Sūrat al-Fātiḥa
سورۃ الفاتحہ
Sūrat al-Fātiḥa — Tafsīr of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa
The Istiʿādha (Seeking Refuge from Shayṭān)
Translation: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shayṭān.
Commentary:
The word aʿūdhu derives from ʿādha-yaʿūdhu; bāb faʿala: yaʿūlu — it means to seek protection and shelter, to return to safety. Bi-llāhi: through Allah. Mina l-shayṭāni: from Shayṭān — min is a preposition indicating separation. The word Shayṭān is derived from shāṭa (to stray far), from which this great rebel takes his name. Al-rajīm: the accursed, the outcast; the one upon whom curse has fallen.
Translation: I seek refuge in Allah from the outcast Shayṭān.
Several important points arise from the Istiʿādha:
(1) Between Shayṭān and the human being, there is an ancient enmity. When Allah drove Iblīs from Paradise because he sowed corruption in the heart of Ādam (upon him be peace) through whispering, can it be imagined that Shayṭān will allow us easy passage to Paradise? This is why the Qurʾān repeatedly returns to the story of Ādam and Shayṭān.
(2) Shayṭān is enormously learned and cunning — protecting oneself from him is a most difficult task.
(3) Shayṭān is invisible; he enters unseen, attacking from within.
(4) The human being seeks refuge only when he recognises his own weakness, perceives the power and strength of his enemy, and acknowledges the authority and might of his Protector. When one senses one's own incapacity, one's helplessness produces taḍarruʿ (humble supplication) — and this is the highest station of servanthood.
(5) There is also this: are there things of which we should be afraid? Certainly. For when we come under the shelter of Allah Most High, He corrects all our affairs for us. From Shayṭān, from all other terrors, He protects.
(6) Shayṭān is the enemy of the courts of the Lord. When he is told: "The gatekeeper bars entry; call upon the Master" — the Master responds and Shayṭān retreats, and we find ourselves admitted into the Divine presence.
O readers: do not rely only on your own intelligence and shrewdness. Always remain at the threshold of Allah Most High. As the poet says: "The strong person is he whose true stronghold is the love of Allah."
Seeking refuge (taʿawwudh) before reciting the Qurʾān is wājib (obligatory). The evidence is the verse:﴿فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ﴾— "When you are about to recite the Qurʾān, seek refuge in Allah from the outcast Shayṭān" (al-Naḥl 16:98). If any break separates two recitations, the taʿawwudh must be renewed; but Bismillāh must always be recited thereafter.
The Basmalah — Bismillāhi l-Raḥmāni l-Raḥīm
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Bismillāhi l-Raḥmāni l-Raḥīm.
"In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful."
Commentary on key terms:
Bāʾ: this is a preposition of ilṣāq (adhesion/accompaniment), indicating instrumentality. Ism: name. In Arabic, ism carries both asmāʾ (names) and asamī (designations). What is the difference between name, attribute, and essence (dhāt)? The dhāt (essence) is the independent reality to which a quality belongs, and from which all other things proceed; as ink is the essence for the quality of "being black," so the divine dhāt is the independent ground of all.
A ṣifa (attribute): a quality that does not subsist independently in the external world apart from its bearer. An ʿaraḍī (accidental) attribute: like whiteness of a wall — it does not exist apart from the wall. An intizāʿī (abstractive) attribute: one that has no separate external existence but whose locus, the bearer, exists in a way that admits of it — like the quality of "being possible" (imkān) — this is purely conceptual.
Thus the Divine Attributes are not like created attributes; they are eternal and essential to the Divine Being. They are not zāʾida ʿalā al-dhāt (superadded to the Essence) in any way that would imply multiplicity or composition; nor are they identical with the Essence in a way that would make it impossible to distinguish Essence from Attribute in speech. This is the Maturīdī position (ʿaqīda): the Attributes are real, eternal, distinct from the Essence in conception but not in existence.
Allāh: this Name originally derives from al-ilāh — "the Divinity," the Only One worthy of worship. The hamza was elided and the doubled lām conformed to the article, producing Allāh. Another derivation is from aliha-yalahu, meaning "to be bewildered and turn to" — implying that every creature, in its moments of need, instinctively turns to Him. Or from irtafaʿa — "He is exalted above all." The Divine Reality — al-ulūha — surpasses all conceptualisation by creatures.
As a poet of the tradition has written:
Dar and kalām wa khiyāl o wahm — khāndahʾam / wa-zabar-e-kaft al-ʿilm shanīdahʾam (Persianverse) —
"In sound and word and thought and fancy I have read / and above the roof of knowledge I have heard."
Allāh: the Name of the Divine Essence (ism al-dhāt) — the Name that encompasses all the divine perfections; every other Divine Name is a name of an Attribute. When the name Allāh is uttered in contrast to an Attribute-Name, the Essence is meant; when it is uttered as the Name including all the Attributes, then the Essence together with all Its perfections is meant.
Al-Raḥmān: from raḥima-yarḥamu — raḥm, compassion, tenderness, inclined mercy. In Arabic, raḥm connotes extreme tenderness (taḥannum). Al-Raḥmān denotes the boundless, universal mercy that encompasses all creation without exception — believers and disbelievers, humans and animals. It is the raḥma ʿāmma (universal mercy).
Al-Raḥīm: denotes the mercy that is a specific reward — the raḥma khāṣṣa reserved for the believers in the ākhira (Hereafter). In the Next World, a special radiance of divine mercy will appear for the believers that is unlike anything else. Some exegetes say al-Raḥīm indicates the mercy of ijāba (response to prayer and action), while al-Raḥmān indicates the mercy of ibtidāʾ (unsolicited, free-flowing grace).
Allah has declared:﴿خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾— "He has created for you all that is in the heavens and on the earth" — whether for the benefits of this world or the elevated stations of the next. He invites you: work for the life of this world, and He shall give you its fruits; work for the Hereafter, and He shall give you those fruits too.
Raḥmāniyyat encompasses both worlds; raḥīmiyyat is specifically the gift of the ākhira for the believers.
Translation: In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
The Question of Bismillāh and Sūrat al-Fātiḥa
Is Bismillāh a verse of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa? — According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is; according to the Ḥanafī school, it is not a verse of the sūra, but it is a dividing verse between sūras (āya fāṣila). Thus Ḥanafīs recite it quietly at the beginning, as they recite Aʿūdhu, and similarly they do not recite Āmīn aloud, as both are not formally part of the sūra.
Translation: I begin in the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Sūrat al-Fātiḥa — Overview
Sūrat al-Fātiḥa was revealed in Makka. It has seven verses.
Verse 1: al-Ḥamd
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīn.
"All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds."
Commentary on terms:
Al (the definite article lām) preceding al-ḥamdu can indicate:
(1) ʿAhdī (anaphoric): the specific praise already known, i.e., the one that is Allah's due.
(2) Jinsī (generic): all instances of ḥamd as a class — akhlaṣa al-sūq (like "the marketplace" implying one particular one).
(3) Istigrāq (totality): encompassing every individual —﴿إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾— "Truly all humankind is in loss, except those who believe."
(4) Aṣl al-khayriyya: the primacy of male excellence —﴿الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ﴾— "Men are the custodians of women" — the article here implies superiority in a specific respect.
Some say this lām is istigrāqī, implying absolute totality. Others say it is the lām al-jins (generic article). The most apposite meaning here is that all ḥamd — all genuine praise — is for Allah alone. For since all perfections ultimately proceed from Him, all true praise belongs to Him and is, in reality, directed to Him.
Ḥamd: commendation, eulogy — almost synonymous with thanāʾ (praise) and madḥ (extolment), though ḥamd specifically involves verbal praise of a benefactor for an intentional act of goodness. Consider: ḥamadtu Zaydan ʿalā ṭahārati nasabihi wa-ḥasabihi wa-jamīli aqwālihi wa-aʿmālihi wa-jūdihi wa-samāḥatihi wa-shajāʿatihi wa-wafāʾihi — "I praised Zayd for the purity of his lineage and nobility, the beauty of his words and deeds, his generosity, magnanimity, courage, and fidelity."
Structural note (ʿArabī grammar): al-ḥamdu li-llāh is a nominal sentence (jumla ismiyya); the lām in li-llāh is lām al-milk (the lām of possession), implying: all praise belongs to Allah, and is restricted to Him.
Translation: All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
Rabb — derived from rabba-yarubbu (to nurture, sustain, cause to grow, manage). Rabb in Arabic is the master, custodian, caretaker, and the one who brings a thing to its fullest development. The word is applied to guardians; rabbata — she raised and nurtured. The Divine Name Rabb is used exclusively for Allah Most High when absolute; when attributed to others, it requires iḍāfa (a qualifying genitive), as rabbu al-dār (the owner of the house).
Al-ʿālamīn: all the worlds. ʿĀlam — derived from ʿalāma (sign/indication), because the world as a whole is a sign (dalīl) pointing toward its Creator. The plural ʿālamūn is used for rational beings (dhawū al-ʿuqūl), but here by inclusion implies all worlds: the world of humans, the world of angels, the world of jinn, the world of animals, the world of plants, the world of minerals — all are included.
The declaration Rabb al-ʿālamīn establishes: there is no created being, no matter how exalted — whether Indra or Agni among the Hindus, or Ram or Krishna — that is not, in reality, a servant (banda) and dependent creature (makhluq) of Allah. Whoever knows this will not worship any of them, recognising that all are created and all are subordinate to the One.
Note on the grammar of Rabb: when a noun has been made into a permanent verbal form linked to eternity (laysa muqayyad bi-zamān), the iḍāfa (construct) is non-definitising (ghayr muʿarrif) — hence Rabb al-ʿālamīn does not take the definite article (lām). This is in contrast to ʿAbdu l-Ḍāribi ʿAmr — "the servant of Zayd, the striker of ʿAmr" — where the verbal noun is time-restricted.
Translation: Lord of all the worlds.
A Note on the Natural Theophany
From this verse one learns that Allah Most High is Rabb al-ʿālamīn — and through this Lordship, His perfection is manifested throughout every created realm. Through the created world itself, the believer sees Him.
Consider: what is the helplessness (iḍṭirār) of creation? When the wind lifts clouds, the clouds rise; the earth becomes a garden; rain falls. Neither the wind can resist Allah's command, nor the cloud, nor the earth, nor the tree, nor the wheat — all grow and all come to fruition according to His design. They do not possess will or choice; all are occupied in their appointed tasks, subject, powerless — yet Allah is never unmindful. His mercy encompasses them. His raḥma ʿāmma (universal mercy) and raḥma khāṣṣa (special mercy) are distinct.
Does Allah Most High nurture all these things for His own benefit? Never — He is self-sufficient (ghanī), in need of nothing. What benefits His creation is what His raḥma demands. The Divine Acts are not subject to external obligation (wujūb ʿalā Allāh); they are expressions of pure grace (faḍl) and mercy.
His universal mercy (raḥma ʿāmma) has provided for you all the means and materials of existence. The method of deriving benefit from them — through Qurʾān, through Sunna — is before you. He is never negligent in rewarding your efforts. For the needs of the life of this world, He provides proportionate recompense; for the needs of the Hereafter, He likewise provides. Do not despair.
If your faith is sound and you are regular in prayer, dedicate yourself also to the work of this world — for this world is the realm of means (ʿālam al-asbāb). Allah has given you hands and capacities; do not leave them idle. He has created them for the purposes He has appointed — employ them.
As the Qurʾān says:﴿هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾— "Can those who know and those who do not know be equal?" (al-Zumar 39:9). And:﴿لَيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى﴾— "For the human being is only that for which he strives, and his striving shall be witnessed" (al-Najm 53:39–40). As you sow, so shall you reap. Allah is Rabb al-ʿālamīn — the Lord of all. Act sincerely and you will receive the fruit; be negligent and you will remain in poverty and degradation.
A verse from the author (faqīr):
The path of the slave is work with sincerity / In negligence towards the Lord lies humiliation.
A Note on Tawhīd and Lordship
The Divine Lordship (rubūbiyya) is universal. It encompasses all that was and all that is; it operates across time — kullī zamān — present and future — manifest in every created thing. The definition of Allāhu l-Ṣamad (al-Ikhlāṣ 112:2) comes here into view: He is the One upon Whom all creation depends at every moment. He is Ṣamad — the eternal, besought by all. He is Raḥmān — universally merciful. He is Raḥīm — specifically merciful to the believers.
Then Allah declares: Allāhu lā ilāha illā Huwa — and when He says rabb in this verse, it confirms that His Lordship is complete and universal — His sustaining care not dependent on the response of His creatures; yet His mercy is an invitation.
From this verse also flows the declaration of Sūrat Yāsīn:﴿سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا﴾— "Glory be to Him who created all pairs" — affirming the Creator's transcendence while His Lordship sustains every particle of existence.
Continuation of Verse 1 Commentary — Tawhīd and Free Will (Ikhtiyār)
What is the meaning of ḍarūra (compulsion) in nature? Is there truly "necessity" (ijbār)? When a cloud carries the sea-breeze and rises into the sky, rain falls; the earth blooms. Nothing can act against Allah's design. Trees grow, grain is produced, human beings are born and nurtured — all according to His command. They have no independent will (ikhtiyār) against Allah's design; they are powerless. His mercy — both universal and special — supervises all.
Does Allah Most High nurture all these things for His own gain? Not at all — He is All-Sufficient (ghanī) and in need of nothing. To act for the benefit of others through mercy is what His raḥma demands. His universal mercy has made available to you every means and material for your worldly needs. Use the prescribed method — Qurʾān and Sunna — and exert yourself fully. He does not diminish the reward of your efforts.
Your reward for worldly effort (khayrāt dunyawiyya) will be proportionate; your reward for otherworldly effort (khayrāt ukhrāwiyya) will also be proportionate. Do not abandon striving in despair. Do not abandon the work of religion merely because you are engaged in worldly affairs. This world is the realm of means (ʿālam al-asbāb). Allah has given you capacities — use them for the purposes for which He created them.
﴿هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾— "Are the knowing and the unknowing equal?" (al-Zumar 39:9). Certainly not.
And:﴿لَيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى﴾— "The human being receives only what he strives for" (al-Najm 53:39). As you sow, so you reap.
Work sincerely; the reward will come. Negligence towards the Lord is the cause of humiliation. (The author, Ḥasrat Ṣiddīqī)
Verse 2: Mālik Yawm al-Dīn
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
Māliki yawmi l-dīn.
"Master of the Day of Recompense."
Commentary on terms:
Allāhu l-Ṣāmid: the meaning of Ṣamad and its connection to the present discussion should be recalled. This verse has two famous variant readings (qirāʾatān):
- Mālik (the Possessor/Owner) — from malaka-yamliku; he who owns.
- Malik (the Sovereign/King) — from malaka-yamliku; Malakatun meaning dominion and authority.
Mālik implies proprietorial ownership with authority; Malik implies sovereign kingship with power and control. Both are authentic, mutually reinforcing, Qurʾānically attested readings.
Yawm: day. Yawm al-Jumʿa — Friday; yawm al-Sabt — Saturday. But yawm can also mean an extended period of time (zamān) — as in﴿كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ﴾— "Every moment He is in a [new] affair" (al-Raḥmān 55:29).
Dīn: this word in Arabic carries multiple meanings: obedience (ṭāʿa), judgement (ḥukm), recompense (jazāʾ), and debt (dayn). All are relevant here. One person might be at once oppressor and victim, sinful and righteous (bī-qasūr wa bā-qusūr). Their outcry exists; it is real. The Day of Recompense is coming — the good shall receive their due; the wicked shall receive theirs. Each will be recompensed for his or her deeds.
Yawm al-Dīn: the Day of Judgement, the Day of Recompense — both in this world and the next. Allah Most High gives recompense in this world too, as well as in the Hereafter. As you act, so shall you be answered. Yawm al-Dīn is also a warning to those in authority in this world: fear this Master, before Whom your subjects will one day present their grievances. Do justice to those under you. Do not oppress the servants of Allah. For your own Day of Account is coming — there is a King, there is a Master — and from Him you shall receive in return exactly what you dealt out to others.
Translation: Master of the Day of Recompense.
Commentary on Verse 2 — Political and Social Application
O servants! Know that Allah Most High is Rabb al-ʿālamīn — the Master and Sustainer. He is Raḥmān and Raḥīm — compassionate. He knows the rights of all, servants and those they serve. He is aware of all that is done. As He declares:
وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللهِ رِزْقُهَا
Wa-mā min dābbatin fī l-arḍi illā ʿalā Allāhi rizquhā.
"There is no creature on earth but that its provision is the responsibility of Allah." (Hūd 11:6)
Despite this assurance, you must still employ the means at your disposal. Using means is not shirk (associating partners with Allah); it is the divinely appointed method. To believe that a means is independently effective (muʾaththir bi-l-dhāt) — that is shirk.
Pray; fast; give zakāt; do good — these are the means of divine mercy. Then look to this world too: use the intelligence and faculties that He has given you, for the worldly realm is the realm of means. Take what He has given you and use it for the purposes He has appointed.
This Teacher of the nation! How subtle and gentle is the divine instruction: "I am Rabb al-ʿālamīn," He says; "I am Raḥmān and Raḥīm" — yet I am also the Mālik Yawm al-Dīn. How artfully does He warn: with mercy, then with accountability.
O leader (ḥākim)! Show compassion to your people. Be gentle as well as just. Do not seize your subjects on every small matter. Release the servants of Allah from oppression. Your own account is also coming — there is one King above you — and as you have ruled, so shall you be judged:﴿وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَشَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ﴾— "Your Lord's punishment is indeed severe." (al-Burūj 85:12)
Know that where Allah is Rabb al-ʿālamīn and Raḥīm wa Raḥmān, He is also truly Mālik Yawm al-Dīn. Therefore obey His commands, follow His messengers, comply with His injunctions.
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْسِقُونَ
Wa-man lam yaḥkum bi-mā anzala Allāhu fa-ulāʾika humu l-fāsiqūn.
"Those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed — they are the transgressors." (al-Māʾida 5:47)
And elsewhere:﴿فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾— "They are the wrongdoers"; and:﴿فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ﴾— "They are the disbelievers" (al-Māʾida 5:44–45). Is it possible for a Muslim who says lā ḥukma illā li-llāh — "there is no authority except Allah's" — to accept rulings that contradict Allah's law? That is not possible.
On Islām and National Identity
Some heedless Muslims, deceived by the notion of a shared "Indian nationality," have been drawn toward the idea of a composite Indian nation in which Muslims and Hindus are co-partners. But a Muslim belongs only to Allah. Islam alone is his identity. Consider carefully: the governance of a nation affects all its individuals; the majority makes the law; and in democratic assemblies, the majority's rulings bind everyone. Can a Muslim — who says lā ḥukma illā li-llāh (authority belongs to Allah alone) — accept rulings that contradict the divine law? No — not Indian, not Arab, not any nationality or geography defines the Muslim.
Our God is the God of all, and our Qurʾān is for the entire world. (Iqbāl)
A Muslim belongs to Allah. If he remains firm in this, his community becomes a great force — but the tragedy is that Muslims have not truly understood themselves or their faith. They have not yet demonstrated their true strength.
What is needed is:﴿وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾— "It is incumbent upon Us to aid the believers" (al-Rūm 30:47). And:﴿كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللهِ وَاللهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾— "How many a small company has overcome a great one by the permission of Allah! Allah is with those who are patient" (al-Baqara 2:249).
Verse 3: Iyyāka Naʿbudu
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
Iyyāka naʿbudu wa-iyyāka nastaʿīn.
"You alone do we worship; and in You alone do we seek aid."
Commentary on terms:
Nastaʿīnu: we seek aid. The root is ʿāna-yuʿīnu (to aid); istiʿāna is from bāb al-istiʿfāl — requesting the quality [of aid]. ʿIbāda: worship, servitude — service rendered with the utmost humility and love.
Translation: You alone do we worship, and in You alone do we seek help.
Now consider: what is wājib al-wujūd (necessary existence)? What is mumkin (contingent existence)? And what is muḥāl (impossible existence)?
(1) Wājib al-wujūd: He whose existence is necessary and whose non-existence is impossible. This is Allah Most High.
(2) Mumkin: that whose non-existence is possible, and whose existence is possible; neither its being nor its non-being is necessary in itself. Such is all creation — such is, for instance, the existence of a part when separated from the whole.
(3) Muḥāl (impossible): its non-existence is necessary; existence is not possible for it; if it were to "exist," some absurdity (muḥāl) would follow.
Apart from Allah, all things are mumkin (contingent). They cannot have wujūd bi-l-dhāt (self-subsistent existence). The Wājib al-Wujūd alone has existence by His own Essence. Contingent beings receive existence from Him, and return to non-existence. Their very existence is a tāj-e-wujūb (crown of necessity) bestowed upon them by the Wājib Taʿālā.
On Shirk (Associating Partners with Allah) and Kufr
What is shirk (polytheism)? It is to attribute to any contingent being the attributes specific to Allah, believing them to be inherent in that being by its own essence — bāldhāt.
What is kufr (denial/disbelief)? It is to deny the attributes specific to Allah, or to refuse to acknowledge Allah Most High entirely.
Now consider: these attributes we observe in the world — life, knowledge, power, will, hearing, sight — where do they come from? The attributes of existence — ṣifāt wujūdiyya — in the Wājib Taʿālā are original and essential (aṣliyya). In contingent beings they are ʿaraḍiyya (accidental), deriving from Him. Your life — where does it come from? From the Wājib Taʿālā. The knowledge in you — from whom? Your hearing and sight — from whom? All knowledge, all power, all will — from the Wājib Taʿālā alone.
All possible beings (mumkināt), all knowable things (maʿlūmāt), are inscribed in the divine knowledge in the ʿālam al-ghayb (the unseen realm). According to Allah's decree, they emerge from non-existence into existence. The attributes of Allah that are present in us — life, knowledge, power, will — they are with us only by divine bestowal; we are not self-subsistent in them.
True shirk is: to regard any contingent being as independently (bāldhāt) possessing what is, in reality, ʿaraḍī (accidental/bestowed). When a person truly understands this, shirk becomes unthinkable.
Knowledge (ʿilm) may be of different kinds: it may be acquired by study; it may come by revelation and inspiration. And ʿilm al-ghayb (knowledge of the unseen) — what is the ʿilm al-ghayb with respect to what? The basis (aṣl) of all existence is in Allah's knowledge; the ʿilm bi-l-dhāt (knowledge by essence) belongs to Allah alone. All others' knowledge is bi-l-ʿarḍ (accidental) — received, not self-originated. This distinction alone removes shirk from consideration.
On ʿIlm al-Ghayb (Knowledge of the Unseen) and Intercession
Is it shirk to say that a saint or prophet knows certain things? No — understand the distinction:
(1) Ghayb muṭlaq (absolute unseen): known only to Allah, and to none other. This includes the Hour, what is in the wombs, what souls shall earn, and so on.
(2) ʿIlm ghayb iḍāfī (relative unseen knowledge): knowledge of what is unseen from ordinary people's perspective, communicated by Allah to whomsoever He chooses among His chosen ones. As Allah states:
عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِن رَّسُولٍ
ʿĀlimu l-ghaybi fa-lā yuẓhiru ʿalā ghaybihi aḥadan illā man irtaḍā min Rasūl.
"The Knower of the unseen — He does not reveal His unseen to anyone, except a Messenger with whom He is pleased." (al-Jinn 72:26–27)
(3) There is a third kind of ʿilm ghayb that every Muslim must possess — belief in the unseen realities: Allah, the angels, the Books, the Prophets, the Last Day, and the divine decree. This is ghayb al-dīn (the unseen of faith), and believing in it is imān itself.
Is the rūḥ ṭayyiba (noble spirit) of the Prophetﷺaware of his community? Certainly — as affirmed in the ḥadīth of the miʿrāj (the Night Journey and Ascension): the Prophetﷺmet the prophets and led them in prayer; the ancestors of Ḥaḍrat received his salutation of peace; Mūsā (upon him be peace) gave him counsel on the number of prayers. This is not shirk — it is the gift of divine grace to the chosen.
Is calling upon (istighātha) the pious a form of shirk? Consider:«يَا أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ أَعِنِّي يَا عِبَادَ اللهِ أَعِنِّي»— "O Abā l-Qāsim, help me! O servants of Allah, help me!" — This is a recognized, authentic duʿāʾ taught by the tradition. And it is recorded that in the time of ʿUthmān (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companions themselves used this invocation and taught it to others.
Commentary on Intercession and Attribution (Nisbat)
A distinction central to the Ḥanafī-Maturīdī tradition must be understood:
Wujūdī ṣifa (existential attribute) belongs, by its very essence, to Allah alone. When an attribute is attributed to a created being, the attribution is majāzī (metaphorical, relational) — not ḥaqīqī (essential). Even when Jibrīl (upon him be peace) said«إِنِّي رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكَ غُلَامًا زَكِيًّا»— "I am a Messenger of your Lord, to give you a pure son" — his attribution of "giving" to himself was figurative; the real Giver is Allah.
The verse of the Qurʾān regarding Jesus (upon him be peace):﴿وَأُبْرِئُ الْأَكْمَهَ وَالْأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى بِإِذْنِ اللهِ﴾— "I heal the blind from birth and the leper, and bring the dead to life, by Allah's permission" (Āl ʿImrān 3:49). In every such attribution, the clause bi-idhni Allāh (by Allah's permission) is always present, manifesting that the attribution to the prophet is nisbat majāzī (figurative attribution), and that making such attributions need not be a problem.
Similarly with the ascription of blessing (barakah) to the Prophetﷺ: this is a grace of Allah flowing through him; it is not his independently. The naming of a well as biʾr Saʿd — "Saʿd's well" — as in the ḥadīth of Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, does not make the well a deity.
As for sacrificial slaughter (dhabḥ) — it is entirely lawful in Islamic law and carries no implication of polytheism. The formula at slaughter is:«هَذَا مِنْكَ وَلَكَ»— "This is from You and for You" — meaning: from Allah's bounty and offered in His name. This was the practice of the Prophetﷺ. What is forbidden is to slaughter with any name other than Allah's; as the ḥadīth states:«لَعَنَ اللهُ مَنْ ذَبَحَ لِغَيْرِ اللهِ»— "Allah has cursed one who slaughters for other than Allah."
On Performing Acts of Worship on Behalf of the Deceased
Al-Bukhārī and Muslim report from ʿĀʾisha al-Ṣiddīqa (may Allah be pleased with her): a woman asked the Prophetﷺwhether she could perform fasting on behalf of her deceased mother who had died before fulfilling an obligatory fast. He replied:«صُومِي عَنْهَا»— "Fast on her behalf." She asked further: may she perform Ḥajj on her behalf? He said:«حُجِّي عَنْهَا»— "Make Ḥajj on her behalf."
Al-Bukhārī and Muslim also report from ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her): a man asked whether his mother had died suddenly without leaving instructions for any charitable gift — could he give ṣadaqa on her behalf and would she receive its reward? The Prophetﷺreplied:«نَعَمْ»— "Yes."
The practice of performing ṣadaqa (charity), fasting, Ḥajj, and recitation on behalf of the deceased (ʿīṣāl al-thawāb) — transmitting the spiritual merit to them — is thus soundly established. What is most beneficial is that in which there is regular continuity — dawām — as the Prophetﷺsaid:«أَحَبُّ الْأَعْمَالِ إِلَى اللهِ أَدْوَمُهَا وَإِنْ قَلَّ»— "The most beloved deeds to Allah are those done with continuity, even if they be small." (al-Bukhārī; Muslim)
The author addresses this question in response to those who object to such practices. He says: to call upon the Prophetﷺ— as in:«يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ بِتَحَدُّثِهِ يَكُونُ شِرْكًا؟»— is not shirk. As ʿAllāma Ibn Nujaym, Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn, and others have given the ruling: intercession through the Prophetﷺ(tawassul bi-l-Nabīﷺ) is permissible. The supplication: "O Allah, I am asking You, turning to You through Your Beloved Prophet — may he intercede for us; O Allah, accept his intercession for us on account of the honour he holds with You" — contains tawassul bi-l-dhāt (intercession through his blessed person), which is permitted in the Sunnī tradition. This very form was recited by the Companions (Ṣaḥāba) during the caliphate of ʿUthmān (may Allah be pleased with him).
On Calling Upon the Prophetﷺ— Purity of Intention
When addressing worshippers in the taḥiyyāt (the sitting in prayer):﴿السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ﴾— "Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings" — this is the assembly that stretches from the beginning of ṣalāt to its end:﴿التَّحِيَّاتُ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ﴾— all the greetings, all the prayers, all the pure things are for Allah. The Prophetﷺis addressed in all this because he is ḥāḍir — present — in spirit, as the tradition affirms.
Know also: the Prophetﷺis not omniscient of his own nature — he is ʿabd (servant) and nabī (prophet). He has said:«لَا يُفْلِحُ أَحَدٌ بِضَرْبَةٍ إِلَّا وَجَدَ الْمَلَكَ حَاذِيَهُ»— "No one strikes a blow but that its angel records it." And in another narration: "My Lord is with me and I am the one who makes known to you."
The narration from Kanz al-ʿUmmāl:«قَالَ عُمَرُ:السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ—مَاذَا كَنْتُمَا بَعْدَكُمَا؟»— ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Peace upon you, O Messenger of Allah! Peace upon you, O Abū Bakr! What have you left us after your time?" — The author cites this as evidence that visiting the blessed tomb and addressing the Prophetﷺand Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is an established practice of the greatest Companions.
In the collective worship of ṣalāt, the supplication: «اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي هَذَا الطَّعَامَ وَارْزُقْنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةٍ» — "O Allah, forgive me this food; provide it to me without power or strength from me" — contains the word hādhā (this), which points to a specific act, establishing the legitimacy of thanking Allah specifically for a particular blessing. (Ḥasrat Ṣiddīqī)
On the Meaning of Servanthood (ʿUbūdiyya)
There are three senses in which ʿabd (servant) is used in Islamic theology:
(1) Makhluq (created being): in the absolute sense, every created thing is a servant (ʿabd) of Allah, because every created thing is owned and sustained by Him.
(2) Mamlūk, ghulām, barda — the literal slave or freed person. This is the honour in which Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) was held — a mamlūk of the highest rank, whose slavery was a mark of divine favour. What an immeasurable gift that would be!
(3) Muṭīʿ wa farmān-bardār — the obedient and willing servant: the Caliph of Islam is described as ʿabduhu wa khādimuhu — "His servant and assistant." The rightly-guided Caliph ʿUmar al-Fārūq (may Allah be pleased with him) said, in response to a questioning delegation, in a beautiful Hebrew or Aramaic phrase: «وabḥaka — anā ibn ʿabīd Muḥammad» — "By your wonder — I am a son of the servants of Muḥammad!" See: the Caliph was proud of his servanthood to the Prophetﷺ, while you treat this same servanthood as shirk?
The term ʿubudiyya as worship (ʿibāda) is a matter of the heart's intention and belief. It is worship when one regards a being as worthy of absolute veneration bi-l-dhāt (by its own essence). This inner worship has been utterly forbidden in Islam, with no exception — servitude of the heart to other than Allah is ʿibāda. But the Prophetﷺhimself declared: "Were I to permit prostration to anything other than Allah, I would command women to prostrate to their husbands" — making clear that even the highest physical acts of reverence are not ʿibāda when not accompanied by the inner conviction of divine status.
Divine commands:﴿لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِهِ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ﴾— "that you may believe in him and honour him" (al-Fatḥ 48:9); and﴿وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ﴾— "Lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy" (al-Isrāʾ 17:24); and:«قُومُوا لِسَيِّدِكُمْ»— "Stand for your master." ʿIbāda is known — it is that which regards a being as independently worthy of worship in its own essence. This was the original meaning incorporated in Islamic usage, and it can never be attributed to any creature.
On Prostration as Reverence and Its Distinction from Worship
Does kissing the feet of a saint constitute shirk? Imām al-Bukhārī reports in al-Adab al-Mufrad from Wāziʿ ibn ʿĀmir: "We came and were told: this is the Messenger of Allahﷺ. We took his hands and feet and kissed them." (Reported also by Abū Dāwūd; Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn)
And in a ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth with a chain through Mufawwān: two Jewish men came to the Prophetﷺwith questions, and he gave them answers; and«فَقَبَّلَا يَدَيْهِ وَرِجْلَيْهِ»— "They kissed both his hands and both his feet." (These are Mufawwān's own words.) "The two Jews kissed both the Prophet's hands and both his feet."
The paths of spirituality (rūḥāniyyat) are not to be blocked by foolishness. To label as shirk every act of love, to call Muslims polytheists and unbelievers — this is an act of tremendous presumption. Read the biographies of the scholars and the saints, and you will find true knowledge.
Is it obligatory in all matters to return to Allah? Undoubtedly — and this is a matter of great importance. The one who makes duʿāʾ and calls upon Allah, then calls upon intercessors — believing that the intercessors are the mūthi r bi-l-dhāt (independently effective) — this is wrong. But to call upon them while believing that all real effect belongs to Allah, and that they are means of access (asbāb wa wasāʾil) — this is correct.
O people! Ask yourselves honestly: in what do you place more trust — in outward or in hidden causes, in apparent means — or in Allah and His promises?﴿وَعَلَى اللهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ﴾— "And put your trust in Allah, if you are believers." (al-Māʾida 5:23)
On Congregational Prayer and Its Inner Dimensions
Consider the ṣalāt (prayer) — which is, at its deepest level, a munājāt (intimate conversation) between the servant and the Lord. The prayer contains:
Standing (qiyām): full attention and presence. Bowing (rukūʿ): the backbone of the human ego is lowered; the self bows before the Majesty. Prostration (sujūd): the highest part of the body — the forehead — touches the earth; the self is annihilated before the Divine. Sitting (quʿūd): composure and dignified station in the presence of the King.
From the iqāma (the call signaling the start of prayer), following acts accrue: attention, gathering of ranks, formation of rows, rising as one, kneeling as one — together. When the Muslim stands in prayer, every muscle and fibre turns toward the single direction. This is why people call it the ṣalāt al-ʿaql — the prayer of reason — for in it every limb and joint finds its station.
Obedience to the imām in prayer is obligatory. One who is unable to maintain obedience — his account is with Allah on the Day of Judgement. The wisest, the most learned, should be imām. Material wealth and social rank should carry no weight in this selection. The imām's authority in prayer is absolute — yet if the imām commits an error in recitation contrary to the fundamentals of religion — for instance, reciting anʿamtu ʿalayhim (in the first person) instead of the correct anʿamta ʿalayhim — then the prayer must be broken, and﴿لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخْلُوقٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ الْخَالِقِ﴾— "There is no obedience to any creature in disobedience to the Creator" — must be applied.
On Bid'a (Innovation), its Boundaries, and the Nature of Worship
Today in many places innovations (bidaʿ, sing. bidʿa) are mixed with shirk-like practices and recited as awrād (litanies). What exactly is bidʿa? Is every novel practice an innovation?
Let it be said clearly: living in houses is not bidʿa; guns, aeroplanes, and the tools of modern life are not bidʿa; printing and distributing the Qurʾān is not bidʿa; teaching ḥadīth from books is not bidʿa. The response to guns and aircraft must come from the same: meet their strength with equal strength.
What is bidʿa in religion? An act that is presented as part of the religion — as wājib, sunna, or farḍ — without any basis in Qurʾān or ḥadīth. An act explicitly mentioned in Qurʾān or ḥadīth as wājib or sunna — even if it takes a new form — is not bidʿa. An act required by Qurʾān or ḥadīth on principle, found in its particulars through the process of istinbāṭ (legal deduction) — that is also not bidʿa. The problem arises when something neutral (mubāḥ) is declared ḥarām (forbidden) — that is tashrīʿ fī al-dīn (legislating in religion).
Is lifting the hands during prayer a bidʿa? Is Āmīn aloud a bidʿa? Let the scholars speak: each of these questions has its documented scholarly answer. The real principle is:
Any act whose omission is a legal sin, whose commission is a cause of reward, whose performance is continuous and regular — and whose source is a ruling derived from the Qurʾān or ḥadīth, or from an accepted principle of the religion — that is sunna, not bidʿa.
The time, the specific form, and the occasion (zamān, ṣūra, makān) of an act may vary — and varying them, provided it remains consistent with the principles of Sharīʿa, is permissible. To make a specific time or place obligatory is bidʿa. To make a specific form permanently obligatory when it is only one appropriate form — that is tashrīʿ fī al-dīn.
On Following the Correct Method in Religion
Regarding tashrīʿ (inappropriate legislation in religion): do not let what is mubāḥ (neutral) be declared ḥarām, and do not let what is merely a convenience be treated as a fixed obligation.
The true principle: if a ruling has its source in the Qurʾān and ḥadīth — or if it is derivable from a general principle of the two — then it is not bidʿa; however it may later be found in the details of fiqh.
As for the great mashāʾikh (Sufi masters) and their practices — do these constitute bidʿa? No — their source is always in the Qurʾān and ḥadīth. Any ruling derivable from a Qurʾānic or ḥadīth principle — even if it was not explicitly mentioned — can be found in the particulars of fiqh, wherever the conditions of time, place, and circumstance permit.
Now the question of mīlād (celebration of the Prophet's birth): is this bidʿa? The author says: look to al-Bukhārī. Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that when the Prophetﷺarrived in Madīna, he found the Jews fasting on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ. He asked why. They said: this is the day when Mūsā (upon him be peace) was saved from Firʿawn and his companions. The Prophetﷺreplied:«نَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِمُوسَى مِنْكُمْ»— "We have more right to Mūsā than you." And he fasted that day, and instructed others to fast. Is it wrong to recall with joy the birth of one's beloved Prophetﷺ? Commemorating the history of one's spiritual forebears with love and devotion — learning from their lives and following them — is the very spirit of mīlād.
The key: is the mīlād gathering used for benefit or for harm? Extravagance, borrowing money at interest, imitating un-Islamic customs, bringing into Islam the festivals and rites of other religions through the "back door" — all this is unacceptable. But gathering with dhikr, ṣalawāt on the Prophetﷺ, learning about his life — this is a foundation of the religion.
On the True Concerns of the Time
The author observes: today Muslims face a condition like that of Makka under persecution — and also like the early Madīnan period. In such times, the command was:﴿فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ﴾— this applied in its historical moment. For the present age,﴿وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ﴾— "Prepare against them whatever force you are able" (al-Anfāl 8:60) — is the guiding command.
Two tasks call for priority: the struggle of jihād when it is required, and the teaching and learning of Qurʾān and ḥadīth. These are the foundations. As for the customs and innovations that have crept in from other communities — the remedy is patient, principled reform (iṣlāḥ), rooted in knowledge. To simply denounce everything as bidʿa without distinguishing beneficial practice from harmful — and to destroy the Islamic fabric in the process — is not wisdom but ignorance.
May Allah Most High grant this community guidance, knowledge, and action. Āmīn.
The Question of the Blessed Objects of the Prophets
The touching of blessed objects, the seeking of barakah (spiritual blessing) from the relics of the prophets and saints — does this constitute shirk? No. These things are in the category of iḥtirām (honouring) the shaʿāʾir Allāh (signs of Allah), about which the Qurʾān says:﴿وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ﴾— "Whoever honours the symbols of Allah — that is indeed from the piety of hearts" (al-Ḥajj 22:32).
In the Qurʾān: the tābūt (Ark) of Mūsā (upon him be peace) containing the relics of the prophets was a source of tranquility and divine blessing:﴿إِنَّ آيَةَ مُلْكِهِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ التَّابُوتُ فِيهِ سَكِينَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَبَقِيَّةٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ آلُ مُوسَى وَآلُ هَارُونَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ﴾— "The sign of his kingship is that there shall come to you the Ark, in which is tranquility from your Lord and the relics of what the family of Mūsā and the family of Hārūn left behind, carried by the angels." (al-Baqara 2:248)
Regarding the miracle of Yūsuf (upon him be peace) and Yaʿqūb (upon him be peace): the divine instruction was to take the shirt of Yūsuf (upon him be peace) and place it on the eyes of Yaʿqūb (upon him be peace), who had lost his sight from weeping — and his sight was restored.﴿اذْهَبُوا بِقَمِيصِي هَذَا فَأَلْقُوهُ عَلَى وَجْهِ أَبِي يَأْتِ بَصِيرًا﴾— "Take this shirt of mine and lay it upon my father's face — he shall regain his sight." (Yūsuf 12:93)
Al-Bukhārī records from ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, from ʿUrwa ibn Masʿūd: that the Companions would rush to catch the water of ablution from the Prophetﷺ, and if they could not reach it, they would wipe their hands on what others had caught. And ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr once took all the blood that fell during a medical procedure on the Prophetﷺand — as it was the Prophet's blood — he took it as a blessing (tabarruk). These are the practices of the lovers of the Prophetﷺ.
O heedless one! Your account with Allah is coming. Those who live with the love of the Prophetﷺ— will they not be with him? "A man is with those he loves." (al-Bukhārī; Muslim)
Verse 4 (Reading variant): The Meaning of Sirāṭ al-Mustaqīm
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Ihdinā al-ṣirāṭa l-mustaqīm.
"Guide us to the Straight Path."
Commentary:
Naʿīm: smooth, even. The straight line — a straight road does not deviate; there is no bend. Hence the plural of "crooked roads" is unlimited, but the straight path (ṣirāṭ mustaqīm) is one and one alone. As﴿وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ﴾— "And this is My straight path — follow it" (al-Anʿām 6:153).
Translation: Guide us to the Straight Path.
In this verse, the kinds of hidāya (guidance) indicated are:
(1) Ilhām al-fikra al-qawiyya (inspiration of strong discernment): providing the faculties — intellectual and emotional — that enable a person to find guidance; as in wahadaynāhu al-najdayn —﴿وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ﴾— "We showed him the two paths [of good and evil]." (al-Balad 90:10)
(2) Naṣb al-dalāʾil (erecting signs and proofs): Allah Most High has set in place proofs in the cosmos and in the soul —﴿وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ﴾— He shows the two ways through fiṭra (innate disposition) and through reason.
(3) Irsāl al-anbiyāʾ wa-l-kutub (sending prophets and revealed books):﴿وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا﴾— "We made them leaders guiding by Our command" (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:73). The Qurʾān:﴿هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ﴾— "Guidance for humankind" (al-Baqara 2:185).
(4) Kashf (spiritual unveiling): for the awliyāʾ who strive in Allah's path —﴿وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا﴾— "Those who strive for Our sake, We shall guide them to Our paths" (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:69).
Ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm means the path of balance — the middle way that avoids both excess (ifrāṭ) and deficiency (tafrīṭ). The path of pure freedom leads to dahriyya (materialism) and the rejection of God; the path of absolute divine domination leads to fatalism — the middle way is the Islamic path: human will and responsibility are real within the framework of divine decree.﴿لَيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى﴾— "The human being gets what he strives for."
The Middle Way — Iʿtidāl in All Matters
The Straight Path (ṣirāṭ mustaqīm) is the path of balance (iʿtidāl):
Between excess and deficiency — in worship, between abandonment and obsessive rigidity; Between the obligation of takāsul (laziness) and the extreme of ghuluww (excess); Between democratic freedom (azādī) and autocratic tyranny — the Islamic khilāfa and consultative governance (shūrā); Between cowardice and foolhardiness — shujāʿa (true courage); Between ḥirs (greed) and bukhl (miserliness) — jūd (generosity); Between extravagance (isrāf) and miserliness — qaṣd (moderation); Between hope (rajāʾ) and despair (qunūṭ) — the believer's balanced station of khawf wa rajāʾ (fear and hope).
The middle path is the one Allah Most High guides His servant to; the intercession of the prophets and saints is also accepted; He chastises whom He will and forgives whom He will. The believer's faith is between fear and hope — neither of the extreme positions.
As the scholars say: "The young man should fear; the old man should hope for Allah's mercy." For the young, fear is the greater motivator; for the old, hope in Allah's mercy is the greater comfort.
In worldly matters, rely more upon Allah; in religious matters, rely upon both worldly means and divine help.
Verse 5: Ṣirāṭ alladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
Ṣirāṭa lladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim.
"The path of those upon whom You have bestowed Your favour."
Commentary:
Anʿamta: the favour You have bestowed — this is the favour of iḥsān (beneficence), not of wage or compensation. When a favour is given bi-lā ʿiwaḍ (without exchange), it is niʿma in the fullest sense. The verse says anʿamta ʿalayhim — a favour given from above, freely, graciously.
Translation: The path of those whom You have favoured.
Now: the niʿam (blessings/favours) are of two kinds: dunyawī (worldly) and ukhrāwī (otherworldly). Each has subcategories:
Worldly blessings include: life, spiritual and physical wellbeing — the soul remaining in the body, reason and the senses functioning; and physical health — the body being created and its organs remaining healthy. Character blessings — acquiring noble qualities and avoiding base characteristics. Pardon of sins, the vision of Allah (dīdār-e-Ilāhī), the companionship of the prophets, the truthful, and the pious — these are among the highest of the spiritual blessings.
The threefold categorisation of the niʿma: (1) The favour that comes from Allah's direct hand — calling upon Him directly; (2) The favour that comes through the mediation of another person — parents, teachers, kings — which nonetheless ultimately comes from Allah, as it could not have come unless He willed it; (3) The favours granted as a result of obedience — these too are ultimately from Allah.
The greatest favour is Īmān (faith) — all other favours branch from it. Those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favour are:﴿أَنْعَمَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ﴾— "Those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favour — the prophets, the truthful (ṣiddīqūn), the martyrs, and the righteous" (al-Nisāʾ 4:69).
Every prophet who believes in ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) also believes in Mūsā (upon him be peace); every prophet who believes in Mūsā (upon him be peace) also believes in Ādam (upon him be peace). A Jew (Mūsawī) or a Christian (ʿĪsāwī) who truly follows their prophet must also affirm the prophets before and after. A Muslim must believe in all the prophets.
Consider further: the laṭāʾif (subtle spiritual centres) — in Sufi cosmology, these are the five or seven centres of spiritual consciousness within the human being, each corresponding to a prophetic lineage and station. Ādam (upon him be peace) is the archetype of the nafs (soul); Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) of the qalb (heart); Mūsā (upon him be peace) of the rūḥ (spirit); ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) of the sirr (inner secret); and Muḥammadﷺof the khafī (the deepest hidden). A Sufi path (tarīqa) that follows this complete chain becomes Ādam, Ibrāhīmī, Mūsawī, ʿĪsawī, and Muḥammadī all at once.
Each laṭīfa has its own rang (colour), its own maqām (station), and its own mode of spiritual discipline. When a ṭālb (seeker) acquires them all, no aspect is left behind. Lā ilāha illā Allāh Muḥammadun Rasūlu Allāh — the complete testimonial of faith — embraces them all.
The fundamental principles of Islām — according to this tafsīr — include:
(1) Tawḥīd (monotheism) — the master principle, upon which all others rest.
(2) Maḥabba (love) — the world is sustained by love; without it there would be no meadow, no mountain, no sea, no sky. Love operates between parents and children, between human and God.
(3) Farḍ-shināsī (fulfilment of duties): the believer is bound by ḥuqūq (rights) and farāʾiḍ (obligations). As the ḥadīth says:«إِنَّ لِنَفْسِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا وَلِزَوْجِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا»— "Your soul has a right over you; your spouse has a right over you." The story of Salmān al-Fārisī and Abū al-Dardāʾ (may Allah be pleased with them) is instructive: when Salmān visited, he ensured Abū al-Dardāʾ slept and ate properly, saying: "Your Lord has a right over you, your body has a right over you, your family has a right over you — give each its due."
(4) Iʿtizāl (moderation/withdrawal from harmful acts): as discussed — the path of balance between excess and deficiency.﴿إِهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ﴾— "Guide us to the Straight Path." There are many crooked roads; there is only one straight path. Those who deviate to either extreme are guided back to the middle.
Structure of Sufi excellence: the ṭarīqa of the Sufis traces back, through each spiritual chain, to the prophets. Each imām of fiqh — Abū Ḥanīfa, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Ibn Ḥanbal — traces his spiritual lineage to Ḥaḍrat Sayyidunā ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him). And the great masters of the Sufi paths: Sayyidunā ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, Aḥmad al-Rifāʿī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn Naqshband, al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī, and others (may Allah have mercy on them all) — their following (ittibāʿ) is also subsumed in﴿أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾. Thus the Sufi path of one's shaykh is also included in the supplication.
O people! This dīn is most complete. Islām requires belief in all the prophets — that is obligatory, a duty (farḍ). Remember: the one who truly follows ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) must also follow Ādam (upon him be peace). The one who truly follows Mūsā (upon him be peace) must also follow Ādam (upon him be peace) and Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace). So: one who is Mūsawī (a true follower of Mūsā) must also be Ādam, Ibrāhīmī, and ʿĪsawī. One who is ʿĪsawī must also follow those four. A Muslim must follow all the prophets without exception.
Verse 6: Ghayr al-Maghdūb
غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
Ghayri l-maghdūbi ʿalayhim wa-lā l-ḍāllīn.
"Not the path of those who have incurred [Your] wrath, nor of those who are astray."
Commentary:
Al-maghdūb ʿalayhim: those upon whom Allah's wrath has fallen — those who knew the truth but deliberately rejected it or acted contrary to it. The Qurʾān identifies these primarily as those among the People of the Book who knew the prophetic truth and yet chose rejection. Al-ḍāllīn: those who are astray — those who went wrong through ignorance and misguidance, without knowledge.
The path of istiqāma (steadfastness) is between two deviations. As the author relates: a group of people came to the Prophetﷺexpressing their desire for extreme worship — one vowed never to sleep; one vowed perpetual fasting; one vowed celibacy. The Prophetﷺgathered them and said:«أَمَا وَاللهِ إِنِّي لَأَخْشَاكُمْ لِلهِ وَأَتْقَاكُمْ لَهُ»— "I am the one who fears Allah most and is most conscious of Him among you — yet I sleep and I break my fast and I marry. Whoever turns away from my way is not of me." (al-Bukhārī; Muslim, Nikāḥ)
The Principle of Equality (al-Musāwāt)
From the ḥadīth:«النَّاسُ كَأَسْنَانِ الْمُشْطِ»— "People are equal like the teeth of a comb" (transmitted by al-Tirmidhī). The performance of rights (adāʾ al-ḥuqūq) is obligatory upon everyone.
Look at the congregational prayer: the wealthy and the poor stand shoulder to shoulder in a single row. The highest in piety is highest in Allah's sight:﴿إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ﴾— "The most honoured of you in Allah's sight is the most God-conscious" (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13). No distinction of race, language, ethnicity, or country is admissible in Islām.
On the Exalted Station of the Ṣaḥāba and the Ahl al-Bayt
The most excellent fulfilment of﴿أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾is in the Ṣaḥāba (Companions) and the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet's household). The tawātur (mass-transmission) of the Qurʾān: who transmitted it? Among the Companions, especially: Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī, Ḥaḍrat Zayd ibn Thābit, Ḥaḍrat Jābir, Ḥaḍrat ibn Sattūl (may Allah be pleased with them all), Salmān, Miqdād, Abū Dharr (may Allah be pleased with them all) — who preserved the recitation of the Qurʾān, which was then transmitted through tawātur to us? Is the one who calls them fāsiq (corrupt) not aware of what he is saying?
The question of the Ahl al-Bayt: in Arabic, and in every language in the world, Ahl al-Bayt means the people of the household — one's wives and children. The wives of the Prophetﷺ— the ummahāt al-muʾminīn (mothers of the believers) — are the Ahl al-Bayt par excellence. The verse﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ﴾(al-Aḥzāb 33:33) — in its siyāq (textual context) — is addressed first to the wives.
The question of khilāfa (successorship):﴿صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾includes the path confirmed by the caliphate of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him), ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with them all). The martyrdom of al-Ḥusayn (upon him be peace) and the tragedy of Karbalāʾ; the migration (hijra) of the Companions from Makka; the settlement of differences among the Companions — all of these are established matters of history, and the disputes about them are well-known.
The author announces: he shall address all these matters with due brevity in the following discussion, so that the thoughtful and intelligent reader may find illumination and peace of heart.
Āl (the family of the Prophetﷺ) and aḥbāb (beloved associates) form a single spiritual community. The Āl of any person, in Arabic and in Urdu, is his family (khāndān) — those whose affairs are connected to his and return to him. The stronger the connection, the stronger the meaning of Āl. In the case of the Prophetﷺ, Āl Muḥammad embraces all those whose relationship with him makes them his spiritual household: the ummahāt al-muʾminīn, the immediate family, and the extended spiritual community (ummat-e-Muḥammadiyya).
Completion of the Tafsīr of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa — The Ṣiddīqīyya Perspective
From the standpoint of this tafsīr (Tafsīr-e-Ṣiddīqī), the Fātiḥa encompasses the entire contents of Islām — doctrine (ʿaqīda), law (sharīʿa), ethics, and spiritual reality. It is the Umm al-Kitāb (Mother of the Book). Consider its seven verses:
The first verse — Ḥamd (praise): divine perfection in every form belongs to Allah; every true praise returns to Him, as all perfections are His.
The second verse — Rabb al-ʿālamīn (Lord of all worlds): universal Providence; nothing exists outside His nurturing care.
The third verse — Raḥmān and Raḥīm: mercy as the ground of existence; the distinction between universal grace and special mercy.
The fourth verse — Mālik Yawm al-Dīn: divine Justice; accountability; the day of reckoning as the guarantor of moral order in the cosmos.
The fifth verse — Iyyāka naʿbudu: the declaration of exclusive worship — the tawḥīd al-ʿibāda (monotheism in worship); the renunciation of all polytheism.
And: Wa-iyyāka nastaʿīn — exclusive dependence upon Allah for all aid — the tawḥīd al-tawakkul (monotheism in reliance/trust).
The sixth verse — Ihdinā l-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm: the prayer for guidance to the Straight Path — the path of iʿtidāl (balance) in all things.
The seventh verse — Ṣirāṭ alladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim / ghayri l-maghdūbi ʿalayhim wa-lā l-ḍāllīn: the path of the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous — not the path of those who knew and rejected, nor of those who wandered in ignorance.
This supplication — repeated in every rakʿa of every prayer — is the core of the believer's daily covenant with his Lord.
Concluding Commentary on Sūrat al-Fātiḥa
The Culminating Lesson of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa:
The Fātiḥa begins with the comprehensive declaration: "All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds" — and ends with the supplication for guidance along the path of the munʿam ʿalayhim (those upon whom Allah's favour rests). The entire architecture of the sūra is thus: from total divine sovereignty to the human plea for guidance.
Three things are declared in the sūra:
First — the attributes of Allah: His universal Lordship (rubūbiyya), His universal mercy (raḥmāniyya), His special mercy (raḥīmiyya), and His absolute sovereignty on the Day of Recompense (mālikiyyat yawm al-dīn).
Second — the covenant of the servant: Iyyāka naʿbudu wa-iyyāka nastaʿīn — the total dedication of worship and reliance to Him alone.
Third — the supplication: Ihdinā — guide us; and the specification of that guidance as the path of the best of humanity, not the path of those who went astray in either direction.
The word chosen for guidance in this sūra is ṣirāṭ rather than ṭarīq or sabīl, because the path of istiqāma (uprightness) has the quality of the ṣirāṭ: it is narrow in the sense that there is only one way of truth, though many ways of error. The one who maintains balance (iʿtidāl) traverses it; the one who leans to either extreme finds the path difficult.
Why does the Muslim who is already on the path of guidance pray for guidance (Ihdinā)? Because: keep us firm upon this path; correct our ʿaqīda (creed) and our amāl (deeds) with every step; grant us patience through the trials of life; protect us from the deceptions of shahawāt (desires) and shubuhāt (false doubts); give us the strength to stand firm with the people of imān.
In this supplication one looks, in a single glance, upon the entire expanse of the religion — its theology, its ethics, its spirituality, its law. This is the Umm al-Qurʾān — the Mother of the Qurʾān; this is why it is repeated in every rakʿa of every prayer, because in every moment the believer renews his pledge and his plea.
May Allah Most High, through the blessing of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa, grant us and all Muslims steadfastness, guidance, and his mercy. Āmīn.
Sūrat al-Fātiḥa (continued) — Concluding Discussions
On the Honour of the Prophet's Household and Wives
Commentary: The Mothers of the Believers (ummahāt al-muʾminīn), the wives of the Prophet Muḥammadﷺ, occupy a station of supreme dignity which no other women can claim. Allah Most High says to them in the Quran:
يَا نِسَآءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَآءِ
Yā nisāʾa al-nabiyyi lastunna ka-aḥadin min al-nisāʾ.
"O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women." (al-Aḥzāb 33:32)
O noble women — where can the loftiness of your rank be found? The Quran itself bears witness to their incomparable dignity. As for Sayyidatunā ʿĀʾisha al-Ṣiddīqa (may Allah be pleased with her) — she was a woman and a wife. Therefore, to claim prophethood for anyone among women, or a particular ʿiṣma (infallibility reserved for prophets), is without basis. Indeed, even some differences arose between certain Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). These were matters of ijtihādī error (khaṭaʾ ijtihādī) — that is, differences arising from sincere scholarly interpretation under conditions of human limitation, not from wilful transgression. Allah says:﴿لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا﴾"Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear." (al-Baqara 2:286)
Regarding the claim that Sayyidunā Imām al-Ḥasan (may Allah be pleased with him) was maʿṣūm (divinely protected from error in the manner of a prophet) — this has no foundation. Were such a claim valid, it would paradoxically require affirming that the caliphate of Amīr Muʿāwiya (may Allah be pleased with him) was also thereby validated.
The Ahl al-Bayt (āl al-bayt) — the household of the Prophetﷺ— are indeed the most honoured of all families; but the succession of authority (khilāfa) after the Prophetﷺflows through the rightly-guided Caliphs, as indicated by the Prophet's own words. Sayyidatunā Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (may Allah be pleased with her) was the daughter of the Prophetﷺ— she holds the very highest station of nearness. The title of Umm al-Muʾminīn (Mother of the Believers) for the blessed wives is explicitly given in the Quran.
Every community has its chosen servants and champions. Before the mission of the Prophetﷺ, Islam's foundations were laid; after the Prophetﷺ, it was the task of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) to preserve Islam and organise the Muslim community. The task of Sayyidunā ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) was to establish Islamic governance (fārūqī khilāfa). The task of Sayyidunā ʿUthmān (may Allah be pleased with him) was to standardise and preserve the Quran. The task of Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) was to protect the religion and serve the faith. Allah Most High has distributed these glorious roles among His chosen servants, each according to the wisdom He ordained.
On the Caliphate and Succession
A khalīfa (caliph, successor) is one who stands in another's place to carry out his authority and mission. His task is that those under him obey his directives and accept his governance. Whoever accepted the authority of the Prophetﷺand conveyed it, whoever derived rulings (istiṃbāṭ) from the Quran and Sunna — he too is a khalīfa in this sense. Whoever judged justly and governed by the law of Allah is also a khalīfa. And the greatest khalīfa is the one whose service to Islam was most complete and whose deeds in the divine scale are most weighty. That final measure belongs to Allah alone.
Some hold the opinion that the Prophetﷺdesignated Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) during his own lifetime. They cite the ḥadīth:«مَنْ كُنْتُ مَوْلَاهُ فَعَلِيٌّ مَوْلَاهُ»— Man kuntu mawlāhu fa-ʿAliyyun mawlāhu — "Whoever I am his protector, ʿAlī is his protector." But mawlā in Arabic carries many meanings: protector, friend, patron, benefactor. None of these necessitate political caliphate.
The ʿAbbāsids argued: Sayyidunā al-ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) was the Prophet's uncle, and his heir through the agnate line. But Sayyidatunā Fāṭima (may Allah be pleased with her) was a woman; inheritance of the caliphate therefore passed through the male line of ʿAbbās. The Prophetﷺhimself indicated the inheritance of ʿAbbās's lineage would bear sovereignty. Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophetﷺsaid in his last illness: "I leave among you two weighty things; you will not go astray after me so long as you hold fast to them."
Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when the Prophetﷺwas ill, some sought to record his words — but there was dispute and commotion — and the Prophetﷺsaid: "Rise and leave me." The view of Ibn ʿAbbās was that this indicated caliphate for the ʿAbbāsid line; the Shīʿa hold it indicated caliphate for Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him). These are all conjectures. The Prophetﷺdid not explicitly specify any successor; the Quran teaches:﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي﴾"Today I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you." (al-Māʾida 5:3) — and the caliphate of Abū Bakr and the other rightly-guided Caliphs is what completed the religion.
The Martyrdom of Imām al-Ḥusayn (upon him be peace)
The martyrdom of Sayyidunā Imām al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (upon him be peace) stands as the supreme example in Islamic history of sacrifice (fidāʾ), courage (shujāʿa), and the absence of any worldly cowardice. He could not have given his pledge of allegiance to Yazīd — for to do so would have meant assenting to the violation of the sacred laws of the Sharīʿa by one who did not deserve obedience. At that moment, the protection of religion required his sacred blood.
Sar dādanī nah dādam dast-e-Yazīd —
I surrendered my head, but not my hand to Yazīd.
Every member of that noble party was patient (ṣābir) and grateful (shākir). Their women faced enslavement and captivity; their men gave their lives; and they did not flinch. People of Kūfa had invited the Imām with hundreds of letters, then abandoned him when the moment came. The martyrdom of that exalted Imām is a lesson in firmness upon the truth (istiqāmat ʿalā al-ḥaqq), and a lesson that cowardice in the path of Allah is not for the brave.
Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) declared in a lengthy speech:«مَنْ أَحَبَّهُمَا—أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ—فَقَدْ أَحَبَّنِي، وَمَنْ أَبْغَضَهُمَا فَقَدْ أَبْغَضَنِي، وَأَنَا بَرِيءٌ مِنْهُ»— "Whoever loves those two — Abū Bakr and ʿUmar — has loved me, and whoever harbours malice against them has harboured malice against me, and I am free of him." And:«خَيْرُ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ»— "The best of this community after its Prophet are Abū Bakr and ʿUmar." (al-Kunz al-Jāmiʿ, vol. 6)
On Taqiyya (Precautionary Concealment) and the Position of Ahl al-Sunna
Now we come to a matter upon which Islam is entirely clear: the doctrine of taqiyya (concealing one's true beliefs under compulsion), as held by some. If this doctrine were as some claim, why was Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) himself martyred? Why was Imām al-Ḥusayn martyred? Why was Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm (upon him be peace) cast into fire? Why was Sayyidunā Zakariyyā (upon him be peace) slain? These prophets and Imāms did not practise concealment in its blameworthy form: they fulfilled the obligation﴿بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ﴾— "Convey what has been sent down to you." (al-Māʾida 5:67) The doctrine of permanent taqiyya is a mask placed over true religion.
Those who malign the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the wives of the Prophetﷺ— against the explicit testimony of the Quran and the abundant aḥādīth — are doing something Allah Most High will not countenance. The Quran itself attests:
مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ
Muḥammadun rasūlu-llāhi wa-lladhīna maʿahu ashiddāʾu ʿalā al-kuffāri ruḥamāʾu baynahum.
"Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are forceful against the disbelievers, yet merciful among themselves." (al-Fatḥ 48:29)
The Islamic spiritual lineages (silsilāt al-taṣawwuf) all flow through this household and these Companions: from Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) flows the Naqshbandiyya, the Chishtiyya, the Suhrawardiyya, the Rifāʿiyya; from Sayyidunā ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) flow the Fārūqiyya and the Uwaysiyya; from Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) flow the Qādiriyya, the Chishtiyya, the Suhrawardiyya, the Rifāʿiyya; and from Sayyidunā Imām al-Ḥusayn (upon him be peace) flows the Atādriyya. This real caliphate — the spiritual caliphate — sees Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) in the highest rank, and Sayyidunā ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) also at a lofty position.
Those Islamic states that were destroyed — who destroyed them? It was external enemies. The Mughal empire, the Safavid state — who brought them low? The enemies of Islam. May Allah preserve and guide us.
On Anger (Ghaḍab) and the Meaning of Maghḍūb ʿalayhim
The attributes of anger (ghaḍab), grief (ḥuzn), joy (surūr), shame (ḥayāʾ), wonder (istiʿjāb), mockery (istihzāʾ) — all of these, when attributed to human beings, refer to actual psychological and physiological states with their accompanying physical effects. But when such words are used for Allah Most High in the Quran and Sunna, we understand their ghāyāt wa-aḥkām (ultimate meanings and outcomes) to be intended, not the physical or emotional substrates. Thus, "the anger of Allah" means the consequences and effects of His displeasure — namely, punishment and deprivation of mercy.
Who are al-maghḍūb ʿalayhim and al-ḍāllīn?
Al-maghḍūb ʿalayhim (those upon whom is wrath) refers to those who know the truth and consciously reject it — pre-eminently the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb) who recognised the Prophetﷺas the Messenger but denied him out of envy. Allah says of them:﴿مَنْ لَعَنَهُ اللهُ وَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ﴾"Those whom Allah has cursed and upon whom He has brought His wrath." (al-Māʾida 5:60)
Al-ḍāllīn (those who have gone astray) refers to those who, through ignorance, corruption of doctrine, and following blind imitation, have lost the straight path — for whom sound reason has been overcome. Of them Allah says:﴿مَاذَا بَعْدَ الْحَقِّ إِلَّا الضَّلَالُ﴾"And what is there after the truth except error?" (Yūnus 10:32)
Those upon whom Allah has bestowed grace — the prophets, the ṣiddīqūn (truthful ones), the shuhadāʾ (martyrs), and the ṣāliḥūn (righteous) — are joined with the contrasting mention of ghayri al-maghḍūb so as to draw the believer between hope (rajāʾ) and fear (khawf). Ghayri here is in the genitive because it is prefixed as an adjective to al-ladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim; the construction elegantly maintains grammatical flow while sharpening the contrast.
Noble friends! In your lives — your moral character, your habits, your way of living — become of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace, not of those upon whom is His wrath or those who have gone astray! Ask: who bears the name of Allah and yet lives in opposition to His command? And who submits, even without the name? There have been nominal Muslims for a time; now there are nominal scholars (ʿulamāʾ). A few days more, and God-willing even these nominal scholars will come right.
Khudā ko ḷākariyānn maṁ paṛī hai —
God has had to beg a place at our door!
(Ḥasrat)
Translation [of the final verse of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa]: "The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour — not of those upon whom is wrath, nor of those who have gone astray."
The scholars, the descendants of the pious, those well-versed in the Quran — rather than those merely schooled in outward learning but ignorant of the spiritual depth — they are the ones who can guard the religion. Alas, the Muslims' thinking has become distorted: they have no concern for the integrity of faith (ʿaqīda) nor for the strength of the community, nor for the honour of the nation. Who will preserve the religion if not they themselves? Beware: those in whose following you think you find honour — they mock you in private. Benefiting a foreign power while your own community remains in poverty — that is a shameful bargain.
On the Veil (Parda) and Modesty
The issue of parda (modest covering and seclusion) has become a field of serious disagreement in recent times. Some adhere rigidly to its principles; others argue it is a barrier to progress. Those who urge abandoning parda use the example of Europe — but is the civilisation of Europe truly the model of human flourishing? Islam's foundational principles establish that the sanctity of family life, the honour of women, and the integrity of society rest upon modesty, restraint, and proper boundaries.
Islam orders women:﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الأُولَى﴾"And abide in your homes and do not display yourselves as in the manner of the first Age of Ignorance." (al-Aḥzāb 33:33) And:﴿وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ﴾"And when you ask them for anything, ask them from behind a screen." (al-Aḥzāb 33:53) And:﴿يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ﴾"Let them draw their outer garments close around them." (al-Aḥzāb 33:59) — so that they are recognized as respectable women and are not harassed.
The Prophetﷺhimself commanded the covering of women; Sayyidatunā Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (may Allah be pleased with her) once asked: what is best for a woman? Heﷺreplied: "That neither a man look at her nor she at a man." (This exchange, narrated in various forms, reflects the deep concern of the Prophetﷺfor women's honour.)
What has been the consequence of abandoning these principles? Unnecessary mixing, women leaving their homes for entertainment, immodest dress, loose relationships, disobedience in families — all of these corrode the spiritual and social fabric of a community. Islamic law is clear: the fundamental requirement is the protection of chastity (ḥifāẓat al-ʿiffa) — and whatever is its necessary precondition (muqaddima wājiba) is itself wājib (obligatory). Fornication and illegitimate birth are among the gravest of social sins; Islam commands the guarding of the womb (ḥifāẓat al-farj) and proper marriage.
Continued: On Ṣalāt and Commentary on the Final Ayāt of al-Fātiḥa
A man came to the Prophetﷺand asked: "What is best for a woman?" The Prophetﷺsaid: "That she not see men and that men not see her." — and Sayyidatunā Fāṭima (may Allah be pleased with her) was so pleased that she embraced the Prophetﷺ.
How then have we arrived at the current situation — where modesty is treated as backwardness, where unveiled mixing is glorified? The results are manifest: decay of family life, dishonour in the home, alienation from religion. Islam's principles on modesty (ḥayāʾ) and covering (parda) are among the foundations (uṣūl) of Islamic civilisation. It is obligatory to avoid the forbidden (muḥarram) and to avoid all that leads toward it.
The following couplets express the lamentation of a pious soul at the moral decay of the age (by Ḥasrat):
Qarabat-o-sharāfat se biẓāriyānn hain —
From kinship and nobility, there is estrangement.
Sukūnat se novelshāh kā sīnmā menn —
And the new lord's cinema has taken the place of tranquillity.
Maʿādh Allāh! Maʿādh Allāh! May Allah protect us from this dissolution.
Sūrat al-Baqara — Completion of the Tafsīr of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa's Final Verse
The Sūra has 286 verses (āyāt) and 40 rukūʿs (bowing-sections). It was revealed in Madīna. The name al-Baqara (The Cow) derives from the incident of the cow commanded to Banī Isrāʾīl, narrated within it.
The final verse of al-Fātiḥa establishes the two opposed paths: the path of the anbiyāʾ, the ṣiddīqūn, the shuhadāʾ and the ṣāliḥūn on one hand; and the paths of those on whom is wrath and those who have gone astray on the other.
The muttaqīn (God-fearing) are those who restrain themselves from everything that displeases Allah. The degrees of taqwā (God-consciousness) are:
1. The first and lowest degree: ʿimān (faith) — bringing one out of eternal punishment. 2. The second degree: avoiding all that is ḥarām (forbidden), makrūh (reprehensible), and the mutashābihāt (ambiguous matters). 3. The highest degree: complete orientation of the heart toward Allah, excluding all distractions.
The man of taqwā is not merely one who refrains from what is unlawful — he additionally guards his time, fulfils all the rights of Allah (ḥuqūq Allāh) and of creation (ḥuqūq al-ʿibād), and lives at every moment in awareness of His Lord.