Get to Know Surah Al-Fatihah with Brother Nouman

Do you want to understand Surah Al-Fatihah at a deeper level, as an amazing introduction to the Quran?

Get to Know a Surah of the Quran is a series of videos brother Nouman Ali Khan presented.

The following is a summary of some of the most important points brother Nouman mentioned in the first episode on Surah Al-Fatihah.

Get to know the greatest surah of the entire Quran!

An appreciation of Surah Al-Fatihah is something that has to be refreshed and renewed constantly.

The essence of the whole Quran is Surah Al-Fatihah, as Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught.

And Al-Fatihah, every time you recite it in prayer, you pair it with some other part of the Quran. You can’t recite Surat Al-Baqarah for example, or any other part of the Quran, without reciting Surah Al-Fatihah first.

Al-Fatihah as an Introduction to the Quran

In the same way when you give a speech, you start with an introduction, then you move on to the main topic of the speech, Surah Al-Fatihah serves this same role.

It is as if Allah (SWT) wants us to know that whatever part of the Quran you read, the introduction to it is Al-Fatihah.

Al-Fatihah as a Lens to the Quran

Surah Al-Fatihah therefore should frame the way we think about any Surah of the Quran.

Don’t lose sight of the Fatihah, as it is like a lens that you put on, and then you see the rest of the Quran through that lens.

Al-Fatihah as a Healing

The Prophet, peace be upon him, acknowledged that reciting Al-Fatihah for someone could serve as a healing, as in the Hadith narrated by Abu Saeed Al-Khudri.

Al-Fatihah as a Prayer for Guidance

What we are mainly asking from Allah in Al-Fatihah is His guidance when we say:

“Guide us to the Straight Path” (1:6)

Knowledge and Action are Paired

The first half of Al-Fatihah is knowledge about Allah: that He is the Most Merciful, the Entirely Merciful, the Lord of the Worlds, the Sovereign of the Day of Judgement.

The second part of Al-Fatihah is about action and guidance to the Straight Path, and describes three types of people:

–          Those who had the right knowledge and performed righteous action

–          Those who had the right knowledge but did not perform righteous action

–          Those who did not have the right knowledge and did not perform righteous action because of their lack of knowledge

The Balance Between Mercy & Justice

On the one hand, there are some who expect Allah (SWT) to be Merciful, and that’s covered in Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim.

But on the other hand, there are people who think that Allah will only be Just, like He will just punish.

What Al-Fatihah does is to keep the balance. It guides us to rely on Allah’s Mercy (Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim), but on the other hand it reminds us that we cannot only rely on His Mercy, as He is (Malik Youm Al-Din).

 The Balance in Our Relation with Allah

“It is You we worship, and You we ask for help.”

So I declare I’m going to worship Him, that’s what I want to do for Him, but what is it He will do for me?

We seek His help.

So first you give what Allah wants, and then you will get what you want.

That’s the balance between what you want to give Allah, and what you would like to get for yourself.

So on every level, this Surah is balanced in pairs on top of pairs.

For more details, and to watch the full episode, please click here.