such when he said in a narration reported by al-Bukhari: "They are the seven oft-repeated and the great Qur'an that I have been given."
Yunus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said regarding His saying: ﴾مَثَانِـيَ﴿ (oft-repeated), it is repeated; Moses was repeated in the Qur'an, as were Salih, Hud, and the Prophets in many places.
And Allah, Exalted is He, named it prayer, as in the sacred hadith: Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih: Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah informed us from al-Ala' from his father from Abu Huraira from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "Whoever prays...
__________
(3) It is said that the banner of war is called "Umm" because of its precedence and the following of the army behind it. The root of "Umm" is "ummat," and thus it is pluralized as "ummat." See the Tafsir of al-Qurtubi.
(4) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir by Ibn Ashur.
(5) It was mentioned in the Tafsir of Gharayib al-Qur'an: the seven oft-repeated because they are seven verses and because they are repeated in every prayer, or because half of them is the servant's praise of the Lord and the other half is the Lord's giving to the servant, or because they are exceptional for this nation, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, nothing like this surah was revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, or the Psalms, and it is the seven oft-repeated and the great Qur'an," or because it was revealed twice, or because they are praises and commendations of Allah, Exalted is He.
Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari: The term "mathani" is said to refer to that which does not reach one hundred verses or has reached it, and it is said to refer to what is besides the seven long surahs up to the concise ones, and it is said that it is called "mathani" because it is the repetition of the seven, and it is called Fatihat al-Kitab the seven oft-repeated because it is recited in every prayer. As for His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾And We have given you seven of the oft-repeated﴿ [al-Hijr: 87], it refers to Surat al-Fatiha, and it is said otherwise.
Al-Qurtubi said: There is nothing in its being called "mathani" or "Umm al-Kitab" that prevents other things from being named that. Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾A Book whose verses are similar, oft-repeated﴿ [al-Zumar: 23], thus He called His Book "mathani" because the news is repeated in it. The seven long surahs are also called "mathani" because the obligations and stories are repeated in them. (Yunus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said regarding His saying: ﴾مَثَانِـيَ﴿ (oft-repeated), it is repeated; Moses was repeated in the Qur'an, as were Salih, Hud, and the Prophets in many places. Tafsir al-Tabari)


[Page 3]

"Prayer in which one does not recite the Mother of the Book (Um al-Qur'an) is deficient," three times, incomplete. It was said to Abu Huraira: "We are behind the imam." He said: "Recite it to yourself. For I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah, Exalted is He, said: 'I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant into two halves. And for My servant is what he asks. When the servant says: ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿, Allah, Exalted is He, says: 'My servant has praised Me.' And when he says: ﴾The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿, Allah, Exalted is He, says: 'My servant has glorified Me.' And when he says: ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿, He says: 'My servant has exalted Me (and He said once: 'My servant has entrusted Me').' When he says: ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿, He says: 'This is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is what he asks.' When he says: ﴾Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray﴿, He says: 'This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asks.'" And in another narration: "These are for My servant, and for My servant is what he asks(6)."
Surah Al-Fatiha teaches us how to interact with Allah. Its beginning is a praise of Allah, Exalted is He, ﴾الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العَالَمِين﴿, and its end is a supplication to Allah for guidance ﴾اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ﴿. If we divide the letters of Surah Al-Fatiha, we find that half of its letters are praise (63 letters) from ﴾الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ﴿ to ﴾وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ﴿, and half of its letters are supplication (63 letters) from ﴾اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ﴿ to ﴾وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ﴿. It is as if it affirms the sacred hadith: "I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant into two halves, and My servant will have what he asks for." Glory be to Allah, the Mighty, the Wise, who has decreed all things.
Then Abu Ubaid said: And Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Amwi narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Abi Mulayka, from Umm Salama who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pause in his recitation; ﴾In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment.﴿ And likewise(7), meaning he would recite the verse and then pause, then recite the one that follows.
Omar ibn Abdulaziz (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked why he pauses after each verse of Surah Al-Fatiha, and he replied, "So that I may enjoy the response of my Lord"(8). Oh Allah, how beautiful it is for this supplication, this prayer, to circulate between the servant and his Lord. The heart indeed becomes dry and shivers from the awe of the moment when the servant stands before his Master, his Lord, and his King, the Lord of the seven heavens and the earths, conversing with Him, and the Lord of the worlds responds to him, bringing him a promise from Allah, the Exalted, that he will have what he has asked for!!
And He is the One capable of granting by a command between the letter "kaf" and "nun": "Be" and it is!!
He has what he asks for when he seeks His help with complete and comprehensive reliance, and he has what he asks for when he requests guidance to his Lord's straight path!
__________
(6) Muslim on prayer (395), Tirmidhi on the interpretation of the Qur'an (2953), Ahmad (2/286), Malik on the call to prayer (189).
(7) Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Tirmidhi from the hadith of Ibn Jurayj. Al-Tirmidhi said: It is strange and its chain of narration is not connected, meaning that Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah ibn Abi Mulaykah did not hear it from Umm Salamah, but rather narrated it from Ya'la ibn Mamlak, as previously mentioned. Ahmad also narrated it, and al-Daraqutni said: Its chain of narration is authentic. And Allah knows best. Tafsir Ibn Kathir.
(8) Linguistic Touches by Dr. Fadil al-Samarrai


[Page 4]

The surah begins with the praise of Allah, then His glorification, followed by the declaration of dependence on Him, the submission before Him, the request for assistance from Him, and the seeking of guidance through Him. Thus, half of it is a gathering of praise, and the other half is a gathering of needs. It introduces people to their Lord, with His names and attributes, and informs them of the relationship between them and their Lord: ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿. It guides them to the path of their Lord: the straight path, and it informs them about those who have followed the straight path of their Lord and those who have deviated from it.
The Opening (Al-Fatiha) is called the Great Qur'an because it encompasses all the sciences of the Qur'an, as it includes the praise of Allah, Exalted is He, with descriptions of His perfection and majesty, the command to worship and to be sincere in it, the acknowledgment of one’s inability to perform any of it except with His assistance, and the supplication to Him for guidance to the straight path and for the sufficiency of the conditions of the transgressors, as well as the clarification of the consequences for the deniers.
Al-Fatiha contains the concepts of monotheism (tawhid), worship, reliance (tawakkul), admonition, and reminder(9) and the methodologies of life, and it teaches the question, as it encompasses a range of meanings of the Qur'an from theoretical rulings and practical laws. The sciences include monotheism, attributes, prophecies, admonitions, parables, wisdom, and stories, while the rulings pertain either to the actions of the limbs, which are acts of worship and transactions, or to the actions of the hearts, meaning the intellect, which is the refinement of morals and the etiquette of the Sharia. All of these meanings are included in Al-Fatiha through indication, implication, or entailment. Thus, ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿ encompasses all attributes of perfection for which Allah deserves to have praise confined to Him, based on what the phrase ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿ indicates regarding the exclusivity of praise to Him. And ﴾Lord of the worlds﴿ encompasses all attributes of action and creation according to those who affirm them, and ﴾The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿ encompasses the foundations of legislation that relate to mercy for the accountable beings, and ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ encompasses the conditions of the Day of Resurrection, and ﴾You alone we worship﴿ gathers the meaning of religion and law, while ﴾And You alone we ask for help﴿ gathers the meaning of sincerity to Allah in actions(10). In the surah, there is an explanation of the conduct of the straight path and insight into the ranks of the blessed and the abodes of the wretched, the former being inferred from the phrase ﴾Guide us﴿; and insight into the ranks of the blessed and the abodes of the wretched is derived from the phrase ﴾Those upon whom You have bestowed favor﴿, etc. In it, there is a promise and a warning, thus both are included(11). The parables and stories are intended for admonition, as well as supplication and praise and teaching the question. These are the general meanings of the Qur'anic text in summary, both in terms of correspondence and entailment. It can be simply stated that it encompasses four types of knowledge that are the basis of religion: first, the science of fundamentals and its components, which is the knowledge of Allah, Exalted is He, and His attributes, referred to in the phrase ﴾Lord of the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿, and the knowledge of
__________
(9) Tafsir al-Qurtubi
(10) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir by Ibn Ashur.
(11) That is in ﴾Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray﴿; it contains a promise and a warning, so whoever knows must act accordingly or it is obligatory upon them.


[Page 5]

Prophethood is what is intended by His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾You have bestowed favor upon them﴿, and the Hereafter is alluded to by His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿. The second is the science of branches, and its foundation is acts of worship, which is what is meant by His saying ﴾You alone we worship﴿. These are physical and financial acts, such as prayer and zakat, which are dependent on matters of livelihood, such as transactions and marriages, and they must be governed (12). Thus, the branches are established upon the roots. The third is the science by which perfection is attained, which is the science of ethics, and its highest goal is reaching the Divine Presence, and following the straight path in the ranks of those high stations. This is indicated by His saying ﴾You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path﴿. The fourth is the science of stories and news about the past nations, both the happy and the wretched, and what is connected to them regarding promise and warning, which is what is meant by His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾You have bestowed favor upon them, not of those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who have gone astray﴿ (13). We benefit from His saying, ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿, as it clarifies the methodologies of life that make life upright.
__________
(12) This wonderful insight from the scholar al-Alusi, may Allah have mercy on him, connects the righteousness of livelihood with the necessity of governance, and that the righteousness of acts of worship and transactions cannot be achieved except through a state that organizes the interests of the people. He made it one of the main branches of knowledge that he derived from Surah Al-Fatiha, indicating his profound understanding, may Allah have mercy on him.
(13) Spirit of the Meanings, Tafsir al-Alusi


[Page 6]

The Virtues of Surah Al-Fatiha
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, nothing has been revealed in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qur'an like it, and it is indeed the seven oft-repeated verses that Allah, Exalted is He, has given me" (14). This is a sound and authentic hadith.
Ibn Abbas said: "While the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was with Gabriel, he heard a sound from above him. Gabriel raised his gaze to the sky and said: 'This is a door that has been opened from the heavens, which has never been opened before.' Then an angel descended from it and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: 'Rejoice in two lights that you have been given, which no prophet before you has been given: the opening of the Book and the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah; you will not recite a letter from either of them except that you will be granted it'” (15). Authentic.
Abu Huraira said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever prays a prayer in which he does not recite the Opening of the Book, it is incomplete and not complete" (16).
Ibn al-Arabi said: "We have narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and have transmitted to you, {that he said: Allah, Exalted is He, said: 'O son of Adam, I have revealed to you seven verses, three for Me and three for you, and one that is between Me and you; as for the three that are for Me: ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ and as for the three that are for you: ﴾Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray﴿ and as for the one that is between Me and you: ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿} meaning: from the servant is worship, and from Allah, Exalted is He, is assistance" (17).
And from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): A group of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out on a journey, and when they stopped at a tribe of the Arabs, they asked for hospitality, but they refused to host them. The chief of that tribe was bitten by a snake, and they tried everything to help him, but nothing was of benefit. Some of them said: "If you go to those men who have settled among you, perhaps one of them has something." So they went to them and said: "O group, our chief has been bitten, and we have tried everything to help him, but nothing has worked. Does anyone among you have anything?" One of them said: "Yes, by Allah, I am a healer, but by Allah, we asked you for hospitality and you did not host us, so I will not heal him until you give us a reward." They agreed on a flock of sheep, and he went and began to spit and recite: "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds," until it was as if he had been released from a restraint, and he walked away without any ailment (18).
__________
(14) Bukhari, Tafsir al-Qur'an (4427), Tirmidhi, Fada'il al-Qur'an (2875), Nasai, Al-Iftitah (914), Abu Dawood, Al-Salat (1457), Ahmad (2/357), Darimi, Fada'il al-Qur'an (3373).
(15) Muslim, Salat al-Musafirin wa Qasruha (806), Nasai, Al-Iftitah (912).
(16) Muslim, Al-Salat (395), Tirmidhi, Tafsir al-Qur'an (2953), Nasai, Al-Iftitah (909), Abu Dawood, Al-Salat (821), Ibn Majah, Iqamat al-Salat wa al-Sunnah fiha (838), Ahmad (2/286), Malik, Al-Nida' li al-Salat (189).
(17) Ahkam al-Qur'an by Ibn al-Arabi, and narrated by al-Tabarani.
(18) "Without any ailment" means: without pain or affliction.


[Page 7]

They reconciled with him, and some of them said: "Distribute [the wealth]." But the one who performed the incantation said: "Do not do that until we go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and inform him of what happened, then we will see what he commands us." So they went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned it to him. He said: "And how do you know it is an incantation? You have succeeded; distribute [the wealth] and give me a share with you."(19)
__________
(19) Bukhari, Medicine (5417), Muslim, Peace (2201), Tirmidhi, Medicine (2063), Abu Dawood, Transactions (3418), Ibn Majah, Trades (2156), Ahmad (3/50).


[Page 8]

Some subtleties of Surah Al-Fatiha:
The beginning of the surah ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿, and these are the first words of the Mushaf, which correspond to the last words of Surah An-Nas ﴾From among jinn and mankind﴿. Allah, Exalted is He, began with the worlds and concluded with jinn and mankind, meaning that this book contains guidance for all of Allah's creatures from jinn and mankind, and is not just for humans or for Muslims alone.
The last words of Surah Al-Fatiha are the statement of Allah ﴾Not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray﴿, and Surah Al-Baqarah follows it, discussing those who have evoked anger (the Children of Israel) and how they disobeyed their Lord and Messenger. Surah Al-Imran then speaks about those who are astray (the Christians).
The last words of Surah Al-Fatiha, which are a supplication, are connected to the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah ﴾Guidance for the righteous﴿, as if ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿ in Al-Fatiha is the guidance mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah.
The rules of Tajweed in Surah Al-Fatiha are made easy, and there are none of the difficult rules; this, and Allah knows best, is to facilitate its recitation and memorization for all people, whether they are Arabs or non-Arabs (20).
It contains great principles: the first is the purification from nullification and polytheism as included in ﴾You alone we worship﴿. The second is the abandonment of thoughts of self-sufficiency by disavowing strength and power in the face of His greatness, as included in ﴾And You alone we ask for help﴿. The third is the desire to adorn oneself with guidance and righteousness as included in ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿. The fourth is the desire to embody good examples as included in ﴾The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor﴿. The fifth is the concern for safety from clear misguidance as included in ﴾Not of those who have evoked [Your] anger﴿. The sixth is the concern for the safety of their thinking from mingling with the doubts of falsehood disguised as truth, which is called misguidance, because misguidance is a mistake of the intended path, as included in ﴾Nor of those who are astray﴿.
The style of Al-Fatiha establishes four rules for the introduction: the first rule is to be concise in the introduction so that the souls of the listeners do not become weary from the long wait for the intended purpose, which is evident in Al-Fatiha, and to set a precedent for speakers so that they do not prolong the introduction lest they be attributed to stammering; for the longer the introduction, the shorter the purpose becomes. This shows the reason for placing it before the long surahs, even though it is a short surah. The second is to indicate the intended purpose, which is called the eloquence of the beginning, as this prepares the listeners to hear the details that will be presented to them, making them ready to receive it if they are among those who are receptive, or to critique and complete it if they are at that level. This indicates the speaker's mastery of the purpose and confidence in the correctness of their opinion on it, thereby alerting the listeners to their awareness, and it is a precedent for speakers to be aware of the purposes of their speech.
__________
(20) Fadil Al-Samarrai


[Page 9]

The opening (al-Fatiha) is called the Mother of the Qur'an for several reasons. The third reason is that it serves as an introduction composed of concise expressions, as the scholars of rhetoric have clarified when discussing the contexts in which a speaker should be eloquent. The fourth reason is that it begins with praise of Allah.(21).
﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿, why is the worldly life not mentioned? Whether He is the Master or the Sovereign, why does it not say Master of the Day of Judgment and the worldly life? First, it has already said ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿, so He is their Master and Sovereign in this world, and we derive this from the meaning of Lord, which is the owner, and this encompasses the worldly life. ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ refers to the Master of the Day of recompense, meaning the authority over the preceding days of action - and action occurs in this world - likewise, the root of the word "religion" (din) signifies a type of submission and humility. Thus, religion means obedience; it is said, "He submitted to him" (dan lahu) meaning he accompanied and submitted and obeyed. A people are obedient (qawm din), meaning they are submissive and compliant; all creatures will submit to meet their Lord for reckoning of their deeds, as you reap what you sow. Therefore, the choice of the term "religion" after Allah's statement ﴾The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿ serves to remind humanity of the aspect of severity, submission, and reckoning before the Lord of the worlds, so that they may do good deeds in this world. Ibn Ashur said: When Allah described Himself as ﴾Lord of the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿, this indicates His complete kindness towards His creations in all their states, and then it serves as a reminder that His actions in the worlds and phases are actions of mercy when considered. The actions of command and prohibition, expressed through legislation aimed at preserving the interests of people, both general and specific, most of those legislations involve removing the obligated person from the call of desires that they find pleasing to follow, and in removing them from it, there is a coercion and hardship. It is feared that these preceding attributes in the opening of the Book might lighten the burden of disobedience for those commanded to act and stir their hopes for forgiveness for their negligence, leading them to be consumed by hope and rely on what they know of Lordship and confirmed mercy, so they do not fear the consequences of neglecting obligations. Therefore, it was necessary to follow this with a mention that He is the Master on the Day of Judgment.
Thus, the description of Master or Owner was chosen here, added to the Day of Judgment. As for "Master," it indicates the establishment of justice and the absence of leniency in it, for the role of a king is to manage the welfare of the subjects and protect them, and that is why people have established kings over themselves. If it were said "Lord of the Day of Judgment," it would provide an opportunity for the corrupt to find in the nature of the Lord mercy and forgiveness. As for "Owner," it implies the establishment of recompense in the most appropriate manner for the actions that are rewarded.(22).
Why did it say ﴾Day of Judgment﴿ and not the Day of Resurrection? In addition to what we mentioned earlier, "religion" means recompense, and it encompasses reckoning, obedience, coercion, and governance, all of which are meanings of religion, and the word "religion" is more suitable for the expression.
__________
(21) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir by Ibn Ashur
(22) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir with modifications


[Page 10]

Rabb of the worlds, and it is more suitable for the accountable (the religion is for these accountable ones), for it is more appropriate than the Day of Judgment, as the Judgment Day contains matters that do not pertain to recompense, whereas religion signifies recompense. Hence, it is more fitting to choose the word "religion" over "Judgment Day."
The surah begins with ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment﴿, and all of this is in the style of addressing with the pronoun of the absent, then it shifts to direct address, that is, with the pronoun of the present addressee, in His saying ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿. If we were to measure this against the context of the initial verses, it would have been more appropriate to say "We worship You and we seek help from You." So why did the Exalted One not say this? One of the rhetorical devices is "iltifat" (23), which is the transition of speech from addressing with the pronoun of the addressee or the absent or the speaker to another form. This alone is considered a mark of eloquence, and Ibn Jinni called it the courage of the Arabic language because this change renews the listener's engagement. If a subtle consideration that suits the transition is added, it becomes one of the rhetorical devices and is counted among the treasures by the eloquent Arabs. There are countless instances of it in the Qur'an with precise appropriateness in the transition; the general benefit of iltifat is to invigorate the listener's activity and stimulate the mind to listen and pay attention. As for the benefit required by the context, when the eloquent speaker shifts, this transition has a benefit beyond the general one. An example of this is: ﴾He it is who causes you to travel on land and sea; until when you are in the ships and they sail with them with a good wind, and they rejoice in it, there comes a stormy wind, and the waves come to them from every place, and they think they are surrounded, they call upon Allah, making religion pure for Him. If You save us from this, we will surely be among the grateful﴿ (22) (Yunus). He did not say "and we sailed with you," as there is a shift here because when they boarded the sea and the ships sailed with them, they became absent and were no longer being addressed (24). And when
__________
(23) Iltifat: It is the transition in speech from one pronoun to another. For example, you address someone with the pronoun of the absent (he) and then shift the speech using the pronoun of the addressee (you). It is a custom among the Arabs to address the present and then shift the address to the absent, or to address the absent and then shift it to the present. Also, it is part of iltifat to address the addressee and then return the address to someone else, such as: ﴾But if they do not respond to you﴿, where the address is to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then he says to the disbelievers: ﴾Know that what has been revealed is by the knowledge of Allah﴿. This is indicated by His saying: ﴾So are you Muslims?﴿ The secret of its beauty is the stimulation of the mind to question why it has shifted from one address to another, and to draw attention to the importance of the place where the pronoun differs, and to alleviate boredom from the monotony of speech in a single style.
(24) The text presents us with a vivid image of this human being who is heedless of his Lord, content with the worldly life. The first thing we notice is this shift at the beginning "He causes you to travel, you were," then it shifts to speaking with the pronoun of the absent ﴾and they sailed with them﴿. As soon as a person flows in the torrent of life, he becomes increasingly distant from his Lord (flowing). Here, he boarded the sea, enjoying the blessings of Allah, who prepared the land for him to dwell in and made the sea subservient to him. Boarding the sea may be in search of fish or sustenance, or traveling across the sea in search of comfort and ease of living. Then, feel with me the shadows cast by ﴾and they sailed with them with a good wind, and they rejoiced in it﴿. The ship sails swiftly towards a world of comfort, joy, and ease, and the wind is favorable, and the sea embraces the ship like a caring mother. Did you not see how the wind is coupled with the preposition "with," as if to say that the sea pulls the ship by its hand out of excessive fear for it? This instills a sense of tranquility in the soul – and this is a parable of the worldly life that they were pleased with and found security in, so they became heedless of the meeting with their Lord and His signs. I say: that state leaves the imagination to wander in the realm of dreams, and while they are in such a state, a stormy wind strikes their ship, casting them from a world of comfort, joy, and tranquility into a world of anxiety, fear, and turmoil. A wind that roars, making the waves like mountains, causing the ships to become like feathers in the raging wind, the ships are about to capsize, their hearts are torn, and they cling to the sides of the ship. The waves strike them harshly in their faces, throwing them against the ship's rudder, they are surrounded, death comes to them from every direction. Thus, the iltifat here has a remarkable effect in the eloquence of the context, for after a person is enjoying the care of Allah in this worldly life ﴾He causes you to travel﴿, he forgets the favor of the One who cared for him and becomes increasingly distant from Him ﴾and they sailed with them﴿!!


[Page 11]

Said He, Exalted is He, ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿. He is always present, thus addressed with the address of the present addressee. The speech from the beginning of the Opening (Al-Fatiha) to ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ is all praise for Allah, the Exalted, and praise can be given in presence and absence; however, praise in absence is more sincere and appropriate. As for ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿, it is a supplication, and supplication in presence is more appropriate and effective. Thus, praise in absence is more appropriate, and supplication in presence is more appropriate, and worship is performed in the presence and is more appropriate (25).
Another matter regarding the shift in address here is that when a person begins to pray, he usually comes with his mind preoccupied with worldly matters. The prayer gradually leads him towards humility until he reaches the sincerity of worshiping Allah alone and the sincerity of seeking help from Allah alone. His heart has then brought to mind the meeting with his Lord, so it is fitting that he addresses Him with the pronoun of the addressee after having addressed Him with the pronoun of the absent.
Another point is to achieve the benefit of sincerity in servitude and in seeking help, and for this reason, the pronoun in both is that of the addressee.
Why did He choose the word "the path" (as-sirat) instead of "the way" or "the route"? If we observe the linguistic structure of "the path," it is on the pattern of (fa'al with a kasra on the fa), which is one of the patterns indicating comprehensiveness, like a belt, a strap, a cover, and a bedding. This form indicates comprehensiveness, unlike the word "the way," which does not convey the same meaning. "The path" indicates that it is wide and spacious, accommodating all who tread upon it, while the word "way" is on the pattern of fa'il, meaning that which is tread upon, and "route" is on the pattern of fa'il, and we say "the road has become wide" if many people walk upon it, but its form does not indicate comprehensiveness. Thus, the word "the path" indicates comprehensiveness and spaciousness, and this is in the essence of the linguistic structure. (Al-Zamakhshari said in his book Al-Kashaf that "the path" is from "sarat," as if it swallows the routes whenever those who tread upon it walk in it, as if it swallows them due to its vastness).
The conclusion of Surah Al-Fatiha is appropriate for everything mentioned in the Surah from beginning to end. Whoever does not praise Allah, the Exalted, is indeed under His wrath and misguided, and whoever does not believe in the Day of Judgment and that Allah, Exalted is He, is ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ and its King, and whoever does not dedicate worship and seeking help to Allah, the Exalted, and does not find guidance to the straight path; they are all under His wrath and misguided (26).
Let us see where ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿ is mentioned in full in the Qur'an: ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿ is at the beginning of Al-Fatiha after the Basmala, meaning the beginning of action; and at the end of Surah As-Saffat after discussing the universe and what it contains until the Day of Resurrection, which is the end of life ﴾Glory be to Your Lord, the Lord of Might, above what they describe﴿.
__________
(25) Fadl al-Samarrai, Stylistic Touches, with significant modifications.
(26) Fadl al-Samarrai, Stylistic Touches.


[Page 12]

(180) And peace be upon the messengers (181) And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds (182)﴿ The end; and likewise at the end of Surah Az-Zumar, after the Day of Resurrection, ﴾And you will see the angels surrounding the Throne, glorifying the praise of their Lord, and it has been judged between them with truth, and it is said, "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds" (75)﴿ and Al-An'am ﴾But when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We opened to them the gates of everything, until when they rejoiced in what they were given, We seized them suddenly, and behold, they were in despair (44) So the end of the people who wronged was cut off, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds (45)﴿ Thus, it is mentioned completely in situations such as: the end of life, the beginning of Al-Fatiha (the beginning of the Book of Allah), and at the end of supplication. ﴾Their call therein is, "Exalted are You, O Allah," and their greeting therein is, "Peace," and the last of their call is, "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds" (10)﴿ This is on the Day of Resurrection in Paradise. And in Surah Ghafir ﴾He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity except Him, so invoke Him, making religion sincere for Him. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds (65)﴿ Here in this world, so the meaning is as if: praise be to Allah in this world and the Hereafter. That is, ﴾Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿ at the beginning and at the end.(27). Therefore, the supplicant should be keen to conclude his supplication with ﴾Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿.
Interpretation of Seeking Refuge
The Lord of the worlds, Exalted is He, commanded seeking refuge when reading the Noble Qur'an, as He, the Exalted, said: ﴾So when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed devil (98)﴿, then afterwards the reader begins with Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim. So seeking refuge from the devil by saying: "I seek refuge with Allah," indicates the negation of what is not appropriate in words, actions, and beliefs, and saying: "In the name of Allah," indicates what is appropriate in words, actions, and beliefs. You will notice the style of negation before affirmation in many instances, as you say: "There is no deity," before you say: "except Allah." You negate and disavow every deity and every partner in the universe that could rise to the rank of divinity. Then after this negation, you follow it with affirmation by submitting, believing, and being certain that the only deity worthy of worship, the one who governs this entire universe, is Allah alone, without any partner. You also find this negation in Allah's statement: ﴾So whoever disbelieves in Taghut﴿, then follows it with affirmation in His statement: ﴾and believes in Allah﴿, as a sign of the necessity to abandon all methods of disbelief, polytheism, and atheism, and to disavow them before submitting, yielding, accepting, and believing in the methods of truth. For it is the right of this truth, upon which the heavens and the earth were established, that it should not be mixed with falsehood, nor should it be tainted with impurity or filth that corrupts it.
The majority of scholars hold that seeking refuge is recommended before reading the Qur'an, as stated by Ibn Kathir. This is the first formula for seeking refuge, to say: "I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed devil." Muslim narrated in his Sahih: From Adi ibn Thabit from Sulaiman ibn Surad, he said: Two men were insulting each other in the presence of the Prophet. So he made
__________
(27) Dr. Hussam Al-Nuaimi with significant modifications.


[Page 13]

One of them has red eyes and his veins swell. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I know a word that if he says it, what he is feeling will go away: I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed devil." The man said: "Do you see any madness in me?".
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Sahih: from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri who said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand up at night to begin his prayer and say the takbir, he would say: 'Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You, blessed is Your name, and exalted is Your majesty, and there is no deity but You.' Then he would say: 'There is no deity but Allah' three times, then he would say: 'I seek refuge with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed devil from his madness(28) and his pride(29),' then he would say: 'Allah is the Greatest' three times, then he would say: 'I seek refuge with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed devil, from his madness, his pride, and his breath(30).'"
Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾And if an evil whisper from the devil should provoke you, seek refuge with Allah. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing (200)﴿.
From Haywah ibn Shurayh: "I met 'Uqbah ibn Muslim and said to him: 'I have been informed that you narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he entered the mosque, he would say: I seek refuge with Allah, the Almighty, and with His Noble Face, and His Eternal Sovereignty from the accursed devil.' He said: 'Is that all?'(31) I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'When he says that, the devil says: He has been protected from me for the rest of the day.'”(32).
Al-Raghib al-Isfahani said: "Seeking refuge (al-'awdh) is turning to another for protection and relying on him. It is said: So-and-so sought refuge with so-and-so, and from it is His saying: ﴾I seek refuge with Allah that I should be among the ignorant﴿ [al-Baqarah/67], ﴾And indeed, I have sought refuge with my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me﴿ [al-Dukhan/20], ﴾Say: I seek refuge with the Lord﴿ [al-Falaq/1], ﴾Indeed, I seek refuge with the Most Merciful﴿ [Maryam/18]. And I sought refuge with him by Allah, I protect him. He said: ﴾Indeed, I protect her by You﴿ [Aali Imran/36], and His saying: ﴾Far from Allah﴿ [Yusuf/79], meaning: we seek refuge in Him and seek His help not to do that, for that is an evil we avoid engaging in. And the 'awdhah is what one seeks refuge with from something, and hence it is said that amulets and incantations are called 'awdhah. And he protected him: if he shielded him.
And stoning (al-rajm) is throwing with stones. It is said: He was stoned, so he is stoned. Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾If you do not desist, O Noah, you will surely be among the stoned﴿ [al-Shu'ara/116], meaning: the killed in the worst manner. And He said: ﴾And were it not for your people, we would have stoned you﴿ [Hud/91],(33) and 'rajim' is a passive participle meaning stoned, like 'sa'ir' meaning burning.
__________
(28) His madness: death, meaning insanity (mentioned by al-Azhari in Tahdhib al-Lughah) and al-Nawawi in Nihayat al-Arab in the arts of literature.
(29) His pride: arrogance (mentioned by al-Azhari in Tahdhib al-Lughah) said al-Raghib: blowing wind into something.
(30) His breath: poetry (mentioned by al-Azhari in Tahdhib al-Lughah) which is condemned for evil purposes, or magic. Al-Raghib said: blowing is spitting a small amount of saliva, which is less than spitting, and the blowing of the healer and the magician is that he blows into his knots. Allah, Exalted is He, said: "And from the evil of the blowers in knots" [al-Falaq/4] and from it, the snake blows venom.
(31) Meaning, is this all that he said, peace be upon him? When the questioner said: Yes, he completed the narration in full.
(32) Narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan.
(33) Al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Mufradat Alfaz al-Qur'an.


[Page 14]

The seeking refuge (al-isti'adhah) comes with the meaning: I seek protection in Allah, and I take refuge in Him, and I seek His help, and I refrain from the disliked through Him, and I cling to Him, and I take shelter with Him. Ibn Kathir said: "The seeking refuge is for repelling evil, and the taking shelter(34) is for seeking good."(35)
The term "shaytan" (شيطان) is derived, according to the majority of language scholars, from "shatana" (شطن) meaning "to be distant." It is said that a well is "shatun" (شطون), meaning its depth and extent are far.
It is said that it is derived from "shat" (شاط) which means to rage and become intensely angry, to perish, to burn, and to be nullified; the first is more likely(36).
Ibn Kathir said in his discussion about seeking refuge: "It is seeking assistance from Allah and acknowledging His power, and for the servant, it is an admission of weakness and inability to resist this evident inner enemy, whom none can prevent or repel except Allah, who created him(37), and he does not accept flattery nor can he be appeased with kindness(38)." There is no doubt that his danger is immense, for he may plot against a person and gradually lead him astray if he finds a way to do so, until he causes him to fall into disbelief, and he has no power over the sincere servants of Allah. Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾He said, "My Lord, because You have led me astray, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them in the earth, and I will surely lead them all astray, (39) except Your chosen servants among them." (40) He said, "This is a path [of return] to Me that is straight. (41) Indeed, My servants, no authority will you have over them, except for those who follow you of the deviators." (42)﴿ ﴾And when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed devil. (98) Indeed, he has no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord. (99) His authority is only over those who take him as an ally and those who, through him, commit shirk. (100)﴿
The word "Satan" comes from "shatn," which means an extended rope, indicating that this Satan extends towards you, so be cautious of him. However, so that a person does not exaggerate in fearing him, the term "the accursed" is used. This description is the most appropriate for Satan in this context, meaning not just "the accursed" but rather "the stoned," so that you can imagine his image as he is being stoned, as if he is preoccupied with himself. Thus, the word "Satan"
__________
(34) The poet al-Mutanabbi said: "O You whom I seek refuge in for what I hope for, and whom I take refuge with from whom I fear."
Ibn Manzur said in Lisan: "Al-maladh is like al-ma'adh."
(35) The Essence of the Interpretation of Seeking Refuge, the Basmala, and the Opening of the Book, by Dr. Sulayman al-Lahim, on the interpretation of al-Tabari, al-Muharrar al-Wajiz, al-Tafsir al-Qayyim, al-Nukat wa al-Uyun, and the clarification of the aspects of the seven readings, as well as the vocabulary in the rare words of the Qur'an, Lisan al-Arab, and Zاد al-Masir.
(36) The book of Sibawayh, the refinement of language, the standards of language, and the essence in the interpretation of seeking refuge. Al-Tabari said in his interpretation: Abu Ja'far said: The one who is rebellious (mutamarrid) is called a devil (shaytan) because of his deviation from the morals and actions of his kind and his distance from good. It has been said that it is derived from the saying of one who said: "My house has strayed (shatana) from your house" - meaning: it has distanced itself. From this is the saying of the Nabigha of Banu Dhubyān: "Suhad has distanced herself from you, a far-off (shatūn) place... so she has departed, and my heart is captive to her";
And "al-shatun" means distant. So it is as if the devil - according to this interpretation - is derived from "shatan". And what indicates that this is the case is the saying of Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt:
Any shore that disobeys him, he will bind it... then it will be cast into prison and shackles.
And if it were to be "fa'lan," from "shat (to be distant)," he would have said "any shait," but he said: "any shatan," because it is from "shatan (to be far away), he is shatan."
(37) ﴾And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion﴿ (36), and the status and power of the devil diminishes and becomes insignificant when a person is connected to his Lord, Exalted is He, and dedicates his religion sincerely to Allah, so the devil cannot find a way against him. ﴾Indeed, the plot of the devil is weak﴿.
(38) While the devils among humans may be appeased with wealth or managed with kindness.


[Page 15]

It contains a rope extended to you so that you do not become negligent regarding it, and the word "stoned" so that fear of it does not reach an immense level; it is indeed a stoned (rajim) one. (39)
__________
(39) Dr. Hussam al-Nuaimi.


[Page 16]

Interpretation of the Basmala
As for the Basmala, its wording is: ﴾In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿, and the letter "alif" in "bism" is omitted both in pronunciation and writing, as a simplification due to frequent usage, and it is only omitted with the divine name "Allah" and is retained in other instances, such as His saying: ﴾Read in the name of your Lord who created﴿(40).
Beginning in the name of Allah is the etiquette that Allah revealed to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the very start of the Quran, by consensus, which is His saying: ﴾Read in the name of your Lord...﴿.(41)
When you begin everything in the name of Allah, it is as if you place Allah by your side to assist you. And from the mercy of Allah, Exalted is He, He taught us to begin everything in His name, for Allah is the name that encompasses all attributes of perfection, Exalted is He. Actions typically require multiple attributes; thus, when you start a task, you need Allah's power, assistance, and mercy. If Allah, Exalted is He, had not informed us of the name that encompasses all attributes, we would have to specify the attributes we need, such as saying, "In the name of Allah the Strong," "In the name of Allah the Provider," "In the name of Allah the Responsive," "In the name of Allah the Capable," "In the name of Allah the Beneficial," and so on with other names and attributes we wish to seek help from. However, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has made us say "In the name of Allah," which encompasses all these attributes. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Every matter of importance that does not begin with 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' is severed" (42).
The meaning of "severed" is that it is cut off at the tail, indicating an incomplete action with something missing (43).
The manuscripts unanimously begin with ﴾In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿, but the scholars differ regarding it. Malik said: It is not an ayah (verse) from either Al-Fatiha or any other surah except from An-Naml specifically. Al-Shafi'i said: It is an ayah only from Al-Fatiha. Ibn Abbas said: It is an ayah from every surah.
Malik's evidence is what is authentically reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: "A surah has been revealed to me that is not found in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Furqan like it," then he said: ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿, and he did not mention the Basmala. Likewise, it is also authentically reported that Allah says: "I have divided prayer between Me and My servant into two halves. The servant says: ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿," starting with it without the Basmala.
Al-Shafi'i's evidence is what is authentically reported that "the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite ﴾In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿."
__________
(40) Al-Labab fi Tafsir al-Isti'adhah wa al-Basmala wa Fatiha al-Kitab, Ma'ani al-Quran wa I'rabuhu for Al-Farra, and Mushkil I'rab al-Quran for Maki.
(41) Fi Dhilal al-Quran by Sayyid Qutb.
(42) The well-known narration in this regard is the hadith of Abu Huraira, narrated by Qura from Al-Zuhri from Abu Salama from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) in the wording "Whatever matter does not begin with praise of Allah is severed," narrated by Abu Awanah in his Sahih and by the compilers of the Sunan. Ahmad has a version from this chain: "Whatever does not begin with the mention of Allah is severed or cut off," and Al-Khatib in Al-Jami' from the route of Mubashir ibn Ismail from Al-Zuhri in the wording "Whatever does not begin with 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' is severed," and the narrator from Mubashir is unknown.
(43) Muhammad Metwally Al-Sharawi.


[Page 17]

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. The argument of Ibn Abbas is the establishment of the basmala (the phrase "In the name of Allah") with every surah in the mushaf (the written copy of the Qur'an), with the companions being careful not to include anything in the mushaf except the words of Allah, and they said: "What is between the two covers is the word of Allah."
And when you begin the first surah, you say "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" (Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim) except for Surah al-Bara'ah, and the discussion on that will follow. And when you begin a part of a surah, you have the option according to the majority.
And when you complete a surah and begin another, the reciters differ regarding the basmala (the phrase "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful") and whether to omit it.
As for its ruling in prayer, Malik said: it is disliked in obligatory prayers but not in voluntary ones. Al-Shafi'i said: it is obligatory, and the prayer is invalidated by omitting it; he recites it aloud in the loud prayer and silently in the silent prayer. Abu Hanifa holds the same view, except that he recites it silently in all cases. Malik's evidence is that it is not a verse: what is in the authentic hadith from Anas, who said: "I prayed behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, and they would begin with ﴾Alhamdu lillahi rabb al-alamin﴿" and they did not mention the basmala at all. Al-Shafi'i's evidence is that it is, in his view, a verse: what has been reported in the hadith about reciting it as mentioned earlier(44).
The esteemed professor Abu al-Harith Nur al-Din al-Tamimi, may Allah reward him abundantly, said:
A Muslim cannot differ with another Muslim on any matter of belief as long as it is definitively established, and there is no disagreement between them on its certainty. If there is a disagreement regarding its certainty or probability, then with the occurrence of the disagreement (if the disagreement is justified), it naturally descends from the level of certainty to the level of probability. Muslims have disagreed on whether the Basmala (the phrase "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful") is a verse in Al-Fatiha (the Opening) or not; thus, the mere existence of disagreement regarding the Basmala indicates that it is not a verse. If it were a verse like the saying of Allah, Exalted is He, ﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿, the Muslims would not have disagreed about it. They did not disagree on the definitively established beliefs; for example, they did not disagree on Surah Qaf or any of its verses being part of the Noble Qur'an. It has been concluded that Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Tafsir (exegesis): "The fifth: the correct opinion among these statements is the one of Malik, because the Qur'an is not established by reports of individuals, but rather its path is the definitive, established transmission that there is no disagreement about." Ibn al-Arabi said: "It suffices you that the disagreement of people regarding it indicates that it is not part of the Qur'an, and the Qur'an is not subject to disagreement." The authentic reports that are free from any criticism indicate that the Basmala is not a verse of Al-Fatiha or any other surah except in Surah An-Naml alone.(45)
__________
(44) The Interpretation of the Vast Sea by Ibn Ajibah.
(45) The Tafsir of al-Qurtubi.


[Page 18]

In the name of Allah, the ب (ba) is for seeking assistance(46), meaning I read in the name of Allah, or I perform ablution seeking His help, while being optimistic and seeking blessings(47).
The term "name" is derived from "wasm," which means a mark, because a name is a mark for that which it is designated. This is the view of the Kufans. As for the Basrans and most grammarians, they hold that the name is derived from "sama," meaning elevation and height, because it elevates the named entity, distinguishing it from others. Al-Nasafi said: "Its derivation is from 'sama,' which is elevation, because naming is an exaltation of the named and a glorification of its mention." The view of the Kufans is more apparent in terms of meaning, but the inflection and pluralization of the name strengthen the opinion of the Basrans, as it is diminutive form is "sumayy," and if it were from "sima," its root would be "wasm," and its plural would be "awsam," and its diminutive would be "wusaym," because pluralization and diminutive forms return things to their origins.(48)
The name is the term that denotes, by convention, something that exists in reality if it is tangible, and in the minds if it is abstract, without being affected in its structure by time. Its meaning is the named thing(49)
Allah
And ﴾Allah﴿ is a proper noun for "the Lord" (Rabb), Exalted is He, specific to Him, and it is not permissible to name anyone else with it. Sibawayh said, "It is the most well-known of the proper nouns." It is the root of His beautiful names and indicates all of them, as well as His supreme attributes. In fact, it has been said that it is the Greatest Name.(50)
The definite article (al) is used for a specific person or type, for presence, for hinting at a quality, for predominance, and it is also used in a connected manner.(51)
__________
(46) The preposition "bi" (ب) comes with several meanings: for attachment, assistance, oath, cause, state, circumstantial, and transfer. Attachment is literal, as in "I wiped my head" and metaphorical, as in "I passed by Zayd." Assistance is exemplified by "I slaughtered with the knife." The cause is illustrated by ﴾So, due to the wrongdoing of those who were Jews, We prohibited them from good things﴿. The oath is shown in "By Allah, he stood up." The state is indicated by "Zayd came with his clothes." The circumstantial meaning is "Zayd is in Basra." The transfer is "I stood with Zayd." It can also be extra for emphasis: "I drank with the water of the sea." The substitution is "I wish I had a people like them," meaning instead of them. The comparison is "I bought the horse for a thousand." The exceeding is indicated by ﴾And the Day the heaven will be split open with clouds﴿, meaning from the clouds. The superiority is shown in ﴾Whoever you trust with a qintar will return it to you﴿. Some have referred to the state as companionship and added that it can also indicate reasoning. They referred to assistance as the cause and to the state as meaning "with," in agreement with the meaning of "lam" (ل). This is explained in the book Al-Bahr Al-Muhit by Abu Hayyan Al-Tawhidi.
(47) The core (al-Labab) in the interpretation of seeking refuge (isti'adhah) and the basmalah (bismillah) and the Opening of the Book (Fatiha), and the encompassing sea (al-Bahr al-Muhit), and the interpretation of Ibn Kathir, and the explanation of the basmalah by Abu Zakariya al-Ansari.
(48) The Essence of the Interpretation of Seeking Refuge, the Basmala, and the Opening of the Book, and the Issues of the Grammar of the Qur'an by Maki, the Landmarks of Revelation, the Kashaf, the Concise Commentary, and the Interpretation of al-Qurtubi and al-Razi.
(49) Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit.
(50) Look at the stages of the seekers (Madārij al-Sālikīn), the great commentary (al-Tafsir al-Kabir), the comprehensive book of the rulings of the Qur'an (al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an), and the essence in the interpretation of seeking refuge and the basmala and the opening of the book (al-Lubāb fi Tafsir al-Isti'ādhah wa al-Basmala wa Fātiḥat al-Kitāb). Imam al-Ghazali said in the highest objective (al-Maqsad al-Asnā): Know that this name is the greatest of the names of Allah, Exalted is He, among the ninety-nine names, because it indicates the essence that encompasses all divine attributes so that none of them is excluded, while the other names indicate only individual meanings, such as knowledge, power, action, or others. It is also the most specific of the names, as no one applies it to anyone else, neither in reality nor in metaphor. For these two reasons, it seems that this name is the greatest of the names. End.
(51) The definite article (al) is for reference to a specific person or category, for presence, and for indicating a characteristic. (The "lam" for indicating a characteristic is like in "al-hasan" and "hasan," and "ibn al-mughafil" and "ibn Mughafil," and so on; this "lam" is called the "lam" for indicating a characteristic here.) It is also for predominance. (The "al" in "Allah" if we say its origin is "al-ilah," is said to be for predominance, as "ilāh" applies to the worshipped one in truth and falsehood, while "Allah" applies only to the worshipped one in truth, thus it is like "al-najm" for "al-thurayya," and "al-bayt" for "al-kabah.") And it can be relative. So, for reference to a specific person: "the boy came," and for category: "I watered the water," and for presence (the "lam" of presence like in ﴾Today I have perfected for you your religion﴿ (al-Ma'idah: 3) and "this man came to me."): "I went out and saw the lion," and for indicating a characteristic: "al-Harith," and for predominance: "al-Dabaran." And it can be necessary or non-necessary; the necessary is like "now," and the non-necessary is like "far removed is the age from its captive," as explained in Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit.


[Page 19]

And Allah is the origin of the deity, and its counterpart is the people, whose origin is the human beings. The deity (ilāh) is one of the names of the categories that applies to every object of worship, whether true or false, but it has predominantly come to refer to the object of worship that is true. As for Allah, with the hamza omitted, it is specific to the object of worship that is true and is not applied to anything else. It is a name and not an attribute, because you can describe it but you cannot describe it with it; you do not say "something is a deity" just as you do not say "something is a man." You say, "Allah is One, the Eternal." And because His attributes, Exalted is He, must have a subject upon which they are applied, if all of them were made attributes, they would remain attributes that do not apply to a named subject, and this is not permissible.(52)
They differed regarding this name whether it is derived or a proper name for the essence. Many scholars inclined towards the former. They disagreed about its derivation and origin; Sibawayh narrated from al-Khalil that its origin is ilah, like fi'al; so the definite article was introduced in place of the hamzah. Sibawayh said: "Like the people, its origin is anas." Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi said: "The hamzah was deleted arbitrarily, as it was said that the people’s origin is anas, or it was deleted for the sake of transmission and it was required with the assimilation, and both statements are rare."(53)
It is said: The root of the word is "lah," and upon it the definite article "al" was added for the purpose of glorification, and this is the choice of Sibawayh. And it was recited:
O son of your uncle, you have not preferred me in lineage over yourself, nor are you more religious than I am, so do not humiliate me(54).
Thus is the narration: " فتخزوني" (fatakhzuni), with the khāʾ (خ) that has a dot, and its meaning is: "to govern me." Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi said: It is said to be derived and its root is said to be qāf (ق), lām (ل), and hāʾ (ه) from "lāh" (لاه) meaning "to rise." It is said that is why the sun is called "ilāh" (إله) with both a broken and a opened hamzah (همزة). It is said to be lām (ل), wāw (و), and hāʾ (ه) from "lāh" (لاه) meaning "to be veiled or illuminated," and its form at that time is either "faʿal" (فعل) or "faʿil" (فعل). It is said that the alif (ا) is extra and its root is hamzah (همزة) and lām (ل) from "alāh" (أله) meaning "to be frightened," as said by Ibn Ishaq, or "to be perplexed," as said by Abu Umar, or "to be tranquil," as said by al-Mubarrad(55).
Al-Kisai and al-Farra' said: The meaning of ﴾In the name of Allah﴿ is "In the name of the God"; they omitted the hamza and merged the first lam into the second, making them a doubled lam. Al-Zamakhshari said: As for the lam, it is to separate it from the lam of initiation, and as for the ba, it is because it is necessary for the letter and the genitive case, and "name" is one of the ten names that have their beginnings based on a consonant. When they pronounce it at the beginning, they add a hamza, so that their initiation does not start with a consonant, since their habit is to begin with a vowel and pause on a consonant, to preserve their language from any defect or ugliness, and to place it at the utmost level of precision and eloquence. Some of them did not add it and sufficed with moving the consonant, saying: "I name" and "name." He said: "In the name of the One whose name is mentioned in every surah," and it is one of the names that have their endings omitted: like "hand" and "blood,"
__________
(52) The Tafsir of al-Nasafi
(53) Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit
(54) It is mentioned in the Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit by Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi: ﴾Indeed, the religion with Allah is Islam﴿. The linguists have stated: "Religion" (din) is the verbal noun, and "the religion" (al-din) with a kasra is the noun, and "religion" (din) refers to governance, and "the one who governs" (dayyan) is the governor. Dhul-Isba' said about it: "And you are not my governor, so do not humiliate me," and "religion" (din) is the state.
(55) Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit


[Page 20]

Its root is: samu, as evidenced by its derivations: like asma, sami, and sumitu. Its derivation is from السمو (sama), because naming is an elevation of the named and a glorification of its mention(56).
Then it was said: It (meaning Allah) is derived from "walah" when one is bewildered; and walah means the loss of reason. It is said: a bewildered man (rajul walah) and a bewildered woman (imra'a walah) and a bewildered one (walih). Water that is walah is sent forth in the deserts. Thus, Allah, Exalted is He, causes minds to be bewildered and to lose themselves in the realities of His attributes and thoughts in knowing Him. Based on this, the root of "Ilah" is "walah," and the hamza is substituted for the waw as it is substituted in ishah and wushah, and isadah and wisadah; and it has been narrated from al-Khalil.
It has been narrated from al-Dhahak that he said: It is called "Allah" because creation turns to Him in their needs and supplicates to Him in their hardships. It has been mentioned from al-Khalil ibn Ahmad that he said: Because creation turns to Him (with the lam in the accusative) and also turns to Him (with the lam in the genitive), and both are dialects. It was said that it is derived from elevation; for the Arabs would say for everything elevated: lah, and they would say when the sun rises: lahat. It was said that it is derived from alaha (to worship) a man when he worships. And "ta'allaha" (to devote oneself) is derived from that, as in His saying: ﴾And He will leave you and your gods﴿ in this recitation; for Ibn Abbas and others said: and your worship, they said: Thus, the name of Allah is derived from this, so Allah, Exalted is He, means the one intended for worship, and from this is the saying of the monotheists: ﴾There is no deity but Allah﴿, meaning there is no object of worship other than Allah. And "illa" in the phrase means "other than," not "except"(57).
Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in what I have been informed: People have differed, is it a proper name or derived? It has been narrated from al-Khalil with two narrations: one of them is that it is a proper name that is not derived, so it is not permissible to omit the alif or the lam from it, as is permissible from ﴾The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate﴿. And it was narrated from Sibawayh that it is a derived name, so its original form is Ilah like fi'al, so he inserted the alif and the lam instead of the hamza. And others said: Its origin in speech is Ilah, and it is derived from alaha (the man turns to Him) when he seeks refuge in Him from a matter that has befallen him, so he "alahahu" (granted him refuge) and "amānahu" (granted him safety), thus it is called Ilah just as a man is called Imam when he leads the people and they follow him. Then, since it is a name for the Great One, there is nothing like Him, they wanted to magnify it with the definite article which is the alif and lam, because they singled it out with this name without others, so they said: the Ilah, and they found the hamza heavy in a word that they frequently use, and the hamza in the middle of speech has a strong pressure, so they omitted it, and the name became as it was revealed in the Qur'an(58).
Al-Zajjaj said: As for the discussion regarding our saying (Allah), it is in two aspects, in terms of wording and meaning: As for the wording, it is in two sayings: one of them is that its root is Ilah, fi'al, and it is said rather that its root is lah, fa'al, and do not pay attention to what was mentioned in the "Book of the Qur'an," for the correct is what is mentioned here.
__________
(56) Al-Kashaf by al-Zamakhshari.
(57) Tafsir al-Qurtubi.
(58) Al-Asma wa al-Sifat by al-Bayhaqi.


[Page 21]

And they differed on whether it is derived or not. A group held that it is derived, while a number of those whose knowledge is trusted maintained that it is not derived, and this latter opinion is the one relied upon. Do not pay attention to the view of those who said it is derived from walah (وله) because if it were derived from it, it would have been said in the form of tafa'ala (تفعّل) from it, as in tawalah (توله), since the letter "waw" in it is the same as the "waw" in tawalah. Their consensus on it being ta'alah (تأله) with a hamzah indicates that it is not from walah (ولَهَ)...
And the meaning of our saying "God" is that He is the one who deserves worship, and He, Exalted is He, is the one deserving of it over anyone else(59).
Ibn Faris said in his dictionary Maqayis al-Lugha: The letters hamza, lam, and ha have one root, which is worship. So, the deity (ilāh) is Allah, Exalted is He, and He is called that because He is worshipped. It is said that a man has worshipped (ta'allaha) when he has devoted himself to worship. Ru'bah said:
Blessed is Allah for the singing women who have praised and sought refuge from their deification(60) *** They have glorified and sought refuge from their deification.
And the deity: the sun, it was named thus because a people used to worship it. The poet(61): *So we hastened to the deity to repent*
As for their statement regarding confusion, "He is God (alihah ya'lah)," it is not relevant to the topic, because the hamzah is a waw. It has been mentioned in its context.(62)
And it came in Lisan al-Arab: Ibn al-Athir said: It is derived from Ilah, and its estimation is fulanīyah, with a dammah. You say, "Ilah bayyin al-ilahiyyah wa al-uluhaniyyah," and its origin is from alih (أَلِهَ)(63) ya'lahu when one is perplexed, meaning when a servant is struck by the greatness of Allah and His majesty and other attributes of lordship and directs his imagination towards them,... And al-Mundhiri narrated from Abu al-Haytham that he asked him about the derivation of the name of Allah, Exalted is He, in the language, and he said: Its rightful form is Ilah, and the definite article alif and lam were added for definition(64). It was then said al-Ilah, and the Arabs omitted the hamzah due to its heaviness, so when they left the hamzah, they transformed its kasrah into the lam which is the lam of definition, and the hamzah was removed altogether, so they said al-Ilah. They then moved the lam of definition, which can only be silent, and then two moving lams met, so they merged the first into the second, and they said Allah, as Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾But He is Allah, my Lord﴿, meaning, but I. Then when the Arabs heard "Allahumma" in the speech of creation, they imagined that if the alif and lam were removed from Allah, what remained would be "lah," so they said "lahumma"; and it was narrated: "Lahumma, you mend the broken, you have granted majesty, O Jurgura"(65).
__________
(59) The interpretation of the ninety-nine names of Allah by al-Zajjaj, who is one of the scholars of language.
(60) Praise, from praise, which is commendation. And the two verses are in the tongue (praise, is it).
(61) She is the mother of Atibah ibn al-Harith, or the mother of al-Banin, daughter of Atibah ibn al-Harith, mourning Atibah. It is said that she is the daughter of al-Harith al-Yarbu'i. See Lisan (17: 360)
(62) The Dictionary of the Measures of Language
(63) I lean towards the weakness of this opinion, as previously stated, namely the assertion that its root is: أله يأله.
(64) I tend to believe that "Allah" is a proper noun that is not derived, and the opinion that it should have the definite article added to it is weak, as will be explained shortly, God willing. However, their citation of the poet's saying: "O Allah, You mend the broken," gives some credibility to the view that the definite article should be added.
(65) The tongue of the Arabs


[Page 22]

The meaning of "Allah" is the deity who is worshipped rightfully, whom the creatures worship, and to whom they turn with love, reverence, and submission, seeking refuge in Him for their needs and calamities, due to His attributes of divinity, which are attributes of perfection.(66)
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali said: As for His name (Allah), it is the name of the true existent that encompasses the attributes of divinity, described by the attributes of lordship, unique in true existence, for every existent other than Him does not deserve existence by itself, but rather derives existence from Him,... and it is more appropriate that it runs in its indication on the meaning in the same manner as proper names, and everything mentioned in its derivation and definition is forced and contrived(67)
And what we lean towards is that the essence of the word of Allah revolves around worship, for He is the one worthy of worship (ma'bud) in truth, and it is difficult to resolve the disagreement regarding the origin of the word and whether it is derived or not.
__________
(66) The Stations of the Seekers, and the Facilitation of the Generous, the Merciful, and the Essence of the Interpretation of Seeking Refuge and the Basmala, and the Collection of Fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah.
(67) The Supreme Purpose: A Commentary on the Names of Allah the Most Beautiful by Al-Ghazali.


[Page 23]

﴾The Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate﴿
And the Most Merciful (al-Rahman) is a form (68) derived from mercy (rahma), like angry (ghadban) and thirsty (atshan), from anger (ghadab) and thirst (atash); likewise, the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim) is a form of it, like sick (marid) and ill (saqeem), from sickness (marad) and illness (saqam). In the Most Merciful, there is an intensity (69) that is not in the Most Compassionate (70), and for this reason, they say: "The Most Merciful of this world and the Hereafter, and the Most Compassionate of this world" (71), and they say: "The increase in the structure indicates an increase in meaning" (72). It has been said: "The Most Merciful of this world because He encompasses both the believer and the disbeliever, and the Most Compassionate of the Hereafter because He is specific to the believer" (73). In the hadith in Majma al-Zawa'id: from Mu'adh ibn Jabal, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) missed him on Friday, and when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, he came to Mu'adh and said: "O Mu'adh, why did I not see you?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, a Jew has a dirham of mine, so I came out to you and he detained me from you." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Mu'adh, should I not teach you a supplication that you can invoke with, if you had a debt like the mountain of Sabir, Allah would pay it off for you?" — and Sabir is a mountain in Yemen — "So invoke Allah, O Mu'adh, ﴾Say, O Allah, Master of the Kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will and take away the kingdom from whom You will, and You honor whom You will and humiliate whom You will. In Your hand is all good. Indeed, You are over all things competent. You bring the night into the day, and You bring the day into the night﴿.
__________
(68) The term "ta'fil" is derived from morphology, which means to derive a word from a singular form, resulting in different terms with varying meanings. Ibn Jinni mentioned that the science of morphology is the balance of the Arabic language, through which the roots of Arabic speech are known from the additional elements that enter into it, and one cannot reach an understanding of derivation except through it. (Al-Munsif 1 / 2). He later mentioned that morphology is when you take a single word and derive it in various ways. (Same source 1/3). Ibn al-Hajib stated that morphology is a science with principles that define the states of word structures that are not grammatical inflections. (Sharh al-Shafiya 1 / 1). See Al-Miftah in Morphology by Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani; the root is a word or root in a specific pattern, for example: fa'al, to which specific letters are added in defined patterns, thus deriving new meanings for the words. Here, the root is: rahima in the pattern: fa'ila, and the word Rahman is derived from the root: rahm, and the pattern of Rahman is fa'lan, so the elongated alif and the nun were added to the end of the root verb, corresponding to the root: rahm, and the pattern fa'il corresponding to the word Rahim, the letter ya was added before the lam, and its root is also rahm, thus deriving different words from this root, each conveying specific meanings, and the science that deals with this derivation and morphology is called the science of morphology.
(69) Muhammad Metwally al-Sharawi said in his interpretation: The attributes of Allah, Exalted is He, do not fluctuate between strength and weakness. Beware of understanding that Allah has attributes that are sometimes few and sometimes many. Rather, they are attributes of absolute perfection... But what changes are the relations of these attributes... Read the saying of the Truth, Exalted is He: ﴾Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, even as much as an atom's weight﴿ [An-Nisa: 40]. This noble verse negates injustice from Allah, Exalted is He, and then the noble verse comes with the saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted: ﴾And your Lord is not one to the oppressors﴿ [Fussilat: 46]. Here we notice the use of the intensive form... "Zhalam" ... meaning severe injustice. And the saying of the Truth, Exalted is He: ﴾He is not unjust﴿... does not negate injustice but negates the intensity of injustice, denying that He would do injustice even as much as an atom's weight... We say that you have not understood the meaning... that Allah does not do injustice to anyone... The first verse negates injustice from the Truth, Blessed and Exalted, even as much as an atom's weight concerning the servant... and the second verse did not say to the servant but rather said to the servants... and the servants are all of Allah's creation... So if each one of them were to suffer even less than an atom's weight of injustice with these vast numbers... then the injustice would be very great, even if it is small in quantity because the number of those who would be affected is immense... Therefore, the first verse negates injustice from Allah, Exalted is He. And the second verse also negates injustice from Allah, Blessed and Exalted... but the intensive form was used due to the large number of those to whom the noble verse applies.
(70) Ahmad (Ibn al-Munir), may Allah have mercy on him, said: One cannot conclude from the brevity or length of the structure regarding the deficiency or completeness of the intensity; do you not see that some forms of intensity, like the verb of one of the examples, are shorter than the active participle which has no intensity whatsoever? As for their saying: "The Most Merciful of this world and the Hereafter and the Most Compassionate of both," there is no indication in it of the intensity of the Most Merciful compared to the Most Compassionate, for its essence is that His mercy indicates its completeness.
(71) In the hadith: "The Most Merciful of this world and the Hereafter and Their Most Compassionate," this saying is weak.
(72) Al-Kashaf by al-Zamakhshari.
(73) Those who went to the meaning of specification said: "Allah is 'Most Merciful' to all people, but He is 'Most Compassionate' only to the believers." The Quran itself, which is the word of Allah, contradicts this claim; for there is no basis or evidence in the Quran for the assertion that Allah is "Most Compassionate" only to the believers. Allah, Exalted is He, has clarified that He is "Most Compassionate" "to people" in general: ﴾Have you not seen that Allah has subjected to you whatever is in the earth and the ships that sail in the sea by His command, and He restrains the heaven from falling upon the earth except by His permission? Indeed, Allah is to the people, Kind and Merciful﴿ [Al-Hajj: 65].


[Page 24]

The night, and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living, and You provide for whom You will without account﴿, O Most Merciful of this world and the Hereafter, and Most Merciful to both, You give to whom You will of them and withhold from whom You will, have mercy on me with a mercy that will make me independent of the mercy of anyone besides You.”(74)
And Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad: Abdullah narrated to us, my father narrated to us, Yazid ibn Harun informed us, from Hisham al-Dastawai, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Ibrahim ibn Abdullah ibn Qaridh that his father informed him: “He entered upon Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf while he was ill, and Abdur-Rahman said to him: Your kinship is a mercy, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Exalted said: I am the Most Merciful (al-Rahman), I created the womb (rahim) and I derived its name from My name(75), so whoever maintains it, I maintain him, and whoever severs it, I sever him.”(76)
Ibn Faris said: The letters r, h, and m have one root that indicates tenderness, compassion, and mercy. It is said from this: He had mercy on him (rahimahu), if he was tender towards him and showed kindness to him. Mercy (rahma), compassion (marhama), and kindness (rahma) are synonymous. The womb (rahim) is the relationship of kinship, and it is named the womb of the female because from it comes that which is to be shown mercy and tenderness towards, from offspring.(77)
Ibn Manzur said in Lisan al-Arab: And Allah, the Most Merciful (al-Rahman), the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim), the first attribute is built on the pattern of fa'lan because its meaning is abundance, as His mercy encompasses all things and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful. As for the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim), it is mentioned after the Most Merciful (al-Rahman) because the Most Merciful is exclusive to Allah, the Exalted, while the Most Compassionate can be for others.(78)
__________
(74) Narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Saghir and its narrators are trustworthy. Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The Opening of the Book and Ayat al-Kursi and 'God bears witness that there is no deity except Him' and 'Say, O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty'—these verses are suspended by the Throne, and there is no veil between them and Allah.” Abu Amr al-Dani attributed this in his book "Al-Bayan". (Tafsir al-Qurtubi)
(75) This is a matter concerning the relationship between the derivation of the names of Allah, the Exalted, from the language, as language is a human construct, and here the hadith indicates that Allah derived a name for it from His name.
(76) Maintaining kinship (silat al-arham) is a metaphor for showing kindness to those closest to you by blood and marriage, being compassionate towards them, being gentle with them, and taking care of their affairs, even if they are distant or do wrong. Severing kinship means cutting off all of that. Al-Nawawi said in his explanation of Muslim: The scholars said: The essence of maintaining kinship is compassion and mercy. In the hadith of Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: {Indeed, Allah created creation, and when He finished with them, the womb stood up and said: This is the place of the one seeking refuge from severance. He said: Yes. Do you not wish that I maintain whoever maintains you and sever whoever severs you? She said: Yes. He said: That is for you.} There are many hadiths regarding those who sever kinship: from Abu Muhammad Jubair ibn Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The severer will not enter Paradise.” It is agreed upon. Al-Bukhari reported in his Sahih that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The one who maintains kinship is not the one who merely reciprocates, but the one who, when his kinship is severed, maintains it.” And from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The womb is suspended by the Throne, saying: Whoever maintains me, Allah maintains him, and whoever severs me, Allah severs him.” It is agreed upon. There are great wisdoms in maintaining kinship, the most important of which is expressed in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): {Whoever wishes for his provision to be expanded, or his lifespan to be extended, let him maintain his kinship.} Among the many benefits that the jurists have pointed out: May Allah be pleased with them; because He commanded maintaining kinship and bringing joy to relatives. Among them is the increase of nobility, and the increase of reward after death; because they pray for him after his death whenever they remember his kindness. Maintaining kinship can be achieved through many means, including: visiting, assisting, fulfilling needs, and greeting, as He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: {Maintain your kinship even if it is just with a greeting.} Likewise, giving money to relatives is considered a means of maintaining kinship; as He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: {Charity to the poor is charity, and to the one with kinship is two: charity and maintaining kinship.} And what is meant by maintaining kinship is not to maintain them if they maintain you; because this is reciprocation, but rather to maintain them even if they sever you. Al-Bukhari and others narrated {The one who maintains kinship is not the one who reciprocates, but the one who maintains kinship when it is severed.} See the Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia.
(77) The Dictionary of the Principles of Language by Ibn Faris.
(78) This is a matter concerning the relationship between the attributes of the Lord, the Exalted, and the attributes of others that share the name, and it will be detailed shortly, if Allah wills.


[Page 25]

Al-Farsi said: "It is only said 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' and the term 'the Most Merciful' comes after the encompassing meaning of 'the Most Gracious' to specify the believers with it in His saying, ﴾And He is Merciful to the believers﴿(79). Its meaning according to the people of language is 'the possessor of mercy' which has no limit after it in mercy, because 'Fa'lan' is a form of exaggeration, and 'Merciful' (Rahim) is 'Fa'il' meaning 'one who does' as they say 'Hearing' (Sami') meaning 'one who hears' and 'Able' (Qadir) meaning 'one who is able'. Al-Azhari said: 'It is not permissible to say 'the Most Gracious' (Rahman) except for Allah, the Exalted, and 'Fa'lan' is a form used to exaggerate in description. So, 'the Most Gracious' (Rahman) is the one whose mercy encompasses everything, and it is not permissible to say 'Rahman' for anyone other than Allah. Al-Azhari narrated from Abu Abbas regarding His saying, ﴾The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿: they were combined because 'the Most Gracious' is Hebrew and 'the Most Merciful' is Arabic."
You will not attain glory, nor will you sell your cloaks for silk, nor will you make the yambut (a type of plant) a source of sustenance.
Or will you abandon your migration (hijrah) to the two pillars, and your wiping over their backs as a sacrifice?
Ibn Abbas said: They are two gentle names, one of which is gentler than the other; the Most Merciful (al-Rahman) is the gentler, and the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim) is the one who shows affection to His creation through provision(80).
Al-Khattabi said: "This is problematic; for gentleness (raka) has no place in any of the attributes of Allah, Exalted is He." Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl al-Bajali said: "This is an error from the narrator, for gentleness is not one of the attributes of Allah, Exalted is He, but rather they are two names that are gentle, one being more gentle than the other, and gentleness is one of the attributes of Allah, Mighty and Majestic; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Indeed, Allah is gentle and loves gentleness, and He grants through gentleness what He does not grant through harshness.' " (81).
Al-Hasan said: "The Most Merciful (al-Rahman) is a name that cannot be used for anyone other than Allah. However, one may say a merciful man (rajul rahim). Al-Jawhari said: 'The Most Merciful (al-Rahman) and the Merciful (al-Rahim) are two names derived from mercy (rahma), and their counterparts in the language are nadim and nadman, which have the same meaning. It is permissible to repeat the two names if their derivation differs for the purpose of emphasis, as one may say so-and-so is diligent and industrious (jaddu mujidd). However, the name al-Rahman is specific to Allah, Exalted is He, and it is not permissible to use it for anyone else or to describe anyone else with it. Do you not see that He said ﴾Say, 'Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful'﴿? He equated it with the name that no one else shares with Him, and both are forms of exaggeration. Al-Rahman is more intense than al-Rahim, and al-Rahim can be used to describe someone other than Allah, as one may say a merciful man (rajul rahim)(82) and not..."
__________
(79) It has been previously stated that this opinion is weak, supported by the verse ﴾Indeed, Allah is Most Kind and Most Merciful to the people﴿.
(80) Al-Khattabi said that there is no meaning to the attribute of softness (rakka) being included in any of the attributes of Allah, and it seems that what is intended by it is gentleness, and its meaning is ambiguity, not the smallness that is characteristic of bodies. I (Ibn Hajar) said: The hadith mentioned from Ibn Abbas is not authentic; it is narrated from al-Kalbi from Ibn Salih from him, and al-Kalbi is rejected in hadith, as is Muqatil. See Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar.
(81) The Tafsir of al-Qurtubi
(82) The correct view is that many of the names of Allah, Exalted is He, have meanings that may share some aspects of the meanings of attributes in others, and many differ even if the words intersect, because He, Exalted is He: ﴾There is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing﴿. No one resembles Him in anything, so if someone other than Allah, Exalted is He, is called "the Merciful," the meanings do not correspond, and this will be explained shortly, with God's permission.


[Page 26]

It is said that the Most Merciful (al-Rahman) and the Merciful (al-Rahim) may mean the one who is shown mercy. Al-Ma'mar ibn Aqil said: "As for when war bites you, you are indeed with one who is merciful."
And mercy among humans, according to the Arabs, is tenderness of heart and compassion, while the mercy of Allah is His compassion, kindness, and provision. (83)
If you say: What is the meaning of describing Allah, Exalted is He, with mercy, and its meaning is compassion and tenderness, and from it is the womb due to its inclination towards what is within it? I say: It is a metaphor for His bestowal upon His servants, for when a king shows compassion to his subjects and is tender towards them, he bestows upon them his goodness and favors. Just as when he is overtaken by harshness and cruelty, he treats them harshly and withholds his goodness and favors. If you say: Why did He precede what is more profound than the two descriptions with what is lesser, while the norm is to ascend from the lower to the higher, as in their saying: "So-and-so is a learned scholar, a brave hero, and a generous benefactor"? I say: When He said "the Most Merciful," it encompassed the great blessings and their origins, and He followed it with "the Merciful" as a complement and a continuation to include what is subtle and gentle. (84)
The occurrence of two attributes indicating mercy after the word "Lord" indicates to us that mercy is one of the supreme attributes of Allah, Exalted is He, and it implies that the educator should embody mercy and that it should be one of his most prominent attributes, not harshness. The Lord, in all His meanings, should be characterized by mercy, whether He is an educator, a master, or a guardian. Allah, Exalted is He, described His Messenger as merciful. (85)
Ibn al-Mubarak said: "The Most Merciful (al-Rahman) gives when asked, and the Merciful (al-Rahim) becomes angry if not asked." Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan and al-Tirmidhi in his Jami from Abu Salih from Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever does not ask Allah, He becomes angry with him," according to the wording of al-Tirmidhi. Ibn Majah said: "Whoever does not call upon Allah, the Exalted, He becomes angry with him." (86)
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali said: The meanings of the names can be conceived such that a servant can embody some of them so that the name applies to him, like "the Merciful," "the All-Knowing," "the Forbearing," "the Patient," "the Appreciative," and others, even though the application of the name to him is in a manner that differs from its application to Allah, Exalted is He. (87)
__________
(83) Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur, and al-Sihah by al-Jawhari, and see shortly the relationship between describing Allah with an attribute and describing humans with an attribute that shares the same wording, and the relationship of that to the shared meaning.
(84) Al-Kashaf, Mahmoud said: "If you say: Why did He precede what is more profound than the two descriptions with what is lesser... etc.? Ahmad (Ibn al-Munir) said: The norm is to present the lesser of the two descriptions because presenting the higher one followed by the lower one is a form of repetition, as the attainment of the more profound necessitates the attainment of the lesser, so mentioning it afterward is not beneficial. The opposite is not the case, as it ascends from the lesser to the greater with the advantage of the higher not having preceded what it necessitates. Therefore, this arrangement is specific to affirmation. As for negation, it is the opposite; the higher comes first. You say: So-and-so is neither a scholar nor a learned man, and if you reversed it, you would fall into repetition, as negating the lesser from him necessitates negating the higher. All of this is derived from the generality of the lesser and the specificity of the more profound, and affirming the more specific necessitates the affirmation of the more general, while negating the more general necessitates the negation of the more specific." End quote from al-Kashaf, and based on this, we do not agree that "the Most Merciful" is more profound than "the Merciful"! Rather, both are equal in eloquence and emphasis! They are merely attributes of perfection according to the variations of language that convey dimensions of the attribute based on the inflection in each of them.
(85) Fadl al-Samarrai
(86) Tafsir al-Qurtubi
(87) Al-Maqsad al-Asna, explanation of the names of Allah.


[Page 27]

Al-Razi said: In this surah, there are two words attributed to the name of Allah and two names attributed to others: As for the two words attributed to the name of Allah, they are His saying: "In the name of Allah" and His saying: "All praise is due to Allah." The phrase "In the name of Allah" is for the beginning of matters, and the phrase "All praise is due to Allah" is for the conclusion of matters. Thus, "In the name of Allah" is a mention (dhikr), and "All praise is due to Allah" is a form of gratitude (shukr). So when He said "In the name of Allah," He deserved mercy, and when He said "All praise is due to Allah," He deserved another mercy. Therefore, by saying "In the name of Allah," He deserved mercy from the name of the All-Merciful (al-Rahman), and by saying "All praise is due to Allah," He deserved mercy from the name of the Most Merciful (al-Rahim). For this reason, it is said: O All-Merciful of this world and Most Merciful of the Hereafter(88)
Indeed, the words "the Most Merciful (al-Rahman)" and "the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim)" are derived from "mercy (rahma)", which is the source. The root of the word is "R H M" and its verb is "rahima". The active participle in this context is "the one who shows mercy (al-Rahim)" and "the Most Merciful (al-Rahman)" and "the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim)".
The term "الرحمان" (the Most Gracious), whose root is "الرحمان" (the Gracious), is built on the pattern "فَعْلاَن" (fa'lan); and this pattern, which includes an additional long alif and a nun at the end of a three-letter root word, indicates abundance, emphasis, and exaggeration. The exaggeration comes in both the giving and the permanence of the giving..
Al-Nasafi said: "The Most Merciful (al-Rahman) means, according to the people of language, the one who has mercy that has no limit thereafter, for the form 'fa'lan' is from the patterns of intensity. You say: 'A man is thirsty' if he is at the height of thirst(89). The form 'fa'lan' also conveys the meaning of occurrence, renewal, and fullness with the description. Here, in the term 'al-Rahman', it is a description that evokes fear, as the thirsty among creatures, when they drink, become quenched, and thus their thirst is removed. The angry person, when he refrains from anger, becomes pleased. Likewise, conditions are renewed for creatures. The description of 'al-Rahman' relates to humans with their varying inclinations and actions, so it has states according to its relation to those who are the recipients of that mercy. You find that 'al-Rahman' shows compassion and tenderness towards those who deserve mercy, and He is severe in punishment towards those who deserve punishment. A person becomes apprehensive if he realizes that he may do something that causes the attribute of 'al-Rahman' to change regarding him, so he may not attain that mercy. However, its foundation is based on permanence and continuity. The attributes that come in the form 'fa'lan' vary in change according to what they relate to. Joy occurs and quickly fades away, while some attributes, like hunger and satiety, take longer to fade. The foundation of 'al-Rahman' is based on permanence and continuity."
As for the term "Rahim" (رحيم), it is built on the pattern "Fa'il" (فعيل), and this pattern, that is, the addition of a long vowel (ya) between the second letter (ح) and the third letter (م) of the root indicates distinction and exaggeration, meaning that its possessor is characterized by that attribute to the extent that it has become predominant over him, similar to "Hakim" (حكيم), "Alim" (عليم), "Sami" (سميع), and "Hafiz" (حفيظ). Abu al-Ala al-Mubarakpuri said: ﴾The Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate﴿ are two names derived from mercy, like "Nadman" (ندمان) and "Nadim" (نديم).
__________
(88) The Interpretation of the Keys of the Unseen.
(89) The Tafsir of al-Nasafi


[Page 28]

They are both forms of hyperbole (mubalaghah),(90) meaning that they indicate permanence in the attribute. The one who hears the attribute of the Most Merciful (al-Rahman) fears that he may commit acts that would disqualify him from deserving entry into this mercy. He then hears afterwards the attribute of permanence in mercy, that is, the attribute of the Most Compassionate (al-Rahim), which reassures his soul.
Thus, al-Rahman indicates renewal, while al-Rahim indicates permanence. The Exalted One has come with two attributes that indicate both renewal and permanence together. If He had said only al-Rahman, the listener might assume that this attribute is transient and could vanish, just as hunger disappears from the hungry and anger from the angry, and so forth. If He had said only al-Rahim, it would be understood that while the attribute of al-Rahim is indeed permanent, it is not necessarily always manifest.(91)
Al-Rahman and al-Rahim are two attributes of the Lord, Exalted is He, meaning they are names from the Most Beautiful Names of Allah, and attributes of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. We will pause briefly on the topic of attributes here, as it serves the interpretation of Surah al-Fatiha, with the intention of dedicating a lengthy discussion to it in the appendices of this blessed interpretation, with Allah's permission. We say, and with Allah's guidance:
Allah, Glorified be He, said: ﴾And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them﴿, and He, Exalted is He, said: ﴾Say, "Invoke Allah or invoke the Most Merciful (al-Rahman). Whichever [name] you invoke - to Him belong the best names"﴿, and He said: ﴾And mention the name of Allah upon it﴿, and He said: ﴾To Him belong the best names﴿.
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad Abdan al-Ahwazi informed us, Ahmad ibn Ubaid al-Saffar informed us, Tamtam Muhammad ibn Ghalib informed us, Muslim ibn Ibrahim informed us, Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abdul Malik ibn Umair, from Rabi'ah, from Hudhayfah: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say when he went to his bed: "O Allah, in Your name I live and in Your name I die," and when he awoke, he would say: "Praise be to Allah who has given us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the return."(92)
Imam al-Bayhaqi said: In affirming His names, there is an affirmation of His attributes, because if it is established that He exists, and He is described as Living, then He is described with an additional attribute to the essence, which is life. If He is described as Able, then He is described with an additional attribute, which is ability. If He is described as Knowing, then He is described with an additional attribute, which is knowledge. Similarly, if He is described as Creator, then He is described with an additional attribute, which is creation. If He is described as Provider, then He is described with an additional attribute, which is provision. If He is described as Giver of Life, then He is described with an additional attribute, which is giving life. For without these meanings, His names would be limited to those that indicate the existence of the essence only, and then the attributes of Allah, Exalted is He.
__________
(90) Tuhfat al-Ahwazi, Sharh Sunan al-Tirmidhi by al-Mubarakfuri.
(91) Fadil al-Samarrai, Lamassat Bayaniyyah.
(92) Narrated by Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Ju'fi al-Bukhari in al-Jami al-Sahih, from Muslim ibn Ibrahim, and narrated by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri from another source, from Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj; see the Names and Attributes by Imam al-Bayhaqi.


[Page 29]

His name is of two kinds: the first is the attributes of His essence, which He has deserved eternally and continuously, and the second is the attributes of His actions, which He has deserved in what is not eternal but rather contingent. (93)
Imam al-Ghazali said: ﴾The Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate﴿ are two names derived from mercy, and mercy necessitates a recipient of mercy, and there is no recipient of mercy except one who is in need. The one who fulfills the need of the needy without intention, desire, or care for the needy is not called merciful. The one who intends to fulfill the need of the needy but does not fulfill it, if he is able to fulfill it, is not called merciful, for if the intention were complete, he would have fulfilled it. If he is unable, he may be called merciful in consideration of the tenderness he possesses, but this is deficient. True mercy is the bestowal of goodness upon the needy, with the intention of caring for them. General mercy is that which encompasses both the deserving and the undeserving. The mercy of Allah, Exalted is He, is complete and general; its completeness is in that He intended to fulfill the needs of the needy and did fulfill them, and its generality is in that it encompasses both the deserving and the undeserving, and includes the worldly and the hereafter, addressing necessities, needs, and advantages beyond them. He is indeed the Most Compassionate. (94)
As you can see, a servant may possess some meanings of the names, such as the Most Compassionate and the All-Hearing, but the application of the name to him differs from its application to Allah, Exalted is He. The servant's share of the meaning of this name is different from its meaning in relation to Allah, Exalted is He, and the related meanings for the servant are vastly different from what befits the Lord, Glorified and Exalted. The meanings related to the servant remain within the framework of being needy, incapable, and deficient, while the meanings in relation to the Lord, Glorified and Exalted, are within the framework of being self-sufficient, capable, and perfect. Most importantly, the attributes of the Lord, Exalted is He, are divine and lordly attributes, while the attributes of others are within the framework of servitude and submission. It is impossible for this to resemble that in any way, even if the name is the same; the reality is distinct.
In the basmala, there is eloquence: the repetition in the description may be for the purpose of glorifying the described or for emphasis to establish it in the soul, or for comprehensiveness and thoroughness of all meanings of mercy with which one begins when reading the words of Allah, Exalted is He. Among them is the omission related to the ب (ba) in بسم, which has been mentioned before. The omission is said to be for the sake of brevity in expression, and there is a benefit in its omission, as it is a place where only the mention of Allah, Exalted is He, should be presented. If the action were mentioned, which does not exist without its doer, the mention of Allah would not be prioritized. The omission aligns the expression with the meaning, as one says in prayer, "Allah is the Greatest," meaning above all things, but it is omitted to ensure that the expression...
__________
(93) See in detail the appendices in this commentary, an appendix titled: Guidelines for dealing with the attributes and names of Allah, Exalted is He.
(94) Al-Maqsad al-Asna, Commentary on the Most Beautiful Names of Allah.


[Page 30]

In the tongue, it corresponds to the intention of the heart, which is that there should be no mention in the heart except Allah, Exalted is He. Among the omissions is also the omission of the alif in "Bismillah" and in "الرحمن" in writing, due to frequent usage.(95)

﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿
From Abu Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Purity is half of faith, and praise be to Allah fills the scale, and glory be to Allah and praise be to Allah fill or will fill what is between the heavens and the earth. Prayer is light, charity is proof, patience is illumination, and the Qur'an is an argument for you or against you. Every person goes out, so he sells himself, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin." Narrated by Muslim.
﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿(96) encompasses all the attributes of perfection for which Allah deserves to have praise confined to Him, based on what the phrase ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿ indicates regarding the exclusivity of the genus of praise to Him and His entitlement to that exclusivity.(97)
__________
(95) Interpretation of the vast sea with some modifications.
(96) He placed praise before it so that the supplicants would also include it in their supplications, following the manner of the eloquent Arabs when addressing the great ones, that they would begin their speech to them and their requests with praise and beautiful mention. Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt praised Abdullah ibn Jud'an:
"Should I mention my need or has your modesty sufficed me? Your character is modesty.
If a person praises you one day, it suffices him from exposing himself to praise."
(97) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir by Ibn Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him: The definite article here is a generic definition because the source here is essentially a substitute for the verb, thus it must be that which indicates the action and its essence indicates the genus. When the definite article is added, it serves to define its meaning because the article indicates the definition of the named. If the named is a genus, then the article indicates its definition. The meaning of defining the genus is that this genus is known to the listener, so when you say "All praise is due to Allah" or "How amazing you are," it is as if you intend that this genus is known to you and your interlocutor and is not confused with anything else.


[Page 31]

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In mentioning these names after praise, and attributing praise to their content and meaning, it indicates that He is praised in His divinity, praised in His lordship(98), praised in His mercy, praised in His sovereignty, and that He is a praised God, a praised Lord, a praised Merciful, and a praised Sovereign. Thus, He possesses all forms of perfection, the perfection of this name alone, and the perfection of the conjunction of one with the other.(99)
And the statement of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) above is a solid statement, for Allah, as we have explained before, means the one who is truly worshipped, that is, the one who is worshipped in truth. So when you say: ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿, it is for what He deserves of praise in the station of divinity, that is, the sincerity of worship to Him, Exalted is He(100). Every action you perform intending His noble face, being sincere in religion to Him, then He, Exalted and Almighty, follows it with the description: ﴾Lord of the worlds﴿, to also include in the praise the station of lordship, and what
__________
(98) There is much discussion in this regard about what is called: the oneness of divinity (tawhid al-uluhiyya), the oneness of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyya), and the oneness of names and attributes (tawhid al-asma wa al-sifat), which is what the school of the eminent scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) advocates. I will convey some quotes from his words (may Allah have mercy on him) to clarify the correct methodology in dealing with this issue, as he says:
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said in Majmu' al-Fatawa, volume one: And the fact that they are servants may be their acknowledgment of the Creator and their submission to Him, even if they are disbelievers, as in His saying: ﴾And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they associate others with Him﴿. And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmu' al-Fatawa, volume two: As for the oneness of divinity, it is the predominant general polytheism, which has entered those who acknowledge that there is no creator but Allah, and no Lord other than Him from among the types of polytheists, as Allah said: ﴾And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they associate others with Him﴿, as we have elaborated on this in other contexts.
He said in Majmu' al-Fatawa, volume eleven: As for [the oneness of lordship], it is the acknowledgment that He is the Creator of everything, and this has been acknowledged by the polytheists, of whom Allah said: ﴾And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they associate others with Him﴿. Ibn Abbas said: You ask them who created the heavens and the earth? They say: Allah, while they worship others.
He said in Majmu' al-Fatawa, volume fourteen: The second case is that of disbelievers, sinners, and wrongdoers who have some belief in Him, even if they are disbelievers, as He said: ﴾And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they associate others with Him﴿. They are believers in His lordship, but they are polytheists in His worship, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Husayn al-Khaza'i: “O Husayn, how many do you worship?” He said: Seven deities; six on earth and one in the sky. He said: “Then who do you call upon for your desires and fears?” He said: The one in the sky. He said: “Embrace Islam until I teach you a word that will benefit you from Allah.” So he embraced Islam, and he said: “Say: O Allah, inspire me with guidance, and protect me from the evil of my soul.” Narrated by Ahmad and others.
He said in volume sixteen: If it is said: The polytheist worships Allah and others, as evidenced by the saying of the Friend (Abraham): ﴾Have you seen what you and your forefathers used to worship? They are an enemy to me except for the Lord of the worlds﴿ [Ash-Shu'ara: 75, 77], he has excluded what they worship, which indicates that they were worshipping Allah. Likewise, his saying: ﴾And when Abraham said to his father and his people: Indeed, I am disassociated from what you worship﴿ [Az-Zukhruf: 26, 27] is said to be the saying of the polytheists, just as the Jews and Christians say: We worship Allah. They think that worshipping Him alongside polytheism is worship, but they are lying in this. As for the saying of the Friend, there are two opinions; one group said it is an exception that is disconnected, and Abdul Rahman ibn Zayd said: They worshipped Allah alongside their deities. Based on this, this is a restricted wording. For he said: ﴾What you worship﴿. He called it worship when the intended meaning is known, but it is not the worship that is considered worship by Allah. For as He said: “I am free of partners from polytheism. Whoever does an action and associates others with Me, I am free of him, and it is all for the one who associated.” This is similar to His saying: ﴾And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they associate others with Him﴿. He called it belief with restriction, otherwise the polytheist who has made another deity alongside Allah does not fall under the definition of belief in general. And He said: ﴾They believe in al-jibt and al-taghut﴿ [An-Nisa: 51], ﴾So give them tidings of a painful punishment﴿ [At-Tawbah: 34]. This is with restriction. And with generality. So belief is belief in Allah, and the glad tidings are for goodness.
This last quotation is the best response from Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) to himself in the first three quotations, for it is not correct to describe disbelievers as having the oneness of lordship, as the text of the Qur'an contradicts this in many places: ﴾Should they not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth﴿, ﴾And He does not command you to take the angels and the prophets as lords﴿, ﴾Are there many lords differing better or Allah, the One, the Subduer﴿, ﴾And they disbelieve in the Most Merciful; say: He is my Lord﴿, and as for them, they did not make Him a Lord. ﴾By Allah, we were in clear error when we equated you with the Lord of the worlds﴿, and the context is too narrow to elaborate on that. The important thing is that they do not have the oneness of lordship; rather, they are disbelievers and polytheists, having neither any belief nor partial belief. It is not sufficient for a person to say that Allah is the Creator and that provision is from Him for us to say that they are monotheists in lordship, as they believe that their idols can harm and benefit, and this is what falls under the concept of lordship, according to the division that states that lordship is the actions that occur from the Lord towards His servants, and divinity is the oneness of Allah in worship and sincerity, and that everything a servant does towards his Lord is to unify Him in it. Thus, the conclusion is that disbelievers do not have the oneness of lordship nor any belief, and this is what we aim to convey in this context.
(99) Madarij al-Salikin
(100) See the appendix on worship and servitude in this book.


[Page 32]

Allah has bestowed upon creation sustenance and existence from non-existence, and life and blessings and bounties that cannot be counted. Nothing in His creation is outside of His actual will, so Allah, Exalted is He, is deserving of praise for His divinity and for His lordship. He is also deserving of praise for His mercy, Exalted is He, for His countless bounties with which He shows mercy to His creation and His servants, even to the disbeliever among them, the sinner, and the good-doer. All of creation has not reached the level of worshipping Allah as He deserves, in gratitude for His blessings or even some of them. Thus, He is deserving of praise for His mercy in that He does not punish them for their sins, and that He provides for them while they disobey Him. Likewise, praise is due for His kingship, which includes His description as a King and also as a Owner, deserving of praise. Whether for His kingship in this world (from the position of ﴾Rabb al-‘alamin﴿, we derive His governance, Exalted is He, over this worldly life as a powerful King) or for what is in the Hereafter: ﴾Malik yawm al-din﴿, He is deserving of praise for His absolute justice, in this world and the Hereafter. He is ﴾Malik yawm al-din﴿, who governs it to hold accountable those obligated for what they have done in their worldly lives, leaving no criminal to escape punishment, nor neglecting the good-doer from reward. Thus, He is deserving of praise for His justice, and He is deserving of praise for having established for the obligated a day when they will return to Him for accountability. He did not leave the earth to be governed by the law of the jungle, where the strong takes the rights of the weak without being held accountable for their evil actions. And praise be to Allah for His mercy that encompasses all things. So, praise be to Allah for His divinity, and praise be to Allah for His lordship, and praise be to Allah for His mercy, and praise be to Allah for His kingship and justice.
Then, when He associates lordship (rububiyya) with divinity (uluhiyya), He reassures His servants that the provision of His lordship does not cease even if they err in what deserves praise in the station of His divinity. Their sustenance is continuous, and His benefit to them is ongoing, and His subjugation of what is in the universe for them is persistent unless He wills otherwise, Exalted is He. Thus, He is not to be praised solely for His station of divinity, Exalted is He, so that His lordship is exclusive to His believing servants and not to others. Rather, praise is due to Him, Exalted is He, as the Lord of the worlds as well; He is the Lord of those who praise Him as a deity, and the Lord of those who do not praise Him as a rightful object of worship.
And praise is only for the Living, the Rational.
the most famous distinction made between praise (madح) and commendation (hamd) is that one can commend something inanimate, but one does not praise it. It has been established that commendation is broader than praise; commendation can occur before and after a good deed, while praise can only occur after a good deed. Praise is given for what is present in the qualities or actions that deserve praise; thus, one cannot be praised if their qualities do not warrant it. However, commendation can occur prior to that; one can commend a person who has not done anything praiseworthy or beautiful. Therefore, commendation is discouraged, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Throw dust in...


[Page 33]

The "praise" is different from "commendation," for the latter is something that is commanded, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever does not praise people has not praised Allah."
From His saying, ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿, we learn that Allah is alive, possessing the most beautiful attributes and excellent actions, so we praise Him for His attributes and for His actions and bounties. If the praise were solely for Allah, it would not convey any of that, thus the choice of "praise" is preferable to the choice of "commendation" (101).
Praise is the expression and calling out of the beautiful, whether it be a blessing or otherwise, with love and reverence; you say: "I praised the man for his bounty," and "I praised him for his lineage and bravery." As for gratitude, it is specifically for the blessing and is expressed through the heart, tongue, and limbs. He said:
"The blessings have benefited you from me in three ways: my hand, my tongue, and my concealed conscience."
And my gratitude was not sufficient for your generosity, but I endeavored in my effort to honor you.
This means that my glorification of you was not sufficient to fulfill the right of your gift, but I intended through my striving in honoring you a means. He clarified this by saying: "Your blessings upon me are manifested through my hand, my tongue, and my heart; they are yours along with their actions." The noble master said: This is a moral testimony that gratitude applies to the actions of the three resources, and it indicates that he made them a reward for the blessing. Everything that is a reward for a blessing, by convention, is called gratitude in language. It is as if he said: "Your blessings have increased upon me, thus it is obligatory to fulfill the types of gratitude to you," and he emphasized this until he made their resources a possession for them.
Praise is by the tongue alone; it is one of the branches of gratitude, and from it is his saying (peace be upon him): "Praise is the head of gratitude; no servant has truly thanked Allah who has not praised Him" (102). He made it the head of gratitude because mentioning the blessing with the tongue and praising its giver is more widespread and indicative of its status than belief and the etiquette of the limbs. Praise is the opposite of blame, and gratitude is the opposite of ingratitude (103).
It has been mentioned in Lisan al-Arab that "praise and gratitude are close in meaning, but praise is broader than gratitude because you praise a person for their inherent qualities and for their gifts, but you do not thank them for their qualities. Thus, the choice of praise is also preferable to gratitude because it is broader; you commend Him for His blessings that reach you and all of creation, and you commend Him for His inherent beautiful attributes, even if none of them pertain to you. Therefore, the choice of praise is preferable to commendation and gratitude."
It has been said that praise and gratitude are synonymous, or that praise is broader and gratitude is a commendation for Allah (Exalted is He) for His actions, while praise is a commendation for His attributes. There are three opinions, the most correct of which is that praise is broader; thus, the one who praises is of two types: the grateful and the one who praises for attributes. Its meaning is
__________
(101) Dr. Fadl al-Samarrai, Lamassat Bayaniyya
(102) Narrated by Abd al-Razzaq from Ma'mar from Qatadah from Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) with a chain that is interrupted, and similarly from Ibn Abbas, narrated by al-Baghawi in the Tafsir of "Subhan," and it contains Nasr ibn Hamad, who is weak.
(103) Al-Kashaf.


[Page 34]

In language: praising with beauty with the intention of glorification and veneration, and in customary usage: an act that indicates the glorification of the benefactor due to his being a benefactor. Gratitude (shukr) in language: an act that expresses the glorification of the benefactor, thus it is synonymous with customary praise (hamd).
It is said: Praise (hamd) is more comprehensive because it includes the meaning of gratitude (shukr) and the meaning of commendation. It is broader than gratitude, because praise can be used in place of gratitude, but gratitude cannot be used in place of praise.
It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: "Praise be to Allah is the word of every grateful person." And when Adam (peace be upon him) sneezed, he said: "Praise be to Allah." And Allah said to Noah (peace be upon him): ﴾So say, 'Praise be to Allah who has saved us from the wrongdoing people'﴿. And Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said: ﴾Praise be to Allah who has granted me, in old age, Ishmael and Isaac﴿. And in the story of Dawood and Sulayman (peace be upon them), it is said: ﴾And they said, 'Praise be to Allah who has favored us over many of His believing servants'﴿. And He said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ﴾And say, 'Praise be to Allah who has not taken a son'﴿. And the people of Paradise said: ﴾Praise be to Allah who has removed from us sorrow﴿. ﴾And the last of their supplication will be, 'Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds'﴿. Thus, it is the word of every grateful person.
The correct understanding is that praise (hamd) is the commendation of the praised based on his attributes without any prior favor, while gratitude (shukr) is the commendation of the one who is thanked for the favor he has bestowed. Based on this definition, our scholars have stated: praise is broader than gratitude, because praise encompasses commendation, glorification, and gratitude, while recompense is specific and only applies as a reward for someone who has conferred a favor upon you. Thus, praise is broader in the verse because it exceeds gratitude, and praise is mentioned in the sense of contentment; it is said: "I tested him and praised him," meaning I was pleased with him(104).
Praise is a quality of the heart, which is the belief that the one being praised is gracious, bestowing, and deserving of veneration and reverence.
If a person utters the phrase: "I praise Allah" while his heart is heedless of the meaning of the glorification befitting the majesty of Allah, he is lying because he has informed about himself as being a praiser while he is not. However, if he says "All praise is due to Allah," whether he is heedless or mindful of the meaning of glorification, he is truthful because its meaning is: that all praise is due to Allah and belongs to Him. This meaning is present whether the servant is preoccupied with the meaning of glorification and reverence or not. Thus, it is established that saying "All praise is due to Allah" is preferable to saying "I praise Allah" or "We praise Allah." An analogous case is our saying "There is no deity but Allah," as it does not involve lying, unlike our saying "I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah," because he may be lying in that.
__________
(104) The Tafsir of al-Qurtubi


[Page 35]

His saying "I bear witness" is why Allah, Exalted is He, said in refutation of the hypocrites: ﴾And Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed liars﴿ (al-Munafiqun, verse 1)(105)
Moreover, "All praise is due to Allah" has been repeated in four surahs of the Qur'an(106), each one referring to a fundamental blessing, which are: the first creation, and the sustenance therein; and the second creation, and the sustenance thereafter.
Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In Surah "al-An'am" are all the principles of monotheism. And since His blessings are beyond enumeration, they generally return to creation and sustenance in the first existence, and creation and sustenance in the afterlife. The first sustenance is alluded to in "al-Fatiha" and "al-Kahf", the second creation in "Saba", and the second sustenance in "Fatir", which is why these five surahs begin with praise(107)
﴾To Allah﴿ The "lam" (108): is for ownership and its like, meaning for exclusivity. Ibn Ashour said: And it is not the definite article "lam" (in ﴾al-hamd﴿) for generality, as you know it is the "lam" of kind. Therefore, the author of al-Kashaf said: "And the generality that many people mistakenly assume is not the case" while the meaning of generality is present here by example, because the ruling of the exclusivity of the kind of praise to Him is established by the presence of the "lam" of the kind in the phrase ﴾al-hamd﴿ and the "lam" of exclusivity in the phrase ﴾to Allah﴿, which necessitates the restriction of the instances of praise to the name of Allah, Exalted is He, because if the kind is exclusive, the instances are also exclusive; for if an instance of praise for someone other than Allah were to occur, the kind would be realized within it, thus the meaning of the exclusivity of the kind derived from the "lam" of exclusivity entering upon the name of the Divine would not be valid(109) ﴾Al-hamd﴿ is the subject, and ﴾to Allah﴿ is the predicate, and its original form is accusative, and it has been recited in that way, and the original is: I praise Allah with praise, and it has been shifted to the nominative to indicate the generality of praise and its permanence, without its renewal and occurrence(110), and it teaches the wording while implying self-sufficiency. That is: Praise is for Allah even if you do not praise Him,
__________
(105) Dr. Fadl al-Samarrai, Linguistic Touches.
(106) They are: al-An'am, al-Kahf, Saba, Fatir.
(107) The commentary of Shihab on Surah al-An'am, vol. 4, p. 2, from the indications of miraculousness in the contexts of brevity by Badi' al-Zaman Said Nursi.
(108) The "lam" in ﴾to Allah﴿: is for ownership and its like, for possession and its like, for deserving and for lineage, for reasoning, for conveying, for amazement, for clarification, for becoming, for circumstantial meaning like in or at or after, for ending, and for superiority, like: that wealth is for Zaid, it lasts for you, what lasts for me, and I gifted you a dinar ﴾He made for you from yourselves spouses﴿ the veil for the maiden, for Zaid, uncle, ﴾To judge between the people﴿ women, I told you, and to Allah are eyes that have seen superiority ﴾Here is for you﴿ Yusuf ﴾To be for them an enemy and a grief﴿ al-Qasas ﴾The balance for the Day of Resurrection﴿ written for five that have passed, ﴾At the decline of the sun﴿ ﴾We drove it to a dead land﴿ ﴾They fall upon their chins﴿ al-Isra. Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit.
(109) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir.
(110) If you said: I praise Allah, it would imply renewal and occurrence, meaning that I am praising Allah now, for a blessing I mentioned, and I praised Allah for it, but the phrase: Praise is for Allah implies the permanence and generality of praise.


[Page 36]

If he had said "I praise Allah," it would not have conveyed this meaning(111), and it is one of the sources that govern actions that are implied and hardly mentioned alongside it. The definition for the genus (in: ﴾al-hamd﴿) is for the essence as it is, without the restriction of its commonality, and its meaning is: an indication of what everyone knows, that praise is what? Or for totality, as all praise in reality is for Allah, for there is no good except that He is its source, whether directly or indirectly. As He said: ﴾And whatever blessing you have, it is from Allah﴿. It is also said to be for the specific reference, and the specific reference is His praise (Exalted is He) of Himself in His eternity.
Shuqayq ibn Ibrahim said in the interpretation of ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿: It is on three levels: the first is that when Allah gives you something, you recognize who has given it to you, the second is that you are content with what He has given you, and the third is that as long as His power is within your body, you do not disobey Him. These are the conditions of praise.(112)
And it is astonishing that when you thank a person for their good deed, you spend hours and hours... counting words of gratitude and praise, deleting and adding, and seeking the opinions of others. Until you arrive at a poem or a speech filled with praise and thanks. However, Allah, Exalted is He, with His might and greatness, has blessings that are countless and unnumbered; He has taught us to thank Him with two words: "All praise is due to Allah."(113).
Ibn Faris said: "(The term) lord (rabb) consists of the letters raa and baa, which indicate roots. The first refers to the rectification of something and taking care of it. Thus, the lord is the owner, the creator, and the companion. And the lord is the one who rectifies something. It is said that so-and-so has raised his property when he takes care of its rectification. And this is a water container (siqaya) that is raised (marbub) by the lord. And the term 'rubb' applies to grapes and others because it is used to raise (tarb) something. And a horse is raised (marbub). Salama said:
There is no shame in being sorrowful, nor in being humble, nor in being a servant *** who is given the remedy for the affliction of the dwelling that is troubled. And the Lord: the one who rectifies things. And Allah, Exalted is He, is the Lord; because He is the rectifier of the affairs of His creation. And the one who knows the Lord (rabbi): the one who is knowledgeable about the Lord. I raised the child, I nurture him, and I have raised him, I continue to nurture him. And the foster mother (rabiba) is the one who nurtures. (114)
And “Lord” (Rabb) is an attribute of “Allah” (Allah), and it is originally a noun meaning upbringing; it is the gradual conveyance of something to its perfection, and it encompasses all blessings. Then it was described in this way for emphasis, similar to fasting and justice.
It is said: It is a description from His Lord that nurtures Him, and its root is "rabba" then it was assimilated. It is named after the Owner because He preserves what He owns and nurtures it, and it is not applied to anyone other than Him, Exalted is He, except with a condition, as in His saying: ﴾Return to your Lord﴿. Ibn Juzayy said:
__________
(111) The phrase "I thank Allah" or "We thank Allah" is linked to a specific time because the verb has a particular temporal connotation. The present tense verb indicates the present or the future, meaning that praise does not occur outside the time in which you are praising. There is no doubt that the time in which a person or people can offer praise is limited, and thus every action performed by a person is time-bound; the utmost they can do is to be linked to their lifetime, and there can be no action before or after that. Therefore, praise may be less than it should be, as thanking Allah should not be interrupted or limited by a doer or by time, whereas the phrase ﴾All praise is due to Allah﴿ is absolute, not restricted to a specific time or a specific doer, so the praise within it is continuous and uninterrupted. Al-Samarrai, stylistic touches.
(112) The Tafsir of al-Qurtubi
(113) Muhammad Metwally al-Sharawi
(114) The Dictionary of the Measures of Language


[Page 37]

Its meanings are four: the deity, the lord, the owner, and the reformer, all of which are applicable in ﴾Lord of the worlds﴿, but the most likely meaning is: the deity due to its specificity to Allah, Exalted is He (115). Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi said: The lord is the master, the owner, the stable, the worshipped, and the reformer, and some have added the meaning of the companion, citing the saying:
"Then the lord of the dogs approached him with his white hand, the tips of their feathers torn" (116).
The lord is the owner, and from this is the saying of Safwan to Abu Sufyan: "For a man from Quraysh to be my lord is more beloved to me than for a man from Hawazin to be my lord."
You say: He raised him, he nurtures him, he is a lord; and it may be a description by the source for exaggeration, as it is described by justice (117).
Al-Harawi and others said: It is said of one who undertakes the reform of something and completes it: He has raised it, he nurtures it, so he is a lord to it and a nurturer. From this, the rabbaniyoon (those who are devoted to the scriptures) are named for their commitment to the books. In the hadith: "Do you have a blessing that you nurture upon it?" meaning you uphold it and reform it. The lord is the worshipped, and from this is the saying of the poet:
"Is there a lord upon whose head the foxes urinate... indeed, he has been humiliated by those who urinate upon him."
And it is said in the plural: He raised him, he nurtured him, he brought him up, as reported by al-Nahhas. In the Sahih, it is said: So-and-so raised his child, he nurtured him, and he brought him up, meaning he raised him. The one who is raised is the nurtured.
When you add the definite article "the" to "lord," it becomes specific to Allah, Exalted is He, because it indicates a definite reference. If we remove it, it becomes common between Allah and His servants, as it is said: Allah is the lord of the servants and Zayd is the lord of the house.
The act of reform and nurturing encompasses the worlds - that is, all creatures - and Allah, Exalted is He, did not create the universe and then leave it in vain; rather, He acts within it with reform, cares for it, and nurtures it. All worlds and creatures are preserved and attended to by the care of Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Absolute lordship is the dividing line between the clarity of complete and comprehensive monotheism and the obscurity that arises from the lack of clarity of this truth in its decisive form (118). The Noble Qur'an has informed us of peoples who associate others with Allah in His lordship. He, Exalted is He, said: ﴾And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon, they will surely say, "Allah." So how are they deluded? (61) Allah extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts it for him. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things. (62) And if you ask them who sent down water from the heavens and gave life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness, they will surely say, "Allah." Say, "Praise be to Allah." But most of them do not understand. (63)﴿ (al-Ankabut). These have taken besides Allah lords, believing that they bring them closer to Allah in rank, and that they benefit them.
__________
(115) Tafsir al-Bahr al-Madid by Ibn Ajibah, with modifications,
(116) In al-Bahr al-Muhit
(117) Tafsir al-Nasafi, and al-Kashaf
(118) In Dhilal al-Qur'an


[Page 38]

And they harm them, so the reality of lordship (rububiyya) was not absolute and clear to them, and where ﴾Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And whoever associates partners with Allah has certainly committed a great sin (48)﴿ Al-Nisa, these people did not truly appreciate Allah as He deserves, and their deeds were rendered void, and their claim that Allah is the Provider and the Creator did not benefit them at all, as there must be pure monotheism (tawhid) free from polytheism (shirk), and a clear and correct understanding of the Lord, Exalted is He, in order for the reality of monotheism to be realized.
Indeed, the martyr Sayyid Qutb (may Allah have mercy on him) was correct when he considered absolute lordship (rububiyya) to be the dividing line between the clarity of comprehensive monotheism (tawhid) and those whose hearts are clouded in their perception of this lordship by confusion, polytheistic notions, and a heap of falsehood that obstructs them from the correct understanding.
He, may Allah have mercy on him, said in conclusion: "The invocation of Lordship in this surah, and the comprehensiveness of this Lordship for all the worlds, is the dividing line between order and chaos in belief, so that all worlds may turn to one Lord, acknowledging Him with absolute sovereignty, and shake off the burden of scattered lords, and the confusion as well among various lords. Then, let the conscience of these worlds find reassurance in Allah's constant care and His established Lordship. And that this care never ceases, nor diminishes, nor disappears."(119)
So who is ﴾Lord of the Worlds﴿ then?
We stood before the overall and linguistic meaning of the word "Lord" (Rabb), so what is the reality of the need of the worlds for a Lord who manages their affairs by night and day, and directs the matters of this universe? He, Exalted is He, says: ﴾Say, "To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you should know?" (84) They will say, "To Allah." Say, "Then will you not remember?" (85) Say, "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne?" (86) They will say, "To Allah." Say, "Then will you not fear Him?" (87) Say, "In whose hand is the dominion of all things, and He protects while none can protect against Him, if you should know?" (88) They will say, "To Allah." Say, "Then how are you deluded?" (89) Rather, We have brought them the truth, and indeed they are liars. (90) Allah has not taken a son, and there has not been with Him any deity. If there had been, then each deity would have certainly taken what it created, and some of them would have overpowered others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe. (91) Knower of the unseen and the witnessed; so Exalted is He above what they associate. (92)﴿
Indeed, the Lord, Exalted is He, is the One who created the heavens and the earth, and determined therein their sustenance and the provisions of the creatures. He sends down the rain, causes the crops to grow, brings forth the hidden treasures from the earth, gives life and causes death, heals, and takes vengeance. There is no good except that its return is to the Lord; it descends from Him and is connected through His mercy. He sent down the best of laws so that the lives of people may be established with justice, and He prohibited injustice for Himself, making it forbidden in the heavens and the earth. He grants protection and is not to be protected against. Thus, He deserves all praise for His countless blessings and favors, to the extent that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
__________
(119) In the Shade of the Qur'an


[Page 39]

He described him as: "I cannot enumerate Your praises; You are as You have praised Yourself," narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad.
The Exalted said: ﴾the worlds﴿. The scholars of interpretation have differed greatly regarding "the worlds." Qatadah said: "The worlds" is the plural of "world," which refers to everything that exists besides Allah, and it does not have a singular form like "group" or "people." It was said: "The people of every era are a world," as stated by al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl, due to His saying: ﴾Do you approach the males among the worlds?﴿ [al-Shu'ara: 165], meaning among the people.
Ibn Abbas said: "The worlds are the jinn and mankind," as evidenced by His saying: ﴾to be a warner to the worlds﴿ [al-Furqan: 1], and He was not a warner to the animals. Al-Farra' and Abu Ubaidah said: "The world refers to those who possess intellect, and animals are not called 'worlds,' because this plural is specifically for those who have understanding." Ibn Abbas also said: "Every living being that moves on the face of the earth."
I (al-Qurtubi) say: The first opinion is the most correct of these opinions, (that is, "the worlds" is the plural of "world," which refers to everything that exists besides Allah) because it encompasses every creature and existence, as evidenced by His saying: ﴾Pharaoh said, 'And what is the Lord of the worlds?' He said, 'The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them﴿ [al-Shu'ara: 23]. It is derived from 'alam and 'alama because it indicates its Creator. Thus, al-Zajjaj said: "The world is everything that Allah created in this world and the Hereafter." Al-Khalil said: "The 'alam, 'alama, and ma'lam are what indicate a thing; thus, the world indicates that it has a Creator and a Planner, and this is clear. (120).
Ibn Faris said: (ʿilm) with the letters ʿayn, lam, and mim is a correct and singular root that indicates a mark by which something is distinguished from another, from which comes 'alama, and from this comes 'alamin, as every kind of creation is in itself a mark and a sign. Some said: "The world is named for its gathering." Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿ [al-An'am: 45, al-Saffat: 182], and they said: "All creatures." They recited: "I have neither seen nor heard of anyone like them in the worlds."
And he said regarding the world: * "A great leader of this world." *
What the poet said regarding this indicating gathering and assembly is not far-fetched, as they call the 'alam, and it is said that it is the sea, and it is said that it is the well with abundant water. (121)
And the definite article (al) in "the worlds" indicates comprehensiveness, and what we see is that "the worlds" is the plural of "world," and the world is everything that exists besides Allah. The world can be pluralized as 'awalim and 'alamin; thus, the Lord of the worlds means the Lord of the worlds, and "the worlds" is a masculine plural. If it is said that this plural is for the rational beings, then it becomes the Lord of the rational beings.
__________
(120) Tafsir al-Qurtubi
(121) Mu'jam Maqayis al-Lugha.


[Page 40]

Those who are the realm of humans, the realm of jinn, and the realm of angels, and it may also be said: however, the choice of the two worlds over the realms is for a rhetorical reason that indicates the specificity of the accountable and those of reason (it does not include the non-reasoning) as evidenced by His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾Blessed is He who sent down upon His Servant the Criterion to be for the worlds a warner﴿ (al-Furqan 1). It is certain that it is not a warning for animals and inanimate objects, and with this, they deduced that the intended meaning of "the worlds" is those of reason and those of knowledge or the accountable.
And this is what we do not prefer here, as some scholars say: "The masculine sound plural is the plural of rational beings and is used when there is a mixture between rational beings and others as well." However, due to the importance of rational beings over others - because reason is the basis of obligation - the form of the plural in the masculine sound is the chosen one,
And this is what we lean towards, as the mention of it in the form of the masculine plural serves to indicate the meaning of the rational beings, encompassing both the rational beings and others, which is suitable for the context of the surah when viewed from the perspective that revolves around the accountable beings, as it contains a request for guidance and the expression of servitude to Allah and the request for assistance. Such matters are specific to those with intellect and knowledge; therefore, it was appropriate to choose "the worlds" (al-alamin) over other terms or words, to refer to the rational beings, in the context of accountability, guidance, assistance, and other matters that pertain to the rational beings. However, this is also complicated by looking at the context of the surah from another angle, which reveals that it also includes other creatures of Allah, Exalted is He, all of which are under the dominion of Allah, and for which He deserves praise for the blessings He has bestowed upon them, and they fall under His general mercy, Exalted is He, and He manages their affairs from the perspective of lordship, just as animals live by the blessings of Allah. Therefore, the term "the worlds" here should not be limited to rational beings alone, and Allah knows best.
At the end of Al-Fatiha, there is mention of those who have incurred wrath, and they are the Jews, and ﴾the worlds﴿ is a response to the Jews who claimed that Allah, Exalted is He, is only the Lord of the Jews. Thus, ﴾Lord of the worlds﴿ came to encompass all of the worlds, not just some of them.

﴾The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful﴿
And ﴾The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate﴿ in the basmala has a meaning different from ﴾The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate﴿ in the Fatiha. In the basmala, it reminds us of Allah's mercy (Exalted is He) and forgiveness so that we do not feel ashamed or afraid to seek help by invoking the name of Allah even if we have committed a sin. Allah (Exalted is He) wants us to always seek help by His name in all our actions. If one of us falls into a sin, he might say: "How can I seek help by the name of Allah when I have disobeyed Him?" We say to him: Enter upon Him (Exalted is He) through the door of mercy, and He will forgive you, and you will seek help from Him, and He will respond to you.
But ﴾The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful﴿ in the Opening (Al-Fatiha) is coupled with "Lord of the Worlds," who brought you into existence from non-existence, and provided you.


[Page 41]

Indeed, the blessings are countless and immeasurable. You praise Him for these blessings that you have received by the mercy of Allah, Exalted is He, in His Lordship, for Lordship contains no harshness as much as it contains mercy. How could it be otherwise when the attribute of Lordship appears in the opening chapter (Al-Fatiha) between the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman) and the Most Compassionate (Ar-Rahim) in the basmala, and the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman) and the Most Compassionate (Ar-Rahim) in the body of the surah?
And Allah, Exalted is He, is the Lord of both the believer and the disbeliever; He is the One who called them all into existence. Therefore, He grants them blessings out of His mercy, not based on what they deserve. The sun rises on both the believer and the disbeliever, and its rays are not withheld from the disbeliever to be given only to the believer. Rain falls on those who worship Allah and on those who worship idols besides Allah, and the air is breathed by the one who says there is no god but Allah and by the one who does not say it (122). This is the provision of Lordship in this worldly life. As for the provision of Divinity, whoever worships Allah sincerely will succeed in the Hereafter, while whoever associates partners with Him will have his deeds nullified, and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.
Sayed Qutb said: ﴾The Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman) and the Most Compassionate (Ar-Rahim)﴿: This attribute, which encompasses all meanings, states, and fields of mercy, is repeated here in the core of the surah, in an independent verse, to affirm the prominent characteristic of that comprehensive Lordship and to establish the pillars of the permanent connection between the Lord and His subjects, and between the Creator and His creations. It is the connection of mercy and care that evokes praise and commendation; it is the connection that is based on reassurance and pulses with affection. Praise is the innate response to the fresh mercy (123).
﴾The Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman) and the Most Compassionate (Ar-Rahim)﴿, along with His saying ﴾Lord of the worlds (Rabb al-Alamin)﴿, are attributes of praise because what precedes them (Allah) is a proper noun that does not allow for shared naming, thus it is specified (124). He began first with the description of Lordship; if Lord means master, or owner, or deity, it is an active attribute for the one described by it, governing the governed, the owned, and the worshipped as He wills for good and evil (125). Thus, it is appropriate for this description to be accompanied by the attributes of mercy and compassion so that the servant's hope for forgiveness may expand if he stumbles, and his hope may strengthen if he falters. It is not correct for Lord to mean the established or the companion (and these are among its linguistic meanings) due to the impossibility of attributing it to the worlds. If it means the reformer, then the description of mercy implies a lack of reform because the bearer
__________
(122) Muhammad Metwally Al-Shaarawi, with modifications
(123) In the Shadows of the Qur'an
(124) We say that the name of Allah, Exalted is He, cannot be attributed to anyone else, as it is not a case of shared terminology like the word "eye," which is shared by the spy, the seeing eye, the eye of water, and other meanings that necessitate specifying it to one of them to clarify the speaker's intent.
(125) An active attribute means that the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman) has mercy, and the Compassionate (Ar-Rahim) has mercy, thus His mercy relates to the creature, while the attributes of essence are descriptions of Him, Exalted is He, regardless of their relation to others. The Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman) can be viewed as an attribute of essence and also as an active attribute.


[Page 42]

It is upon the person to rectify the condition of the individual, as it is a mercy for him(126). The essence of the sentence and the description is that whoever is characterized by lordship and mercy towards the created beings is deserving of praise(127).
If we reflect, we will find that in the phrase of basmala ﴾In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿, the Benefactor (the One who bestows blessings) is mentioned, but the beneficiary (the one who receives blessings) is not mentioned. Whereas in the surah, Allah mentions the name ﴾The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful﴿ after His saying: ﴾Lord of the worlds﴿; He is Most Gracious to the worlds and Most Merciful to them.
And a similar mention is made by Him, Exalted is He, regarding the straight path (sirat) in the Opening (Al-Fatiha), beginning with those who will walk upon it, or those who will take it as a straight path to follow in this worldly life, as He said: ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿, then He followed it by mentioning those who will walk upon it and follow the guidance in the methodologies of life: ﴾the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor﴿.
﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿
Some of the reciters read ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ as "the King" which refers to the overwhelming authority, the complete dominance, and the ability to exercise total control over public affairs through command and prohibition, reward and punishment, recompense and accountability, resolving disputes, and rectifying shortcomings. It was also read as ﴾Owner of the Day of Judgment﴿, and both readings are correct and widely transmitted in the seven readings.
And "Malik" (ملك) is derived from "mulk" (ملک), as He said: ﴾Indeed, We will inherit the earth and whoever is upon it, and to Us they will be returned﴿. And He said: ﴾Say, "I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, * The King of mankind"﴿. And "Malik" (ملك) is taken from "mulk" (ملک), as He, Exalted is He, said: ﴾To whom belongs the dominion today? To Allah, the One, the Prevailing﴿. And He said: ﴾His word is the truth, and to Him belongs the dominion﴿. And He said: ﴾The dominion on that Day is the truth for the Most Merciful, and it will be a difficult Day for the disbelievers﴿.
Ibn Faris said: The letters mīm, lām, and kāf form a correct root that indicates strength in something and soundness. It is said: "I strengthened (amalaka) the dough: I made its mixing strong and firm." And "I empowered (mallektu) the thing: I made it strong. He said:
He possessed with the strength that is above its shell, like the drowning of eggs that the heat has caused from the origin of this. Then it was said that a person possesses something, he owns it with ownership. The name for ownership is "malik"; because his hand in it is strong and sound. Thus, ownership (milk) is what is owned from wealth. The owned (mamluk) is the servant.(128)
And the owner and the kingdom, the linguists said: They both refer back to the dominion, which is the binding, and from it is the ownership of the dough,
__________
(126) That is, the chosen meanings of the Lord (Rabb) are the Owner, the Master, or the Worshipped.
(127) The Comprehensive Sea (al-Bahr al-Muhit) by Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi
(128) The Dictionary of the Measures of Language by Ibn Faris


[Page 43]

And kingship is the domination and authority over those from whom obedience can be obtained, and this can be through merit or without merit. (129).
The scholars have differed on which is more eloquent: "King" (Malik) or "Owner" (Malik)? Both readings are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as well as from Abu Bakr and Umar. Al-Tirmidhi mentioned them, and it was said that "King" (Malik) is more general and more eloquent than "Owner" (Malik) because every king is an owner, but not every owner is a king. This is because the kingship is binding on the owner in his ownership, such that he cannot act except in accordance with the management of kingship, as stated by Abu Ubaidah and Al-Mubarrad. It was also said that "Owner" (Malik) is more eloquent because he is the owner of people and others, thus the owner has greater authority and is more significant, as he is responsible for implementing the laws of Sharia, and he has the additional aspect of ownership.
Abu Hatim said: "Indeed, Malik is more eloquent in praising the Creator than 'Malik', and 'Malik' is more eloquent in praising the created beings than Malik. The difference between them is that the owner (malik) among the created beings may not be a king (malik), and when Allah, Exalted is He, is an owner, He is a king. This opinion was chosen by the judge Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi(130). And we should note that the owner may be a king and may not be, and the king may be an owner and may not be."
Ibn Faris said: "(Religion) is a single root to which all its branches return, consisting of the letters dāl, yā, and nūn. It is a type of submission and humility. Thus, religion (dīn) means obedience; it is said, 'He submitted to him (dāna lahu), he obeyed (yadīn dīnan)' when he accompanied and submitted and obeyed. A people are dīn, meaning they are obedient and submissive." The poet said:
* And the people were except for us in religion *
And the city is as if it is a place of action, named so because obedience to those in authority is established therein. As for His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾What was it that he should take his brother in the religion of the king?﴿ [Yusuf 76], it is said: in his obedience, and it is said in his judgment. From it: ﴾Master of the Day of Judgment﴿ [al-Fatiha 4], meaning the Day of Judgment. Some have said: the day of reckoning and recompense. Whichever it may be, it is a matter to which one submits. Abu Zayd said: The religion (din) of a man is what he is compelled to follow when he is burdened with what he dislikes. On the Day of Judgment, it is the day of submission to Allah, Exalted is He, and the day when the truth becomes evident to all creatures that Allah, Exalted is He, is the Sovereign, the Judge, who governs people with His commands and prohibitions. Whoever obeys Him succeeds, and whoever disobeys Him is held accountable. It is the day of reckoning, the day of recompense, and the day of religion itself, the day of faith, the day of the emergence and triumph of the true faith. Therefore, we say there is no word that can replace the word "religion."(131)
Belief in the Day of Judgment is a fundamental principle of Islamic creed that holds significant value in directing the attention and hearts of people towards another world beyond this earthly one, so that they are not overwhelmed by the necessities of this world. At that point, they possess the ability to rise above these necessities. They are not consumed by anxiety over achieving the reward for their efforts during their lifetime.
__________
(129) The Interpretation of the Surrounding Sea
(130) The Tafsir of al-Qurtubi
(131) The Dictionary of the Measures of Language


[Page 44]

The limited shortness, and in the confined realm of the earth. At that point, they possess the ability to work for the sake of Allah and await the reward as Allah decrees, whether in this world or in the Hereafter, with tranquility towards Allah, and confidence in goodness, and determination in truth, and expansiveness and generosity and certainty.. Hence, this principle serves as the crossroads between servitude to whims and desires, and the human freedom befitting humanity. Between submission to earthly perceptions and values and attachment to divine values and rising above the logic of ignorance. The crossroads between humanity in its highest reality that Allah, the Lord, intended for His servants, and the distorted, deviant images that were not destined for perfection(132).
﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.﴿
The meaning of worship:
Worship (ibadah) in language means submission and humility towards others with the intention of glorifying them, and it is not permissible to do so except for Allah, and it is used in the meaning of obedience.
Ibn Manzur said: "The servant (abd): a human being, whether free or enslaved, which indicates that he is a created being under his Creator, Exalted is He. It is said that so-and-so is a clear servant of servitude. The essence of servitude is submission and humility. And worship (ibadah) is obedience; Ibn al-Anbari said: 'So-and-so is a worshipper (abid): he is the one who is submissive to his Lord, yielding and compliant to His command.'" ((133)).
Al-Firuzabadi said, "... and worship is obedience" ((134)), and based on this, the definition of worship in the Arabic language is: humiliation and submission that necessitates obedience to the one worshiped in command and prohibition. Therefore, a slave is called "abd" (عبد) because he humbles himself and submits to his master in command and prohibition regarding matters of life.
In terminology: they mentioned several similar definitions for it, including:
(1) - It is the highest rank of submission to Allah and humility before Him.
(2) - She is the one who is obligated against the desires of her own self, in reverence for her Lord.
(3) - It is an action that is intended only to glorify Allah through His command.
(4) - It is a term for what Allah loves and is pleased with among statements, actions, and both outward and inward deeds.
(5) Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) defined it as: "The perfection of love for Allah along with the perfection of submission to Allah along with the perfection of fear of Allah."
The reality of worship
__________
(132) In the shadows of the Qur'an.
(133) () The Comprehensive Language of the Arabs (Lisān al-‘Arab al-Muḥīṭ) (2 / 664) by Ibn Manẓūr – Dar Lisān al-‘Arab Edition – Beirut
(134) The Comprehensive Dictionary (al-Qamus al-Muhit) (1 / 311) by al-Firuzabadi – Dar al-Fikr edition – Egypt.


[Page 45]

The reality of worship: it is the ultimate sanctification of the worshipped, Exalted is He, and it is the greatest manifestation of gratitude that the created being must perform towards the One who has bestowed upon him the blessing of creation and existence. It is accomplished through the submission of the heart and limbs to Allah, acting in accordance with what He has commanded, through actions intended solely for the sake of Allah, without any partner, in the manner that the worshipped, Exalted is He, has commanded, out of love and submission to Him, and out of fear of His punishment. He alone is worthy of worship, without any others.
The rulings of worship are definitive
The rulings of worship are definitive from Allah, Exalted is He, and a person performs them in the manner that Allah has commanded, as worship is merely a system that organizes the relationship between the created being and the Creator, that is, the relationship between the worshipper and the worshipped. This system cannot be established by the created being at all, because the created being does not comprehend the reality of the Creator to organize his relationship with Him, nor does he grasp His essence to know how to worship Him. It is impossible for a person to devise a system of worship in his mind that organizes his relationship with the Creator, that is, organizes his sanctification of the Creator, because establishing this organization requires understanding the reality of the Creator, which is impossible. Thus, it has become impossible for a person to formulate the rulings of worship in his mind. Hence, it is necessary for the system of worship to come from the Creator, not from the created being, that is, to come from the worshipped, not from the worshipper. Therefore, the rulings of worship must come solely from Allah, and not from humans, and humans have no role in any part of it, no matter how small, because it is impossible for them to establish it. This system must be conveyed by the Creator to the created being, so that he may worship the deity accordingly. Thus, the need for messengers to convey to people the rulings of worship is an absolute necessity, as it is impossible for people to establish rulings in worship, and because they can only come from Allah, Exalted is He. (135)
Worship can only be derived from revelation:
The purpose of worship is to refine the soul by turning to Allah, submitting to Him, and adhering to His rulings by complying with His commands. It can only be derived through revelation of both types: the Glorious Book and the Sunnah of the infallible Prophet, who does not speak out of desire. Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾And he does not speak out of desire. It is but a revelation revealed﴿.
The condition of intention in worship:
There is no disagreement among the jurists regarding the necessity of intention in worship due to the hadith "Actions are judged by intentions." The wisdom behind the obligation of intention in worship is to distinguish worship from habit, and to differentiate the ranks of some acts of worship from others. For this reason, they said: Intention is obligatory in acts of worship that may be confused with habits. For example, ablution and bathing are often interchanged between
__________
(135) Islamic Thought, Muhammad Muhammad Ismail, with modifications.


[Page 46]

Purification, cooling, and worship, and abstaining from things that break the fast may be for the sake of diet and healing, or it may be due to a lack of need for it, or it may be for the legal fast. Sitting in the mosque may be for rest or for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat). Giving money to others may be voluntary charity or obligatory zakat (almsgiving). Thus, the intention (niyyah) was legislated to distinguish worship from other actions. Prayer may be obligatory (fard) or voluntary (nafl), so the intention was legislated to distinguish the obligatory from the voluntary.
As for those acts that do not resemble customary actions, such as faith in Allah, fear, hope, the call to prayer (adhan), the establishment of prayer (iqamah), the Friday sermon (khutbah), recitation of the Qur'an, and remembrance (dhikr), there is no obligation for intention in them because they are distinguished by their form. (136)
﴾It is You we worship and You we ask for help﴿
The Exalted One has placed the two objects "we worship" and "we ask for help" in this order for the purpose of specification, for He alone deserves worship. Thus, He did not say "We worship You and we ask You for help" because that does not indicate the specification of worship to Allah, the Exalted. However, the phrase ﴾It is You we worship﴿ means to specify worship to Allah alone, and likewise in seeking help ﴾It is You we ask for help﴿ is exclusively to Allah. ﴾Our Lord, in You we have put our trust, and to You we turn in repentance, and to You is the final destination﴿ (Al-Mumtahanah 4) is all exclusively for Allah alone. Thus, reliance, turning in repentance, and the reference are all to Him, Exalted is He. ﴾And upon Allah, let those who would rely rely﴿ (Ibrahim 12).
Why did He repeat "You" with the verb of seeking help and did not say "It is You we worship and we ask for help"?
The repetition emphasizes the exclusivity of the one sought for help. If we had limited ourselves to one pronoun, "It is You we worship and we ask for help," it would not have indicated the one sought for help but rather the one worshipped only. If we had limited ourselves to one pronoun, it would have been understood that one cannot draw near to Him except by combining worship and seeking help, meaning that one does not worship without seeking help nor seeks help without worship, which is not the case. Rather, we worship Him independently and seek help from Him independently, and they may coincide; thus, the repetition in the pronoun ﴾It is You we worship and It is You we ask for help﴿ is necessary. Additionally, repetition serves as an emphasis in language; repetition carries strength and affirmation for seeking help in what is not omitted.
﴾It is You we worship and It is You we ask for help﴿: The Exalted One has released the verb of seeking help without specifying "we ask for help for something" or "we ask for help for obedience" or anything else, but He has made it general to include everything and not limited to one matter of the worldly affairs. It encompasses everything a person wants to seek help from his Lord regarding, for seeking help is not restricted to a specific matter. The Exalted One expressed seeking help and worship using the plural pronoun (we worship and we ask for help) rather than the singular expression "I worship and I ask for help," and this indicates the importance of community in Islam; thus, reading is required.
__________
(136) The Kuwaiti Jurisprudence Encyclopedia


[Page 47]

This surah is about prayer and establishes that congregational prayer is better than individual prayer by twenty-seven times. It contains evidence of the importance of the congregation in Islam in general, such as the community of Muslims under a caliph who governs them by the law of Allah. This is why the year in which Imam Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) relinquished the caliphate to Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) is called the Year of the Congregation. This includes pilgrimage, congregational prayer, zakat, jihad, festivals, and fasting. Additionally, the believers are brothers; if one says "You alone we worship," it would neglect the worship of his fellow believers. However, when we say ﴾إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ﴿ ("You alone we worship"), we mention all the believers, and the speaker also enters the ranks of the believers.
Why is worship coupled with seeking help?
Firstly, it indicates that a person cannot perform the worship of Allah except with His assistance and guidance. It is, therefore, a reminder and declaration that a person cannot do anything without Allah's help, and it is an acknowledgment of human inability to fulfill acts of worship and bear the heavy trust unless Allah assists him in that. Seeking help from Allah is a remedy for human arrogance and pride in not seeking Allah's assistance and an acknowledgment of human weakness.
Why is worship mentioned before seeking help?
Worship is the reason for the creation of jinn and humans ﴾وما خلقت الجن والانس الا ليعبدون﴿ ("And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me") (adh-Dhariyat 56), and seeking help is merely a means to worship, so worship takes precedence. Worship is the right of Allah, while seeking help is a request from His rights, and the right of Allah takes precedence over His requests.(137)
The singular pronoun and the majestic plural in the address of the Lord of the worlds
The Lord of the worlds said ﴾إياك﴿ ("You alone"), and did not say: ﴾إياكم﴿ ("You all"). In other places in the Qur'an, He says: ﴾إنا﴿ ("Indeed, We"). When is the singular pronoun used, and when is the majestic plural used in the address of the Lord of the worlds?
The scholar al-Sharawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Here, we must note that Allah, Exalted is He, when informing us about an action of His, always comes with the majestic plural, which we call the "plural of majesty." We notice that the majestic plural is used by heads of states and kings, who say, "We, so-and-so, have commanded what is to come." It is as if the greatness in a human being has harnessed various talents to implement the decision issued by the head of state. The police, judiciary, state, and armed forces participate in executing the decision if it is a decision of war. Various talents from different groups collaborate to implement the decision. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, possesses absolute perfection; everything necessary for execution from
__________
(137) Fadl al-Samarrai, with modifications, in his work "Lamasat Bayaniya," also stated: "Say, 'He is the Most Merciful; we have believed in Him, and upon Him we have relied'" (al-Mulk 29). The belief is presented before the prepositional phrase here because belief is not limited to Allah alone; rather, we must believe in Allah, His messengers, His books, His angels, the Last Day, and divine decree. Therefore, it did not come as "we have believed." However, in reliance, it came as "and upon Him we have relied," not "we relied upon Him," because reliance is confined to Allah, Exalted is He.


[Page 48]

The Attributes of Allah, Exalted is He... When Allah, Glorified and Exalted, speaks about an action that requires the perfection of His attributes, He says ﴾Indeed, We﴿: ﴾Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will preserve it﴿ [al-Hijr: 9].
However, when Allah speaks about His divinity alone and His worship alone, He uses the singular pronoun... like His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾Indeed, I am Allah; there is no deity except Me. So worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance﴿ [Ta-Ha: 14].
He does not say "worship Us." Thus, in every action where Allah, Exalted is He, uses the plural of majesty, and in every command related to worship and monotheism, He uses the singular. This is so that we understand that the action of Allah is not merely the result of His power alone, nor His knowledge alone, nor His wisdom alone, nor His mercy alone. Rather, every action of Allah encompasses the complete attributes of absolute perfection of Allah.
The plural of majesty serves to draw our attention to this truth, highlighting for the mind the completeness of attributes in Allah. Because as a human, you may have the ability but lack knowledge, or you may have knowledge but lack ability, and you may have knowledge while wisdom eludes you. Therefore, the completeness of attributes is essential (138).
As for the address when the subject pertains to servitude to Allah, the station of pure monotheism necessitates the singular to establish in the worshiper that the object of worship is one and that the deity is one without partner.

﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿
Al-Jawhari said in the Sahih: The path (sirat) is the way.
The path is the way, and it is any passage between two opposing or facing points, like the banks of a river or the summits of two mountains, or truth and falsehood, misguidance and guidance in Islam, or disbelief and faith. The path is singular; it is neither dual nor plural. It has been metaphorically used in the Holy Qur'an for monotheism, as there is no deity but Allah, transitioning from disbelief to faith ﴾Say, "Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path, a correct religion, the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists"﴿ (al-An'am: 161) ﴾Whomever Allah wills to misguide, He leaves astray, and whomever He wills, He guides to a straight path﴿ (al-An'am: 39) ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿ (al-Fatiha: 7) ﴾So follow me; I will guide you to a straight path﴿ (Maryam: 43) ﴾And indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter are deviating from the path﴿ (al-Mu'minun: 74) (139).
And the path in this verse is a metaphor for the truth that leads one to attain the pleasure of Allah, for that attainment is what Islam seeks. The straight is a participle derived from the verb "to be straight," meaning it is without deviation or turns, and it is the best of paths that is straight, which is the main road.
__________
(138) Tafsir al-Shahrani
(139) Ahmad al-Kubaisi


[Page 49]

Because with its straightness, one is closer to the intended destination than with anything else, so the traveler does not go astray in it, nor does he hesitate or become confused.
The path is one, while the ways are many and diverse:
﴾And indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it; and do not follow other paths, for they will separate you from His path. This He has enjoined upon you that you may become righteous. (153)﴿ Al-An'am. The imams narrated from Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What I have commanded you, take it; and what I have forbidden you, refrain from it." Ibn Majah and others narrated from al-Irbad ibn Sariya that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that caused our eyes to shed tears and our hearts to tremble. We said: O Messenger of Allah, this is a farewell sermon; what do you advise us? He said: "I have left you on the clear path, its night is like its day; none will deviate from it after me except one who is doomed. Whoever among you lives will see much disagreement, so adhere to what you know of my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me; hold on to it with your molar teeth. And beware of newly invented matters, for every innovation is misguidance. And you must obey, even if a slave from Ethiopia leads you, for indeed, the believer is like a well-trained camel; wherever it is tied, it submits." It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi in a similar manner and authenticated.
Abu Dawood narrated that Ibn Kathir said: Sufyan informed us that a man wrote to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz asking him about predestination (qadar); so he wrote to him: "To proceed, I advise you to fear Allah and to be moderate in your affairs, to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and to abandon what the innovators have introduced after his Sunnah was established. And you should avoid its burdens. Therefore, adhere to the community, for it is, by the permission of Allah, a protection for you. Then know that no one has innovated an innovation except that there was a precedent for it, either as evidence or as a lesson; for the Sunnah was established by one who knew what was erroneous and misguided in its opposition, and the foolishness and excessiveness therein. Be content with what the people were content with for themselves, for they stood upon knowledge, and with keen insight they were restrained. They were stronger in uncovering matters, and more deserving of the virtue they possessed. If guidance is what you are upon, then you have preceded them to it. And if you say that what occurred happened after them, then what was innovated was only by one who followed a path other than theirs and turned away from them; for they are the forerunners. They spoke about it sufficiently and described what was healing. Those below them are deficient, and those above them are excessive. And indeed, some people fell short of them and became harsh, while others exceeded them and became extreme. Yet, despite that, they are upon a straight guidance." And he mentioned the hadith.
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: Al-Aswad ibn Amer Shadhan narrated to us, Abu Bakr, who is Ibn Ayyash, narrated from Asim, who is Ibn Abi al-Najud, from Abu Wail, from Abdullah, who is Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drew a line with his hand, then said: "This is the straight path of Allah." He drew lines to his right and left, then said: "These are the paths, and there is not one of them except that there is a devil calling to it." Then he recited: ﴾And indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it; and do not follow the other paths, for they will separate you from His path﴿,


[Page 50]

And His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾So follow him and do not follow the other paths﴿, He has unified His path; because the truth is one, and for this reason, He has gathered the paths; to indicate their divergence and branching; as He, Exalted is He, said:
﴾Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out of darkness into light. And those who disbelieve, their allies are the tyrants. They bring them out of light into darkness. It is they who are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein forever.﴿ Al-Baqarah. For this reason, the Exalted One used the singular term for light (nur) and the plural for darkness (dhulumat), because the truth is one, while disbelief has many forms. And Allah, Exalted is He, said:
﴾And He made the darkness and the light﴿, and He, Exalted is He, said: "And those who denied Our signs are deaf and dumb in the darkness. Whomever Allah wills, He leads astray, and whomever He wills, He places on a straight path." (39) Al-An'am
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said regarding the verse ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿ that it refers to the Qur'an, saying: "Guide us to its knowledge"(140).
﴾Indeed, my Lord is on a straight path.﴿
When a believer calls upon their Lord in prayer to guide them to the straight path, they are asking Him to place them on a great matter that the Lord of Glory has described Himself as being upon, and He has described His prophets (peace be upon them) as being upon it. He has made clear that the call of those prophets is indeed to this straight path, and that they guide towards it. Reflect on the greatness of this matter; the Lord of Glory, Exalted is He, says:
﴾Indeed, I have placed my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature but He takes it by the forelock. Indeed, my Lord is on a straight path (56)﴿ Hud. The meaning is that Allah, Exalted is He, although He is capable of everything, does not act except with justice; and the straight path is a metaphor for actions that conform to justice and wisdom; because justice is likened to straightness and equality. It is said that its meaning is that there is no flaw in His management, nor disparity in His creation, Exalted is He. Thus, His methodology, which He has revealed, is without flaw or disparity, and His actions, Exalted is He, are in accordance with justice and wisdom. It is fitting for us to understand that the ultimate goal is to elevate our actions to align with the correct path that the Lord of the worlds has chosen for Himself and His messengers.
Thus, when we ask Allah to guide us to the straight path, we are indeed asking Him to take us by the hand to that great and significant matter, to direct our journey on the right path in the most upright manner and in the highest form(141).
__________
(140) Al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Quran by al-Zarkashi
(141) A parallel to this understanding is found in what was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in what he reported from Allah, Exalted is He, that He said: "O My servants! I have forbidden oppression upon Myself and made it forbidden among you. So do not oppress one another. O My servants! All of you are misguided except for those whom I have guided. So seek guidance from Me, and I will guide you. O My servants! All of you are hungry except for those whom I have fed. So seek food from Me, and I will feed you. O My servants! All of you are naked except for those whom I have clothed. So seek clothing from Me, and I will clothe you. O My servants! You commit sins by night and by day, and I forgive all sins. So seek My forgiveness, and I will forgive you. O My servants! You will not reach My harm so as to harm Me, and you will not reach My benefit so as to benefit Me. O My servants! If the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, were to be as pious as the heart of the most pious man among you, it would not increase My dominion in anything. O My servants! If the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, were to be as wicked as the heart of the most wicked man among you, it would not decrease My dominion in anything. O My servants! If the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, stood in one place and asked Me, and I gave every person what they asked for, it would not decrease what I have except as a needle decreases when it is put into the sea. O My servants! Your deeds are recorded for you. Then I will give you your due. So whoever finds good, let him praise Allah. And whoever finds otherwise, let him blame no one but himself." In another narration: "I have forbidden oppression upon Myself and upon My servants. So do not oppress one another." Narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghafari, reported by Muslim - source: Sahih Muslim - So, whoever knows that Allah, Exalted is He, has forbidden oppression upon Himself, how can his soul allow him to commit oppression and enter into injustice in His dominion, when He has forbidden it upon Himself and upon His servants?


[Page 51]

﴾Indeed, you are among the messengers (3) on a straight path (4)﴿ Yasin, ﴾Indeed, Ibrahim was a nation, obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists (120) grateful for His favors; He chose him and guided him to a straight path (121)﴿ An-Nahl. Thus, reaching the straight path is a great blessing that Allah chooses His elite creation for, may Allah make us and you among them.
﴾Say, "Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path, a correct religion, the religion of Ibrahim, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists (161)﴿ Al-An'am, perhaps this is a summary of the description of the religion that Allah revealed to His Messenger, as it is the straight path of Allah!
﴾And indeed, you invite them to a straight path (73)﴿ Al-Mu'minun
﴾And thus We have revealed to you a Spirit by Our command. You did not know what the Book was, nor what faith was, but We made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, you guide to a straight path (52) the path of Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Indeed, to Allah belong all matters (53)﴿ Ash-Shura
﴾There has certainly come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book (15) by which Allah guides whoever follows His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out of darkness into light by His permission and guides them to a straight path (16)﴿ Al-Ma'idah, so the way to reach the straight path is one, which is to follow the methodology of truth and take it as a path (142), ﴾And follow me; this is a straight path (61)﴿ Az-Zukhruf, and this matter is not easy; rather, a person must hold onto it with both hands and cling to it, otherwise it will slip from his grasp and expose him to the danger of slipping into the paths of destruction: ﴾So hold firmly to that which has been revealed to you. Indeed, you are upon a straight path (43)﴿ Az-Zukhruf, then a person must equip himself with worship, ﴾Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path (64)﴿ Az-Zukhruf, to assist him in clinging to this guidance: ﴾And whoever holds firmly to Allah has certainly been guided to a straight path (101)﴿ Al-Imran, and the straight path is the criterion between those who realize the purpose of their existence in life and draw from their sustenance while understanding the truth, feeling secure in it, not preoccupying themselves with trivial matters, for while he walks on a straight path, he sees with his far-sighted insight what those who walk with their heads bowed toward the ground do not see, as trivial matters distract them from the great ones, and they do not see a purpose for their lives, so surely the state of this one is different from that one!
﴾Is he who walks prone on his face more guided, or he who walks upright on a straight path? (22)﴿ Al-Mulk
A man whom Allah has associated with His dominion!!
This straight path of Allah, and His straight methodology, is the safeguard against injustice on earth and the protection from the oppression of people against one another. Just as an individual can be on a straight path, an entire nation can also be on a straight path by applying the methodology of its Lord in its life, so reflect with me on what I will say to you:
__________
(142) ﴾I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant in the earth without right. And if they see every sign, they will not believe in them; and if they see the path of righteousness, they will not take it as a path; and if they see the path of error, they will take it as a path. That is because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them (146)﴿ Al-A'raf


[Page 52]

Ibn Qutaybah al-Dinuri mentioned in his book "Imamate and Politics" that Ibrahim ibn Muslim informed them about Rija' ibn Haywah, who looked at Tawus al-Yamani praying in the Sacred Mosque. Rija' then went to Suleiman ibn Abdul Malik, who was at that time in Mecca having performed the pilgrimage that year. He said: "I saw Tawus in the mosque; would you like to send for him?" Suleiman then sent for him. When Tawus came to him, Rija' said to Suleiman: "O Commander of the Faithful, do not ask him about anything until he speaks first." When Tawus sat down, he remained silent for a long time. Then he said: "What is the first thing that was created?" We said: "We do not know." He said: "The first thing that was created is the pen." Then he said: "Do you know what was the first thing written?" We said: "No." He said: "The first thing that was written was 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,' then he wrote the decree of good and evil until the Day of Judgment." Then he said: "Do you know who the most hated of creation to Allah is?" We said: "No." He said: "The most hated of creation to Allah, Exalted is He, is a servant whom Allah has associated with His dominion, so he acted in disobedience to Him." Then he stood up. Rija' said: "The house became dark to me, and I kept fearing for him until he disappeared. I saw Suleiman scratching his head with his hand, until I feared that his nails would injure the flesh of his head."
This was narrated by Tawus al-Yamani (may Allah be pleased with him) from his son Abdullah ibn Tawus. It has been mentioned in Shadharat al-Dhahab and in many books of history and biographies. Ziyad narrated from Malik ibn Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: When Abu Ja'far sent for Malik ibn Anas and Ibn Tawus in the year 142 AH, he said: We entered upon him while he was sitting on cushions, and before him were mats spread out, and there were guards with swords in their hands striking necks. He gestured for us to sit, so we sat down. He was silent for a long time, then he raised his head and turned to Ibn Tawus and said: "Tell me about your father." He said: I heard my father say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The person who will suffer the most severe punishment on the Day of Resurrection is a man whom Allah has associated with His sovereignty, and he has introduced injustice into his judgment." Abu Ja'far remained silent for a while until the space between us turned dark, Malik said: I gathered my garments in fear that his blood might touch me, thinking that al-Mansur would surely kill him. Then al-Mansur said to Abdullah: "Hand me that inkpot," three times, but he did not do so. He said to him: "Why did you not hand me the inkpot?" He said: "I fear that you will write a sin with it, and I would have participated in it." When he heard that, he said to them: "Get away from me." Abdullah said: "This is what we sought." Malik said: "From that day on, I continued to recognize the virtue of Ibn Tawus."
It was mentioned in Al-Durr Al-Manthoor by Al-Suyuti and narrated by Ibn Abi Shayba, and in Sunan Al-Tirmidhi: from Amr ibn Al-Harith ibn Al-Mustalaq who said, "It was said that the two most severely punished people on the Day of Resurrection are: a woman who disobeys her husband and a leader of a people whom they dislike." Then Hanad said, Jareer said, Mansour said, "We asked about the matter of the leader, and it was said to us that this refers to oppressive leaders, but as for one who upholds the Sunnah, then the sin is upon the one who dislikes him." It came in Tuhfat Al-Ahwathi: Al-Iraqi said, "This is like the saying of the companion, 'We used to say and we used to do.' Indeed, Amr ibn Al-Harith was a companion and he is the brother of Juwayriya bint Al-Harith, one of the Mothers of the Believers. If it is taken to mean the elevated form, it is as if he said, 'It was said to us,' and the speaker is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Ahmad and al-Bazzar narrated from the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, as a statement: “The people who will suffer the most torment on the Day of Resurrection are those who killed a prophet or were killed by a prophet and an unjust leader.” Zain al-Hafiz al-Iraqi said in his commentary on al-Tirmidhi that its chain of narration is authentic.


[Page 53]

And the Lord of the worlds, who is the most truthful of speakers, said: ﴾Mankind was one community, and Allah sent the prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He sent down with them the Book in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed.﴿ 213 Al-Baqarah. And He, Exalted is He, said: ﴾Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth so that you may judge between the people by what Allah has shown you, and do not be an advocate for the treacherous.﴿ 105 An-Nisa.
In addition to this, it is commanded that the sovereignty of the Sharia (Islamic law) should dominate the relationships between the ruler and the ruled, as He said: ﴾O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.﴿ (59)
Thus, it is commanded that the ruled and the rulers, if they dispute over something, should refer it to the judgment of the Sharia, and this is made a sign of faith, as He said: ﴾So refer it to Allah and the Messenger﴿, and He followed that with: ﴾If you should believe in Allah and the Last Day.﴿ He did not stop there but praised this action by saying: ﴾That is the best [way] and best in result.﴿ This indicates His emphasis and insistence on referring matters to the judgment of the Sharia, and this is one of the most eloquent encouragements to realize the sovereignty of the Sharia. Through all of this, the importance of establishing the sovereignty of the Sharia in the view of Islam becomes clear.
Moreover, Allah has linked obedience to Him and obedience to His Messenger with obedience to those in authority among us, because those in authority, as Ibn Tawus reported from his father, are included in His dominion. In another narration, in His kingdom, meaning He made them successors who rule by what has been revealed from justice so that people may uphold equity. If they introduce injustice upon the people, then the people will not uphold what Allah has created them for and revealed to them of His laws to establish. Thus, these rulers would have introduced injustice against the Exalted One, so what could be more grievous than that!
If people refer to the Sharia of Allah, justice will prevail, and the heavens and the earth will be established in truth, and Allah's grace will descend upon creation, in accordance with His saying: ﴾And if they had remained steadfast on the right course, We would have given them abundant water to drink.﴿
So when their rulers introduce injustice and transgress and oppress, they distance the people from uprightness. If the people do not hold their rulers accountable to guide them towards the truth, the truth will be lost, and the heavens and the earth will be corrupted. Injustice will enter the earth, sanctities will be violated, rights will be infringed upon, and judgments will be corrupted. Injustice will enter the dominion of the earth, and Allah, Exalted is He, has decreed upon the creation, both rulers and ruled, to uphold equity and to walk on the straight path. Yet, some have refused, and some have turned back, leading to the emergence of injustice, and the paths of Satan have appeared in place of Allah's straight path, and those who slip have fallen into them. Thus, Allah's wrath intensifies, and His punishment becomes severe: ﴾And whoever turns away from My remembrance, indeed, he will have a depressed life.﴿
The issue of ruling by what Allah has revealed is of such gravity that there is hardly any other issue that can compare in danger. Either the rule of Allah will prevail on earth, leading to justice, or injustice will be introduced against Allah by rulers who are originally meant to govern as successors on earth to uphold equity, or by ruled individuals who have accepted to be governed by other than Allah's law, thus consenting to allow other than Allah's justice to prevail on earth: ﴾So let those who oppose His command beware lest a trial strike them or a painful punishment befall them.﴿


[Page 54]

In the sacred hadith narrated by Abu Dharr Jundab ibn Junadah, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he reports from Allah, Exalted is He, that He said: "O My servants, I have forbidden oppression upon Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another."
Indeed, Allah has forbidden injustice upon Himself and prohibited it for His servants, and He has revealed the legislation that ensures that oppression does not enter the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Woe and destruction be upon those who introduce injustice into this dominion. How about those who rule without justice from what Allah has revealed, following their desires? And how about those who rule by other than what Allah has revealed, rendering judgments based on injustice, not content merely with introducing oppression into the divine judgment, nor satisfied with preventing people from the justice that their Lord, the Exalted, has ordained for them to establish equity? Rather, they oppose Allah's rulings and take themselves as gods besides Allah.
﴾And if the truth had followed their desires, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been corrupted. Rather, We brought them their reminder, but they are turning away from their reminder.﴿

Faith between reason, innate disposition, and conscience:
﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿: Indeed, belief in the Creator and Sustainer is innate in every human being, but this innate belief comes through intuition, which is an uncertain path and does not lead to a solid foundation if left alone. Intuition often attributes to what one believes things that have no basis in reality, yet intuition imagines them as necessary qualities of what one believes, leading to disbelief or misguidance.
Idolatry and superstitions are nothing but the result of a flawed conscience, and for this reason, Islam did not leave the conscience alone as a means of faith, so that it does not attribute to Allah characteristics that contradict divinity, or make Him possible to be embodied in material things, or conceive the possibility of drawing near to Him by worshiping material objects, which would lead either to disbelief or polytheism, or to illusions and superstitions that true faith rejects.
Therefore, Islam has mandated the use of reason alongside intuition, and it has made it obligatory for a Muslim to use their intellect when believing in Allah, Exalted is He. It has prohibited blind imitation in matters of faith, thus establishing reason as a judge in belief in Allah, Exalted is He. Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day are signs for those of understanding﴿. Thus, it is obligatory for every Muslim to ensure that their faith arises from thought, inquiry, and reflection, and to allow reason to have absolute authority in belief in Allah, Exalted is He. The call to contemplate the universe to derive its laws and to be guided to faith in its Creator is repeated by the Qur'an hundreds of times in its various chapters, all directed at the rational faculties of human beings, urging them to ponder and reflect so that their faith is based on reason and evidence, and warning them against accepting what they found their forefathers upon without examination and scrutiny and self-confidence.


[Page 55]

In its fullness of truth. This is the faith that Islam calls for, and it is not the faith that they refer to as the faith of the elderly; rather, it is the faith of the enlightened and certain one who has observed and reflected, then thought and pondered, and thus arrived at certainty in Allah, Exalted is He.
And although it is necessary for a person to use reason to arrive at faith in Allah, the Exalted, he cannot comprehend what is beyond his senses and beyond his intellect, because human reason is limited, and its power, no matter how elevated and developed, is confined by boundaries it cannot surpass. Therefore, it is limited in perception, and hence, reason must fall short of comprehending the essence of Allah, and it is incapable of grasping His reality, because Allah is beyond the universe, humanity, and life, and human reason cannot perceive the reality of what lies beyond humanity; thus, it is unable to comprehend the essence of Allah.
After a person recognizes the existence of Allah, the Exalted, he finds himself in need of the path that leads him to Him, and the reason for which he was created, and the duty he must fulfill on earth, and it clarifies for him what he must do for the betterment of his affairs, and what will earn him the pleasure of his Creator and His reward, and what he must avoid, which incurs the wrath of his Creator and His punishment. Thus, there arose the need for the messengers, to clarify for people their connection with the Creator, Exalted is He, beyond the connection of creation and existence; that connection is the connection of commands and prohibitions, and the connection of the paths that establish life and ensure that a person reaches the ultimate goal and safety in this world and the Hereafter, and it clarifies for him matters of the unseen. All of this is the path that connects the servant to his Lord, Exalted is He, and it is upon a person to supplicate to Allah, the Exalted, to guide him to this path, so that he may reach the desired goal and be saved from the missteps and errors that lead to paths of deviation and misguidance.
﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿: This is a supplication, and there is no other supplication that is obligatory for a Muslim to recite besides this supplication, which the Muslim must say several times a day. This, in turn, indicates the importance of the request and this supplication, for it has its effects in this world and the Hereafter, and it indicates that a person cannot find guidance to the straight path by himself unless Allah, the Exalted, guides him to it. If people were left to themselves, each would go to his own sect and would not find guidance to the straight path.
Guidance and misguidance:
Guidance in language means righteousness and indication; it is said, "He guided him to the religion," he guides him guidance, and "I guided you to the path and the house" means I made it known to you. Misguidance is the opposite of righteousness. Guidance in Sharia is the guidance to Islam and belief in it, and misguidance in Sharia is the deviation from Islam, as indicated by His saying:


[Page 56]

Peace be upon him: "My community will never unite upon misguidance." Narrated by Ahmad. Allah has made Paradise for the guided and Hellfire for the misguided, meaning that Allah rewards the guided and punishes the misguided. The connection of reward or punishment to guidance and misguidance indicates that guidance and misguidance are actions of the human being and not from Allah. If they were from Allah, He would not reward for guidance and punish for misguidance, as this would attribute injustice to Allah, the Exalted. When He punishes someone whom He Himself has misguided, He would be unjust to him, and Exalted is Allah above that. He, the Exalted, said: ﴾And your Lord is not unjust to the servants (46)﴿ and He said: ﴾And I am not unjust to the servants (29)﴿.
Guidance and misguidance between compulsion and choice
As for guidance and misguidance, there is no doubt that it is the human being who is guided and who goes astray. If he is guided, he has attained guidance by himself through his intellect and thinking, in his striving and actions. He is guided by choice and goes astray by choice, without any compulsion, just like any action among the actions that he controls. Thus, guidance and misguidance are not among the actions that occur upon a person without his control, such as the actions that belong to what we call the system of existence, nor are they among the actions that are beyond the capacity of the human being to avert, nor among the actions necessitated by the system of existence.(145) Therefore, they are not from the sphere that controls him, but rather from the sphere that he controls.
Guidance and misguidance are not like the beating of the heart, the color of the eyes, the shape of the head, and similar things that are part of the system of existence. They are not like a sleeping person falling from a roof, or a careless person slipping on something smooth, nor like the disbelief of a weak person threatened with death by a strong one, nor anything similar that is beyond the human being's capacity to avert. Likewise, they are not like the wings of a bird, or the legs of a walker, or light for the eyes, or anything similar that is necessitated by the system of existence. Rather, they are like eating by a human being, like traveling, walking, buying and selling, fasting and praying, and other actions that fall within the sphere that the human being controls, where he can, by his own choice, engage in these actions or refrain from them.
Thus, guidance and misguidance are from the human being himself; they are actions of his, like all his voluntary actions.
__________
(145) Among the actions that occur in the sphere that the human being does not control is that he is born on a specific date, with a certain skin color, height, and that he dies on a specific date in a specific place, or that a person shoots a bird and it unintentionally rebounds and kills him, and similar actions that the human being cannot avert. These actions fall within the realm of destiny and divine decree, for which those upon whom these actions occur are neither rewarded nor punished. As for the actions that occur in the sphere that he controls, such as praying or not praying, selling or not selling, these are actions that the human being controls and is rewarded for or punished for, as they are outside the realm of destiny and divine decree. Although everything that occurs is known by Allah and recorded in the Preserved Tablet, there is no compulsion in the sphere that the human being controls. The discussion of destiny and divine decree will be elaborated upon, God willing, in its place in the interpretation later.


[Page 57]

This is the reality of guidance and misguidance.
The relationship of guidance and misguidance to humans in the Qur'an:
Many verses of the Qur'an explicitly state that guidance and misguidance are actions of human beings, and they clearly attribute guidance and misguidance to the servant. Allah, Exalted is He, says: ﴾Say, "O mankind, the truth has come to you from your Lord. So whoever is guided is only guided for himself, and whoever goes astray only goes astray against it. And I am not a guardian over you."﴿ (Yunus 108) ﴾Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book for mankind in truth. So whoever is guided, it is for his own soul, and whoever goes astray, only goes astray against it. And you are not a guardian over them.﴿ (39) (Az-Zumar 41), ﴾Indeed, those who go astray from the path of Allah will have a severe punishment.﴿ (Sad 26), ﴾It will not harm you if those who go astray do not believe, as long as you have been guided.﴿ (Al-Ma'idah 105) ﴾And they are the rightly guided.﴿ (157) (Al-Baqarah), ﴾Say, "If I go astray, I only go astray to the detriment of my own soul. And if I am guided, it is by what my Lord has revealed to me. Indeed, He is Hearing and Near."﴿ (34) (Saba 50), ﴾And whoever exchanges disbelief for faith has certainly gone astray from the soundness of the path.﴿ (18) (Al-Baqarah) ﴾And whoever associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.﴿ (119) (An-Nisa) ﴾And whoever disbelieves in Allah and His angels and His Books and His messengers and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.﴿ (136) (An-Nisa) ﴾And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly gone astray into clear error.﴿ (36) (Al-Ahzab), ﴾So if they submit, they have been rightly guided; but if they turn away, then upon you is only the duty of notification.﴿ (Al-Imran 20), ﴾And if you obey him, you will be guided. And there is upon the Messenger only the duty of clear notification.﴿ (54) (An-Nur).
These verses are explicit in indicating that guidance is attributed to the servant, and that he is the one who is guided, and he is the one who goes astray. This clearly means that it is the human being who is guided, and it is he who has gone astray.
And also, indeed Allah, Exalted is He, holds people accountable; He rewards the guided and punishes the misguided, and He has arranged the reckoning based on a person's deeds. He, Exalted is He, said: ﴾Whoever does good, it is for his own soul; and whoever does evil, it is against it; and your Lord is not unjust to the servants﴿ (41) (Fussilat), ﴾So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it (7) and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it (8)﴿ (Al-Zalzalah), ﴾And whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer, he will not fear injustice or deprivation (112)﴿ (Ta-Ha), ﴾Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it﴿ (An-Nisa 123), ﴾Allah has promised the hypocrites and the hypocritical women and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, abiding therein﴿ (At-Tawbah 68). These verses are explicit in indicating that Allah holds people accountable for guidance and misguidance, and it would be unjust if He compelled someone to do something and then held them accountable for it; Allah is far above that, Exalted is He. This is because the reckoning is for everything they did not do themselves, and because punishing individuals by Allah for an act they performed, not for what others did, is undoubtedly injustice, and Allah is far above that, Exalted is He. For this reason, it is the human being who is guided and the one who goes astray, and holding him accountable for that is just, because it is accountability for an act he himself performed, and Allah's punishment of the misguided is just, because it is punishment for their own actions.


[Page 58]

These three pieces of evidence: the reality of guidance and misguidance, the definitive verses indicating that it is the human who goes astray, and God's accountability for guidance and misguidance and His punishment of the misguided, all clearly indicate that it is the human who is guided and who goes astray. There is no doubt that guidance and misguidance are indeed actions of the human for which he is held accountable and which he is not compelled to undertake.
The attribution of guidance and misguidance to the Creator, Exalted is He, in the Qur'an:
As for the verses that indicate the attribution of guidance and misguidance, and the definitive verses that indicate that Allah is the One who created guidance and misguidance from nothing, it does not mean that Allah is the One who directly performs the act of guidance. His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾Say, "Allah guides to the truth"﴿, ﴾And they said, "Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would not have been guided if Allah had not guided us"﴿, ﴾Whomever Allah guides, he is the rightly guided; and whomever He leads astray, you will never find for him a guiding ally﴿, ﴾And if it had been great, except for those whom Allah has guided﴿, ﴾And to glorify Allah for what He has guided you﴿, ﴾So among them are those whom Allah has guided, and among them are those upon whom misguidance has been justified﴿, ﴾And He found you lost and guided﴿, and other verses do not mean that Allah directly performed the act of guidance, but rather that Allah created guidance. It cannot be said that guidance is attributed to Allah in these verses as a true attribution, meaning that Allah is the One who performed the guidance; this cannot be said because there is an indication that shifts the attribution from the truth to metaphor, that is, it shifts the attribution from action to creation. This indication is the verses that attribute guidance to the human being himself, such as His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾So whoever is guided, he is only guided for himself; and whoever goes astray, say, "Indeed, I am only one of the warners"﴿, and the verses that attribute misguidance to people, to jinn, and to Satan, such as His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾Our Lord, show us those who led us astray from among jinn and men; we will put them beneath our feet so they become among the lowest﴿, ﴾And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah to mislead the people without knowledge?﴿, ﴾And none led us astray except the criminals﴿, ﴾Our Lord, these are the ones who led us astray; so give them a double punishment from the Fire﴿, ﴾A faction of the People of the Book wished to mislead you, but they do not mislead except themselves, and they do not perceive﴿, ﴾And they said, "Our Lord, indeed we have obeyed our masters and our dignitaries, and they led us astray from the way"﴿, ﴾And among the people are those who argue about Allah without knowledge and follow every rebellious devil﴿, ﴾It has been decreed upon him that whoever takes him as an ally, he will mislead him and guide him to the punishment of the Blaze﴿, ﴾Indeed, those who go astray from the path of Allah will have a severe punishment for what they forgot on the Day of Reckoning﴿.
To other verses, they all attribute guidance and misguidance to others than Allah. When compared with the verses that attribute guidance and misguidance to Allah, it becomes evident that the intended meaning of those verses is that guidance diverts them from their original meaning, that is, from the action.


[Page 59]

And it should not be said that the verses in which the action is attributed to Allah are the evidence that the attribution of guidance to others than Allah is metaphorical and not literal. This cannot be said, because the verses in which guidance and misguidance are attributed to the servant are accompanied by a ruling regarding the guidance and misguidance of the servant in a literal sense. Moreover, in the verses where guidance and misguidance are attributed to Allah, there is no evidence indicating that this attribution is literal. Thus, the verses that are accompanied by the evidence of reward and punishment for the guidance or misguidance of the servant serve as the evidence that the verses attributing guidance and misguidance to Allah are metaphorical and not literal, meaning they indicate that Allah created guidance and misguidance, but did not directly perform them.
Guidance and misguidance, will and desire:
As for the verses that associate guidance and misguidance with the will and decree of Allah, their meaning is that no one is guided by compulsion from Allah, nor is anyone led astray by compulsion from Allah, and it does not mean that the will of Allah is what causes guidance. Allah, Exalted is He, says: ﴾Indeed, Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills﴿ (Fatir 8) ﴾And Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills﴿ (Ibrahim 4) ﴾But He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills﴿ (An-Nahl 93), ﴾Whomever Allah wills to guide, He expands his breast to Islam, and whomever He wills to lead astray, He makes his breast constricted and tight, as if he were climbing into the sky. Thus Allah places defilement upon those who do not believe﴿ (Al-An'am 125), ﴾Whomever Allah wills to lead astray, He lets him go astray, and whomever He wills, He places him on a straight path﴿ (Al-An'am 39) and other verses that associate guidance and misguidance with will and decree. These do not mean that will and decree are the cause of guidance, or that they are what brings about guidance, but rather they are like any action of the servants that is associated with will and decree. It is like the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whomever Allah intends good for, He grants him understanding in religion" (Bukhari and Muslim). In fact, every action of a human being is only performed by the will and decree of Allah, and not just guidance and misguidance. Therefore, these verses do not serve as evidence that guidance and misguidance are not from the human being, but rather as evidence that a person is neither guided nor led astray by compulsion from Allah.
And as for the verses that state that certain people do not find guidance, they are of two types: the first type consists of verses that inform about past people, recounting their story that they did not find guidance, and the second type consists of verses that mention specific attributes of people and state that those who possess these attributes do not find guidance as long as they are characterized by these attributes. As for the first type, it is like His saying, Exalted is He, ﴾Indeed, those who disbelieve, it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe. (6) Allah has sealed their hearts and upon their hearing and upon their sight is a veil, and for them is a great punishment﴿ (Al-Baqarah), ﴾No! Rather, what they used to earn has covered their hearts﴿ (14) (Al-Mutaffifin), ﴾And it was revealed to Noah that no one from your people will believe except for those who have already believed﴿ (Hud 36), and other such verses.


[Page 60]

The verses are a revelation from Allah to His prophets about specific people who will not believe, and this falls within the knowledge of Allah. It does not mean that there is a group that believes and a group that does not believe; it relates to faith and is a report about a past reality. There is no indication in it that there are people who cannot guide themselves. The distinction is clear between Allah knowing in His prior knowledge that so-and-so will not believe, meaning that so-and-so will not choose guidance, and this being different from compelling him not to believe. The fact that Allah, Exalted is He, knows in advance does not indicate any form of coercion. The knowledge of Allah is not like human knowledge, which occurs after the known event takes place. Just as He, Blessed and Exalted, encompasses the hidden aspects of the human soul and knows what it will choose at every place and time, this knowledge is in no way a form of coercion(146).
As for the second category, it is like His saying: ﴾And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people﴿, ﴾And Allah does not guide the disobedient people﴿, ﴾And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people﴿, ﴾Indeed, Allah does not guide the one who is a transgressor and a liar﴿, and other verses. These verses mention specific attributes; a person cannot be guided as long as they possess these attributes. As long as a person is characterized by wrongdoing, disobedience, disbelief, or transgression—such as spending money on prohibited things, or lying—they will not be guided and will not find guidance as long as they are characterized by these traits. If they abandon them, then they may be guided, because being characterized by them contradicts guidance. This is the meaning of the verses, and it does not imply that there are people who cannot be guided. Every person can be guided and can go astray; there are no people who cannot be guided, nor are there people who cannot go astray.
As for His saying: ﴾If you strive for their guidance, then indeed, Allah does not guide whom He leads astray﴿, this means He does not guide the one He knows will go astray. It is a report about the knowledge of Allah, like any predetermined action upon a person, meaning it is written in the preserved tablet by the knowledge of Allah that this person will choose misguidance. In this case, the person does not deserve to have the means of success for guidance caused for them due to their following the path of misguidance. If the potential for guidance stirs within them, Allah will prepare for them the means of guidance.
The act of leading astray relates to the issue of will and decree, which differs from the matter of commanding to go astray or compelling towards misguidance. Failing to differentiate between what is commanded and what is intended leads to the error of confusing human coercion and choice, and that Allah's knowledge encompasses everything in the universe by His will, not by coercion. The will does not necessarily entail that the action will occur in a manner pleasing to the one who wills it, because if He wills but does not compel, and if the matter occurs contrary to what pleases Him, that is evidence that He did not.
__________
(146) An example to clarify the matter for understanding is that a father has two sons, one righteous and the other corrupt. If he gives them money, he could reasonably guess what each of them will do with the money. However, the knowledge of Allah does not resemble human knowledge; He knows with absolute certainty which choice they will make.


[Page 61]

If a person unjustly kills another person, this act occurs without the pleasure of Allah, Exalted is He, but it does not happen by compulsion from Him; it does not occur against His will. Thus, while it falls within the scope of His will, since it does not happen in accordance with what pleases Him, this indicates that the doer was not compelled but had a choice. The confusion arises from the assumption that every will is commanded and pleasing. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between will, which is the basis for compulsion, and command (which leads to compulsion), and pleasure. An example of this is His saying in Surah Al-An'am 148: ﴾Those who associate others with Allah will say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have associated anything, nor would our forefathers, nor would we have prohibited anything." Thus did those before them deny until they tasted Our punishment. Say, "Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow not except assumption, and you are not but falsifying." (148) Say, "To Allah belongs the decisive argument. If He had willed, He would have guided you all." (149)﴿
Know that He, Exalted is He, reported the explicit statement of the compulsionists (al-Mujbira) (147), which is their saying: "If Allah had willed for us not to associate, we would not have associated." He mentioned this statement in the context of blame and condemnation, thus this doctrine must be deemed blameworthy and false. He followed it with the statement ﴾And you are not but falsifying﴿, meaning you are lying, thus refuting their argument and invalidating their claim.
The second point is that you say: If our actions were contrary to the will of Allah, we would have overcome Allah and opposed Him, which would imply that He is incapable and weak, and this would undermine His divinity.
Allah, Exalted is He, responded to this by stating that incapacity and weakness only follow if I were unable to compel them to believe and obey through coercion and force, and I am capable of that, which is the meaning of His saying: ﴾And if He had willed, He would have guided you all﴿. However, I do not compel you to believe and obey through coercion and force, because that would nullify the wisdom required from the obligation. Thus, it is established through this explanation that what they say, that if we were to act contrary to the will of Allah, it would necessitate that He is incapable and weak, is false.
The essence of this argument is that they argue against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by saying that if what they are upon were not with the pleasure of Allah, He would have diverted them from it and would not have facilitated it for them. They say this in an attempt to refute the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and invalidate His judgment upon them regarding misguidance. This is a fallacy of those with misguided intellects who do not differentiate between Allah's actions in creation and decree and the preservation of the laws of existence, which we refer to as will and intention, and His actions in commanding and prohibiting, which we refer to as pleasure.
__________
(147) The compulsionists (al-Mujbira) are a sect that claims that a person is like a feather in the wind, having no choice; they deny any real action by the servant and attribute it entirely to the Lord. There are different types of compulsionists: the absolute compulsionists who do not affirm any action or ability to act at all for the servant, and the moderate compulsionists who affirm a non-effective ability for the servant. As for those who affirm that the acquired ability has some effect in the mind and call that acquisition, they are not considered compulsionists. The Mu'tazila label those who do not affirm the acquired ability in creation and events as compulsionists, and they consider the Ahl al-Sunnah, the Ash'aris, as compulsionists.


[Page 62]

And with love, the first is the act of creation and the second is the act of obligation. They think that their ability to establish the rules of polytheism and to declare things forbidden and permissible is nothing but that Allah has created in them the capacity for that. They believe that when He does not restrain their actions, He must be pleased with what they have done, and that if He were not pleased with it, He would not be unable to take away their ability. They think that Allah is concerned about their wrongful actions regarding what He has created them upon, and if it were as they imagine, then falsehood and truth would be one and the same.
The reason for this deviation affecting the people of misguidance among the nations, which appears in the minds of some ordinary Muslims as they excuse themselves for sins and crimes by saying: "It is the command of Allah" or "It is written with Allah" or something similar, is ignorance of the fact that Allah's wisdom in establishing the system of this world necessitated that He place a veil between His actions regarding the conditions of the creatures and their actions regarding their own conditions according to their will. This veil is the law of the connection of causes to their effects, and the connection of the states of existents in this world to one another. This is the source of the obligation that indicates what Allah is pleased with and what He is not pleased with. Allah established the system of this world with wisdom, making its foundation the management of things according to their own natures based on the powers He has endowed in the existents so that they strive for what they were created for. He has also granted humanity the distinction of having a mind that enables them to change their conditions according to their needs, and He has placed in their minds means to discern good from evil, just as He has appointed callers to good to alert them to it if they fall into heedlessness or are veiled by desire. If they do not restrain their waywardness, they have betrayed the essence of their intellect by suppressing it.
Thus, the confusion of the people of misguidance between the will of the servants and the will of Allah has become evident. Therefore, Allah refuted their statement here: ﴾If Allah had willed, we would not have associated partners (with Him), nor would our forefathers﴿ because they attributed what is their own will to the will of the Exalted Allah. Nevertheless, He has affirmed His will in His statement:
﴾And if Allah had willed, they would not have associated anything with Him﴿ ﴾6:107﴿. This is the will of creating minds and establishing the system of the community, and the will of organizing the universe with a system that is based on giving the servants the choice in the realm of the actions for which they will be held accountable. If He had willed, He could have decreed another system.
This will is a hidden will that the minds of humans cannot grasp its essence; therefore, Allah reproached them for relying on it while being ignorant of its nature, saying: ﴾Thus did those before them deny﴿. He likened their denial to the denial of those who came before them, thus alluding to the fact that the aim of the polytheists with this argument was to deny the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We have previously explained this meaning in this surah (107) at His saying: ﴾And if Allah had willed, they would not have associated partners﴿.
From all of this, it becomes clear that it is the human who is guided, and it is the human who goes astray, and there is no human who does not


[Page 63]

He is guided, and there is no human who does not go astray; every human can be guided and can go astray. Guidance and misguidance are actions that a person undertakes voluntarily; it is he who goes astray, and it is he who is guided.
The difference between guidance and being guided is known by necessity. The opposite of guidance is misguidance, and the opposite of being guided is going astray. Thus, placing guidance in opposition to going astray is impossible, meaning that what a person does is to be guided, while what the Lord of the Worlds does is to send down guidance, to prepare the means that assist those who are guided towards guidance, and to create guidance in souls, creating within them the capacity for guidance. A person goes astray, and Allah, Exalted is He, does not misguide in the sense of directly engaging in misguidance, but rather in the sense of creating the causes of misguidance in souls. Just as He created guidance within them, He created misguidance within them, leaving them to choose between the two. Or, He does not assist those who possess qualities that prevent them from deserving guidance by aiding them in it, because the one who does not deserve guidance has not followed its path at all and has taken a path contrary to it. Thus, whenever the action is attributed to the servant, it is understood in the context of directly performing the action, and whenever it is attributed to the Creator, it refers to the creation of guidance or the facilitation of it. In some contexts, it indicates the creation of guidance, and in others, it indicates the facilitation or assistance of it, leaving the direct action to the servant.
The difference between the creation of guidance and the facilitation of it:
As we have mentioned, the attribution of guidance to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, in those verses may either indicate the creation of guidance or the facilitation of guidance. Whenever it is attributed to the servant, it means the direct act of guidance and bearing responsibility for his actions.
The facilitation of guidance is from Allah, and it does not mean the creation of guidance within the human being. For the creation of guidance is the establishment of the capacity for guidance, while the facilitation of guidance is the preparation of the means for this guidance for the human being, which is different from the matter of creating guidance from nothing within the human being. There is a difference between creating guidance from nothing and preparing the means for this guidance.
Thus, facilitation pertains to the means, that is, the means of this guidance, or the qualities of this guidance, which, if a person possesses them, he will be guided. As for creation, it pertains to bringing this guidance into existence from nothing within the human being, and its specification according to his type with the capacity for guidance he possesses. Creation is the bringing into existence of the human being with guidance within him, meaning he is capable of this guidance whenever he wishes, for he is created with this guidance, just as he is created with the capacity for speech, thought, and the capacity for going astray and being misled.
Allah has created guidance in the human being just as He has created misguidance. He, Exalted is He, said: ﴾And We guided him to the two paths﴿, meaning He placed within him good and evil, that is, He created within him good and evil. However, it is the human being who directly engages with what Allah has created within him of the capacity for guidance and misguidance. Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴾And the soul and He who fashioned it (7) and inspired it with its wickedness﴿.


[Page 64]

And He who purifies it (8) has succeeded. And he who instills it (10) has failed. ﴿ He is the one who possesses the attributes of guidance, so he is guided, and he possesses the attributes of misguidance, so he goes astray. If he possesses the attributes of misguidance, such as disbelief or committing sins and prohibitions, then these attributes contradict guidance, and he will not be guided and cannot be guided. However, if he possesses the attributes of guidance, such as being guided to Islam and believing in it, following its commands, and avoiding its prohibitions, then these attributes contradict misguidance, and he must be guided, and he must continue on the path of guidance. But if he deviates from the path of guidance by adopting some attributes of misguidance, then he will go astray and will not be guided unless he abandons that action which led him to misguidance.
And based on this, the verses came to define the meaning of divine guidance by clarifying the causes of guidance for humans and indicating what contradicts this guidance in terms of attributes. Allah, Exalted is He, said ﴾How can Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their faith and bore witness that the Messenger is true and came to them the clear signs? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people (86)﴿. And He said ﴾And those who were given knowledge see that what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth and guides to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy (6)﴿. And He said ﴾And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people﴿ ﴾And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people﴿ ﴾And Allah does not guide the immoral people﴿ ﴾And indeed, Allah does not guide the plot of the treacherous﴿ ﴾So indeed, Allah does not guide whom He misleads﴿ ﴾Indeed, Allah does not guide whom He knows to be a lying, ungrateful person﴿ ﴾Indeed, Allah does not guide whom He knows to be a wasteful, deceitful person﴿ ﴾Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back (to Him)﴿. These verses provide conclusive evidence that Allah guides through the Qur'an, for whoever follows the Qur'an and believes in it, He guides him. And whoever turns to Allah or seeks refuge in Him, then Allah guides him or he is on the right path. As for those who possess attributes that contradict guidance, such as the wrongdoer, the immoral, the disbeliever, the misguided, the treacherous, and the wasteful liar, they do not find guidance, meaning that Allah does not grant success in guidance to those who possess these attributes. This is because success in guidance is the preparation of its causes for the person, and whoever possesses these attributes has not had the causes of guidance prepared for him, but rather the causes of misguidance. Thus, a person must tread the path of guidance, and then Allah will grant him success by preparing for him the means that assist him in it.

Al-Shahrani (may Allah have mercy on him) said about the guidance of Allah: "There are two types of guidance: guidance of indication and guidance of assistance. The guidance of indication is for all people... and the guidance of assistance is only for the believers who follow the path of Allah. And Allah, Exalted is He, has guided all His servants with the guidance of indication, meaning He has shown them the path of goodness and made it clear to them... So whoever wants to follow the path of goodness, he follows it... and whoever does not want to follow it, Allah leaves him to what he desires..."
This general guidance is the foundation of conveying the message from Allah. Allah, Exalted is He, has clarified for us in His methodology what actions please Him and what actions anger Him. He has made clear to us the path we should follow to be rightly guided. It is the path that, if we were to tread upon it, would incur Allah's wrath and displeasure. But is it the case that everyone whom Allah, Exalted is He, has made clear to them...


[Page 65]

The path of guidance, did they choose it? We say no... and read His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾And as for Thamud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so a thunderbolt of the humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn (17)﴿ [Fussilat]. Thus, there are those who do not take the path of guidance by the choice that Allah has given them. If Allah, the Exalted, had wanted all of us to be guided, no one among His creation could have acted against His will. However, He, Exalted is He, created us as choosers so that we may come to Him out of love and desire, rather than being compelled to obey. What happens to those who followed the path of guidance and those who did not and opposed Allah's legal will in His creation?
Those who follow the path of guidance, Allah, Exalted is He, assists them in it and makes them fond of faith and piety, and makes them fond of obedience to Him.
And read His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾And those who are guided, He increases them in guidance and grants them their piety﴿ [Muhammad: 17]. This means that everyone who takes the path of guidance, Allah assists them in it and increases them in piety and love for the religion. As for those who, when guidance comes to them, turn away from the path of Allah and oppose it, then Allah, Exalted is He, abandons them and leaves them in their misguidance. And read His saying, Exalted is He: ﴾And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he becomes his companion (36)﴿ [al-Zukhruf]. And Allah, Exalted is He, has clarified to us the deprived ones from the guidance of assistance in faith, and they are three, as He has made clear to us in the Noble Qur'an: ﴾That is because they preferred the worldly life over the Hereafter, and that Allah does not guide the disbelieving people (107)﴿ [al-Nahl], ﴾That is closer that they may give testimony in its proper form or fear that their oaths will be rejected after their oaths. And fear Allah and listen; and Allah does not guide the disobedient people (108)﴿ [al-Ma'idah], ﴾Have you not seen the one who argued with Abraham about his Lord because Allah had given him kingship? When Abraham said, "My Lord is He who gives life and causes death," he said, "I give life and cause death." Abraham said, "Indeed, Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west." So the one who disbelieved was overwhelmed. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people (258)﴿ [al-Baqarah]. Thus, those who are expelled from Allah's guidance in assistance with faith are the disbelievers, the disobedient, and the wrongdoing. (148)
The states of the transitive action of guidance in the language:
Dr. Fadil al-Samarrai said: The action of guidance (hidaya) in Arabic can be transitive by itself without a preposition, such as ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿ (the verb is transitive by itself), and it can be transitive with "to" ﴾And indeed, you guide to a straight path (52)﴿ (Ash-Shura) ﴾And I will guide you to your Lord so that you may fear (19)﴿ (An-Nazi'at) and it can be transitive with "for" ﴾And they said, "Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had it not been that Allah guided us"﴿ (Al-A'raf 43) ﴾Rather, Allah confers a favor upon you by guiding you to faith if you should be among the truthful (17)﴿ (Al-Hujurat)
__________
(148) The Interpretation of al-Sharawi


[Page 66]

The scholars of language have mentioned that the difference between transitive verbs with a preposition and transitive verbs without a preposition is that transitivity with a preposition is used when guidance is not inherent in it, meaning that the one being guided was outside the path, so Allah guided him to it, and he reaches the guidance through it. Transitivity without a preposition is said for one who is either in the path or not in it, as in saying "I guided him to the path," where he may be in the path and we recognize him by it, or he may not be in the path and we direct him to it. ﴾So follow me; I will guide you to a straight path (43)﴿ (Maryam) indicates that the father of our master Ibrahim was not on the path, ﴾And We would have guided them to a straight path (68)﴿ (An-Nisa) and the hypocrites are not on the path. It has been used for those who are on the path ﴾And indeed, We have guided them to Our ways﴿ (Ibrahim 12) which was said about the messengers of Allah, Exalted is He, and Allah, Exalted is He, said addressing His Messenger ﴾And He will guide you to a straight path (2)﴿ (Al-Fath) and the Messenger is the possessor of the path. The verb used intransitively has been employed in both cases.
The prepositions "bi" (بـ) and "ila" (إلى): for those who are not on the path ﴾“So judge between us with truth and do not be unjust, and guide us to the straight path” (22)﴿ (Sad) ﴾“Say, ‘Is there any of your partners who guides to the truth?’ Say, ‘Allah guides to the truth. So is he who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed or he who does not guide unless he is guided? Then what is [the matter] with you? How do you judge?’” (35)﴿ (Yunus)
And He uses "guided him to it" to mean He made it clear to him, and guidance is on stages and not a single guidance. The one far from the path, the misguided, needs someone to bring him to it and show him the way (we use "guided him to it").
And whoever reaches the path needs a guide who knows the conditions of the path and the places of safety, salvation, and destruction for self-confidence. Then, if he traverses the path, in the end, he needs someone to show him his goal: we use the transitive verb by itself.
And finally: He, Exalted is He, used the lam: ﴾And they said, "Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this, and we would not have been guided if Allah had not guided us"﴿ (al-A'raf 43). And this is the conclusion of the guidance.
We summarize what has been mentioned above as follows:
A person who is far away needs someone to guide him to the path; we use the transitive verb with "to".
- If he arrives and needs someone to inform him of the way and his conditions, we use the transitive verb by itself.
If one takes the path and needs someone to convey his intention, we use the transitive verb with "to".
Guidance with the preposition "lam" has never been used with "the path" (as-sabeel) or "the straight path" (as-sirat) in the Qur'an because "the straight path" is not an end but rather a means that leads to the end, and "lam" is only used when referring to the end. Allah, Exalted is He, has reserved guidance with "lam" for Himself alone or for the Qur'an because it is the culmination of all forms of guidance, as in His saying ﴾Indeed, this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright﴿ and His saying ﴾Allah guides to His light whom He wills﴿.


[Page 67]

We return to the verse ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿ (the verb is transitive by itself). Here, this transitive verb is used to encompass several meanings: for the one who has deviated from the path, we ask Allah, Exalted is He, to guide him to it; and for the one who is on the path, we ask Allah, Exalted is He, to make him aware of the conditions of the path and to grant him steadfastness and firmness upon the path.
Here another question arises, and we say, as previously mentioned, Exalted is He presented the two objects of worship and seeking help in ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿. So why did He not say, "Guide us"? This meaning is not correct, for the precedence of ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿ restricts the exclusivity, and it is not permissible to say "Guide us," meaning "specifically guide us and do not guide anyone else." This is not permissible, so the precedence here is not correct. The meaning requires precedence in assistance and seeking help, but it does not require it in guidance; hence He said ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿.
Why did He say "Guide us" and not "Guide me"?
Because it is suitable for the context of the previous verses, and just as in the verses regarding seeking help and worship, it necessitated the gathering in guidance as well.
And in it is a promotion of the spirit of community and a killing of the spirit of selfishness and individualism. It involves removing selfishness and exclusivity from the self by supplicating for others as we supplicate for ourselves.
Gathering upon guidance and the group’s journey on the straight path is a sign of strength. When the travelers increase, the sense of companionship grows and steadfastness strengthens. A solitary traveler may weaken, become weary, fall, or be devoured by wolves. Thus, the more the travelers increase, the more it invites reassurance and comfort.
And gathering is a mercy, while division is a torment. Allah, Exalted is He, refers to the matter of gathering and the comfort found in it, as well as the nature of the self's love for gathering, as mentioned in His noble saying ﴾And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever, and that is the great success (13)﴿ (An-Nisa). The term "abiding" is in the plural form because the believers in Paradise enjoy the companionship of one another. And His saying ﴾And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him to a Fire, abiding therein forever, and he will have a humiliating punishment (14)﴿ (An-Nisa) indicates that the torment includes not only the punishment of the disbeliever but also the torment of solitude, as if Allah, Exalted is He, has punished him with two things: the Fire and solitude.
Therefore, when He, Exalted is He, said ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿, there is something of reassurance and comfort in this supplication, which is linked to the beginning, the middle, and the end of the surah.
﴾All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿ The mission of the Lord is guidance, and guidance is often associated with the name of the Lord, as it is linked to the Lord of the worlds and to His saying ﴾The Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate﴿ because whoever Allah guides, He has indeed shown mercy to. And now you are asking the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate for guidance, meaning you are asking the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate not to leave you misguided and without guidance. Then He said ﴾You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help﴿ so worship cannot be realized except by following the straight path.


[Page 68]

And likewise, seeking assistance includes asking for guidance to the straight path ﴾the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor﴿, meaning the path of those who have followed the straight path, ﴾not of those who have evoked [Your] anger﴿, and the misguided are those who have taken a path other than the straight path. Thus, guidance and misguidance are opposites, and the misguided are the opposite of those who have followed the straight path.

﴾the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor﴿
﴾the path﴿ is a substitute for the first (meaning the straight path) - a complete substitution - and it is in the position of reiterating the action in that it is the intended reference. Its benefit is: the emphasis and specification that the path of the Muslims is the one that is affirmed to be upright, in the most certain and eloquent manner, because it is made like an explanation and clarification of it, as if it were from the evident that has no ambiguity in it, and that the straight path is what constitutes the way of the believers, and ﴾not of those who have evoked [Your] anger﴿ is a substitute for ﴾those﴿ in the sense that those who have been bestowed favor are those who are safe from anger and misguidance.
Or it is a description that clarifies or restricts in the sense that they combine between the absolute favor, which is the favor of faith, and safety from anger and misguidance, (149)
Ibn Ashur said: The intended meaning of those who have been bestowed favor is those upon whom complete blessings have been poured, and the full correspondence between those who have been bestowed favor and the guided ones is not hidden, thus in the substitution of ﴾the path of those﴿ from ﴾the straight path﴿ there is a beautiful meaning, which is that guidance is a blessing and that those who have been favored with complete blessings have been guided to the straight path. And those whom Allah has favored are the best of the previous nations from the messengers and prophets who have received complete blessings. (150) And those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment, and excellent are those as companions.
And ﴾those upon whom You have bestowed favor﴿ are those mentioned in Surah An-Nisa, where it says: ﴾And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor, among the prophets, the steadfast, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. * That is the bounty from Allah, and sufficient is Allah as Knower﴿ [An-Nisa: 69, 70].

Why did He say ﴾the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger and not of the misguided﴿?
That is, why did He express those who have been favored using the verb ﴾You have bestowed favor﴿ while the angered and the misguided are expressed with the noun?
__________
(149) Al-Bahr Al-Madid by Ibn Ajibah.
(150) Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir.


[Page 69]

The name indicates comprehensiveness and encompasses all times, referring to those who have incurred wrath, and signifies permanence. As for the verb, it indicates renewal and occurrence; thus, describing them as those who have incurred wrath and as misguided is evidence of permanence and continuity.
The word "ni'ma" (نعمة) with a kasra and with a fatha is derived from "na'im" (نعيم), which means comfort in living and luxury. Al-Jawhari said in his dictionary: "Ni'ma" is the hand, the favor, the blessing, and what has been bestowed upon you. Likewise, "nu'ma" (النُعْمى) follows the same pattern. If you open the noon, you extend it and say "na'ma" (النَعْماء). "Na'im" (النَعيم) is similar. A person is said to be "wasi' al-ni'ma" (واسعُ النِعْمَةِ), meaning he is wealthy.
So why did He not say "the favored ones" to indicate permanence?
If the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor were mentioned by name, the meaning would not be clear as to who has bestowed the favor; rather, the Bestower (al-Mun'im) is clarified in His saying ﴾You have bestowed favor upon them﴿ because knowing the Bestower is important. The blessings are measured by the extent of the Bestower (al-Mun'im), so the Exalted, may He be glorified, wanted to clarify the Bestower to indicate the magnitude and greatness of the blessing. It is customary in the Qur'an to attribute goodness to Allah, the Exalted, as well as blessings and favors, while He is free from attributing evil to Himself ﴾And we do not know whether evil is intended for those on earth or whether their Lord intends for them guidance (10)﴿ (al-Jinn). And Allah, the Exalted, does not attribute evil to Himself; He may say ﴾Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have adorned for them their deeds, so they wander blindly (4)﴿ (an-Naml), but He does not say, "We adorned for them the evil of their deeds" ﴾The evil of their deeds was adorned for them﴿ (at-Tawbah, verse 37) ﴾The love of desires was adorned for people﴿ (Al-Imran, verse 14) ﴾The evil of his deeds was adorned for Pharaoh, and he was barred from the path﴿ (Ghafir, verse 37) ﴾Like one for whom the evil of his deeds was adorned, and they followed their desires﴿. As for the blessing, Allah, the Exalted, attributes it to Himself because all blessings are good ﴾He said, My Lord, because You have bestowed favor upon me﴿ (al-Qasas, verse 17) ﴾He is but a servant upon whom We have bestowed favor﴿ (az-Zukhruf, verse 59) ﴾And when We have bestowed favor upon man, he turns away and distances himself, but when evil touches him, he is in despair (83)﴿ (al-Isra, verse 83). And the Exalted has not attributed the blessing to anyone else except in one verse ﴾And when you said to the one whom Allah had bestowed favor upon and you had bestowed favor upon﴿ (al-Ahzab, verse 37), which is a specific blessing after Allah's favor upon him.
﴾Not the path of those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who go astray.﴿
Ibn Ashur said in the interpretation of anger: "The anger related to those who have incurred wrath is the anger of Allah. The reality of the anger known among people is a state that affects the soul, followed by a movement of the spirit outward and its agitation, leading to a desire for revenge. This state is a cause for the desire for revenge, and the desire for revenge is a cause for the occurrence of revenge. What appears to me is that the desire for revenge is not an inherent necessity of the essence of anger such that it cannot be separated from it, but it may be one of its effects. Anger is a state of the soul that arises from the occurrence of something that is not suitable for it, resulting in a dislike for the action that has incurred wrath and a dislike for its doer. It is accompanied by aversion to the one who has incurred wrath and treatment of him with violence, cutting off kindness, and causing harm, which may lead to a desire for..."


[Page 70]

Revenge against him varies, as the limit that arises in the soul during anger differs according to the varying capacities of souls to endure provocations and the differing customs in considering its causes. Perhaps those who made the desire for revenge a necessary condition for anger based their views on Arab traditions.
And since the reality of anger is impossible to attribute to Allah, Exalted is He, in its true sense due to the definitive evidence indicating His transcendence from inherent and accidental changes, it is incumbent upon the believer to divert the attribution of anger to Allah from its literal meaning(151). The method of the people of knowledge and reflection in this diversion is to interpret the term metaphorically through a necessary relationship or to use a euphemism that implies the necessary meaning. Thus, what is a characteristic of Allah from the meaning of anger is its necessary consequence, namely punishment and humiliation on the Day of Judgment and curse, which means being distanced from the people of faith and righteousness in this world, or it is of the nature of representation(152).

﴾The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger, nor of those who are astray (7)﴿ Why is "those who have evoked [Your] anger" mentioned in the passive form while "those who are astray" is mentioned in the active participle form?
First, both are brought as nouns ﴾the ones who have incurred wrath﴿ and ﴾the misguided﴿ to indicate permanence; the wrath upon them is established, and the misguidance within them is established, with no hope for good or guidance from them. It does not say "the path of those who have incurred wrath and have gone astray," but rather ﴾the ones who have incurred wrath and the misguided﴿. Thus, both descriptions are presented in the nominal form to indicate the permanence of these two attributes in them. The question remains: why is "the ones who have incurred wrath" in the passive participle form and not "the angry" in the active participle form? "The ones who have incurred wrath" in the passive participle form means that wrath has fallen upon them, without mentioning the entity that has incurred wrath upon them, so that the wrath encompasses them from all sides—God's wrath and the wrath of those who are angry for God's sake from the angels and others. It is not specific to a particular angry entity; it is rather "the ones who have incurred wrath" from all directions. Indeed, these will be the ones upon whom their closest friends will be angry in the Hereafter ﴾And we do not see with you your intercessors whom you claimed were partners with you. Indeed, the ties between you have been severed, and what you used to claim has abandoned you (94)﴿ Al-An'am ﴾Then on the Day of Resurrection, some of you will disbelieve in others, and some of you will curse others (25)﴿ Al-Ankabut. Thus, "the ones who have incurred wrath" are from all sides, and the omission of the entity that is angry indicates generality and comprehensiveness. As for "the misguided," they are those who have gone astray.
So why was the path of those who have incurred wrath (al-maghdubi 'alayhim) mentioned before that of those who have gone astray (al-dallin)?
__________
(151) See the appendix on the rules of dealing with attributes in this book.
(152) The Liberation and Enlightenment by Ibn Ashour, may Allah have mercy on him.


[Page 71]

The ones who have incurred wrath are those who recognized their Lord and then deviated from the truth, and they are farthest away because knowledge is not like ignorance. Thus, He began with those who have incurred wrath. In the authentic hadith, it is stated that those who have incurred wrath are the Jews, while the Christians are the misguided. The Jews preceded the Christians, which is why they were mentioned first, necessitating this order.
The characteristic of those who have incurred wrath is the first sin that appeared in existence, which is the characteristic of Iblis (Satan) when he was commanded to prostrate to Adam (peace be upon him) while knowing the truth, yet he disobeyed Allah, Exalted is He. It is also the first sin that appeared on earth when the son of Adam killed his brother. Thus, it is the first sin in the higher realm and on earth ﴾And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah will be angry with him and curse him and prepare for him a great punishment (93)﴿ (An-Nisa). Therefore, it was mentioned first.
As for placing those who have incurred wrath alongside those who have been blessed, it is because those who have incurred wrath are the opposite of those who have been blessed, and wrath is the opposite of blessings.
Who among us, no matter how eloquent and articulate, can produce words with such precision and balance, with beautiful structure and careful selection? Every word is a precious gem, meticulously chosen to convey profound meanings with simple words. Each one is a link in a chain that cannot be replaced, moved, brought forward, or delayed; otherwise, the meaning would be distorted, weakened, or some of its meanings would be lost.
It is the divine miracle that manifests throughout the universe and encompasses the entire Qur'an, in its entirety and in its details, its words and letters, its meanings and secrets, to be the light that Allah intended to guide and bring happiness to everyone who has a heart or listens attentively while being present (153).
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Those who have incurred wrath and the misguided include the factions of disbelief, immorality, and disobedience. The ones who have incurred wrath are a category of factions that deliberately took this path and disregarded the religion either intentionally or through a very far-fetched interpretation, while the misguided are a category of factions that misunderstood the religion due to poor comprehension and lack of attention. Both groups are blameworthy because we are commanded to follow the path of truth and direct our efforts towards achieving it. The Jews belong to the first group, and the Christians belong to the second group. What has been reported in the narration that seemingly interprets those who have incurred wrath as the Jews and the misguided as the Christians indicates that the verse alludes to these two groups that have been characterized by these descriptions, as each has become a sign of what is intended to be alluded to (154).
Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Both the Jews and the Christians are misguided and have incurred wrath, but the specific characteristic of the Jews is wrath, as it is said about them: ﴾Whom Allah has cursed and upon whom His wrath has fallen﴿ [Al-Ma'idah: 60] and the specific...
__________
(153) Fadil al-Samarrai, Linguistic Touches
(154) Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir


[Page 72]

The descriptions of the misguided Christians, as He said: ﴾Indeed, they have gone astray before, and they have led many astray, and they have gone astray from the straight path﴿ [Al-Ma'idah: 77].
It is recommended for one who recites Al-Fatiha to say afterwards: Amen [like: Yas], and it is said: Amen, with shortening as well [like: Yamin], and its meaning is: O Allah, respond. The evidence for this is what was narrated by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawood, and al-Tirmidhi from Wail ibn Hujr, who said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recite: ﴾Not the path of those upon whom is Your wrath, nor of those who are astray﴿ and he said: "Amen," raising his voice with it. And in Abu Dawood: he raised his voice with it, and al-Tirmidhi said: This is a good hadith. It was narrated from Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, and others.
And from Abu Huraira, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say "Amen" when he recited ﴾Not the path of those upon whom is Your wrath, nor of those who are astray﴿ until those in the first row could hear him. Narrated by Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah, and he added: the mosque would echo with it, and al-Daraqutni said: This chain is good.
And from Bilal, he said: O Messenger of Allah, do not precede me with Amen. Narrated by Abu Dawood.
And from Anas, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was given Amen in prayer and when making supplication, no one was given it before me except that he was Moses. Moses would supplicate, and Aaron would say Amen, so conclude your supplication with Amen, for Allah will respond to you."
I said: And from here, some have derived evidence from this noble verse, which is His saying: ﴾And Moses said: Our Lord, indeed You have given Pharaoh and his people adornment and wealth in the worldly life, Our Lord, that they may lead [others] astray from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts so they will not believe until they see the painful punishment. * Allah said: Your supplication has been answered, so remain steadfast and do not follow the path of those who do not know﴿ [Yunus: 88, 89]. He mentioned the supplication of Moses alone, and from the context of the speech, it indicates that Aaron said Amen, thus he is in the position of one who supplicates, due to His saying: ﴾Your supplication has been answered﴿ [Yunus: 89]. This indicates that whoever says Amen to a supplication is as if he has said it; hence, it was said that the follower (ma'mum) does not recite because his saying Amen after the recitation of Al-Fatiha is equivalent to reciting it; and thus it came in the hadith: "Whoever has an imam, the recitation of the imam is his recitation." And Bilal would say: Do not precede me with Amen. This indicates that the follower has no recitation in the audible prayers (155), and Allah knows best.
For this reason, Ibn Marduyah said: Ahmad ibn al-Hasan narrated to us, Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Salam narrated to us, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, Jarir narrated from Lyth ibn Abi Sulaim, from Ka'b, from Abu Huraira, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the imam says: ﴾Not the path of those upon whom is Your wrath, nor of those who are astray﴿ and then says: Amen, the Amen of the people of the earth coincides with the Amen of the inhabitants of the heavens, and Allah forgives the servant for what has preceded of his sins. And the example of one who does not say: Amen is like a man who went out to fight with a group, and they drew lots, and their arrows came out, but he did not come out.
__________
(155) This is the opinion of Ibn Kathir here.


[Page 73]

His share, so he said: "Why did my share not come out?" It was said: "You did not say: 'Ameen'."(156)
__________
(156) Tafsir Ibn Kathir