Reflections of the Rain #2: Al-Fatihah (1:1 - 1:6)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in surah Al-Fatihah: (1:1 - 1:6)

Tadabbur Prompt:

لما كان سؤال الله الهداية إلى الصراط المستقيم أجلّ المطالب ونيله أشرف المواهب علّم الله عباده كيفية سؤاله، وأمرهم أن يقدموا بين يديه حمده والثناء عليه، وتمجيده ثم ذكرعبوديتهم وتوحيدهم، فهاتان وسيلتان إلى مطلوبهم: توسل إليه بأسمائه وصفاته، وتوسل إليه بعبوديته. وهاتان الوسيلتان لا يكاد يرد معهما الدعاء. ابن القيم: ١/٣٦.

السؤال: ذكرت في الآيات وسيلتان لاستجابة الدعاء، ما هما؟

"As asking Allah for guidance to the straight path is the most significant and noble of requests and attaining it is the most honourable of gifts, Allah taught His slaves how to ask for it, and He commanded them to offer hamd (praise with love and gratitude) and praising of Him before Him, as well as glorification of Him.

And then to mention their worship of Him, and their tawheed (to single Him out in worship), for these are two means to what they seek: do tawassul (to appeal or gain closeness to Allah through means) to Him by means of His Names and Attributes, and do tawassul to Him by means of worshipping Him.

These two methods almost always result in prayers being answered." (Ibnul Qayyim 1/36).

The Question: The ayaat mention two means of having one's prayers answered. What are they?

Source:

The text in Arabic is copied directly from the app القرآن الكريم تدبر وعمل, may Allah reward its makers always, Ameen; the English text is our own translation.

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Personal reflections:

The two means, mentioned above, of having one's dua'as answered are:

1. Tawassul in mentioning Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes.

2. Tawassul in mentioning our tawheed and 'ibadah of Him.

We see the first type in the ayaat (1:2 - 1:4), which call upon Allah using His Names and Attributes: Allah, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, Rabb Al-Alameen, and Maalik Yaumid-Deen.

We see the second type in the ayah (1:5) which mentions our singling Allah out in worship, as well as in our isti'anah (seeking of help). This could be seen as a plea to Allah, and an acknowledgement that we will never be able to attain what it is we seek if not for Him.

We see- possibly- a combination of both types in the very first ayah- the basmalah- where Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes are mentioned (Allah, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem) in context of tawheed ("in the Name of...").

What a beautiful way to seek closeness to Allah and entreat Him to answer our dua'a, and what a beautiful dua'a that follows!

And how much mercy Allah shows us in teaching us the format of making dua'a that will be answered!

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Writer's Note:

All praise and thanks is to Allah for the knowledge shared in this post, and may He forgive me for any mistake I might have made in it.

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your own reflections, thoughts or concerns regarding this post!

BarakAllahu feekum,

والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته