Sat 3 Feb 2018
✏️ Authentic Adhkār from the Qur’an & Sunnah:
Lesson 5: The variances in the Chapters of the Qur’an and the Great Virtue of Surah Al-Fatiha
- The chapters in the Qur’an have different levels of virtue
- NOTE: it is important to emphasise that ALL the chapters of the Qur’an are equal in one aspect, that is that they are all the speech of Allah and his revelation
- Therefore, all the chapters of Qur’an have a great status by default
- The remembrance of Allah through the recitation of the Qur’an and pondering over the Qur’an has a great amount of reward
- However, different chapters have certain virtues,
- the speech of Allah has different topics and this determines what types of virtues are present,
- For example, Suratul-Ikhlaas (The Sincerity) talks exclusively about the Tawhid of Allah (monotheism)
- Another example is surah #
- The speech of Allah can be of two types:
- Information regarding the creator (e.g. the names and attributes of Allah) or the creation (e.g. stories of prophets, heaven and hell, future events)
- Information regarding the rulings (halaal and haraam, commands)
- The greatest of the topics in the Qur’an is where Allah tells us about himself
- Therefore, those verses talking about Allah are going to be more virtues than the verses about the creation etc
- Virtues of Surah Al-Fatiha:
- There is nothing in the Torah nor in the injeel (Bible) nor in the rest of the Qur’an that is equal to surah Al-Fatiha, see below hadith.
- Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went out to Ubayy bin Ka`b, and so the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “O Ubayy!”, and he (Ubayy) was praying, Ubayy turned and did not answer him. Ubayy made his prayer light then went to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saying, `Peace be unto you, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, “Peace be unto you. O Ubayy, what prevented you from answering me when I called you?” He said, `O Messenger of Allah! I was praying.’ He said, “Did you not read among what Allah has sent down to me,”﴿اسْتَجِيبُواْ لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ﴾”Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life” [8:24]. He said, `Yes, O Messenger of Allah! I will not do it again.’ the Prophet said, “Would you like me to teach you a Surah the likes of which nothing has been revealed in the Tawrah, the Injil, the Zabur (Psalms) or the Qur’an?” He said, `Yes, O Messenger of Allah!’ The Messenger of Allah said, said, (What do you read in the prayer.) Ubayy said, `So I recited Umm Al-Qur’an to him.’ He said, “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! Allah has never revealed in the Tawrah, the Injil, the Zabur or the Qurqan a Surah like it. It is the seven repeated verses that I was given.”[Reported by At-Tirmidhi, authenticated by Shaykh Al-Albaani]
- This hadith highlights to us the great virtue of Surah fatihah, it has different names, the seven oft repeated verses (see verse 15:87) and also the The core of the Qur’an. Other names are “Ash-Shifa” (the curer).
- Another virtue of Surah Al-Fatiha is that your prayer is invalid without it. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said whomsoever prays without reciting surah Al-Fatiha then his prayer will be incomplete. See below Hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: If anyone observes prayer in which he does not recite Umm al-Qur’an, It is deficient [he said this three times] and not complete. It was said to Abu Huraira: At times we are behind the Imam. He said: Recite it inwardly, for he had heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) declare that Allah the Exalted had said: I have divided the prayer into two halves between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks. When the servant says: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe, Allah the Most High says: My servant has praised Me. And when he (the servant) says: The Most Compassionate, the Merciful, Allah the Most High says: My servant has lauded Me. And when he (the servant) says: Master of the Day of judgment, He remarks: My servant has glorified Me. and sometimes He would say: My servant entrusted (his affairs) to Me. And when he (the worshipper) says: Thee do we worship and of Thee do we ask help, He (Allah) says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. Then, when he (the worshipper) says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those to whom Thou hast been Gracious not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, nor of those who have gone astray, He (Allah) says: This is for My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. Sufyan said: ‘Ala b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Ya’qub narrated it to me when I went to him and he was confined to his home on account of illness, and I asked him about it.” [Reported by Sahih Muslim]
- Surah Fatiha is a dialogue between Allah and his servant this indicates the great amount of virtue within this chapter. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) when he used to recite Surah Al-Fatiha he used to recite it verse by verse and this is best.
- Ibn Al-Qayyim mentions the virtues of Surah Al-Fatiha:
- He clarifies the statements you alone we worship and you alone we ask for help. “Know that this Surah, it completely and fully incorporates the core of the lofty objectives. What are these lofty objectives?
- Moreover, surah Al-Fatiha combines the basis for all worship; Love, Fear and Hope:
- Love: “The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful”
- Fear: “The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)”
- Hope: “You (Alone) we worship, and you (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).”
- Therefore, it is important for every Muslim to have a high level of regard for Surah Al-Fatiha
- Reciting it
- Memorising it
- Understanding and pondering over it
- Acting on it
- How many times a day do you read Surah Al-Fatiha during the day?
- Despite these great virtues, with great regret, there are many Muslims who are unable to recite it properly. Reciting it improperly can become such that the meaning is corrupted#
- When a person prays there are two types of Lahn (distortion):
- First type is to mispronounce something and does NOT change the meaning
- Second type is to mispronounce which leads to a CHANGE in the meaning of the verse, and Imam must not do this.
- Common mistakes are changing the “dh” sound to a “Zz”, e.g. “Ghairil Maghduubi Alaihim Walazzaaliin”. Changing from “Dh” to “zz” changes the meaning from “those who have gone astray” to “those who have tripped up”.changing the “th” sound to “s”, g. instead of “ithm” (means sin), some people say “ism” (means name). This is not permissible
- When a person prays there are two types of Lahn (distortion):
- Likewise, Ibn Qayyim says you will not come across any false statements except that Surah Al-Fatiha incorporates a refutation of it and it is a rebuttal of those matters in the most succinct and clear manner. You will not find any field or topic regarding the worship of Allah and the actions of the heart and the cures for the hearts except that you will find it in Surah Al- Fatiha and that certainly, the affair of Surah Al-Fatiha is greater than all of that.
- Q&A:
- What if the Imam is unable to recite and making severe types of errors in recitation, should the prayer be repeated? = Yes
- Does praying optional prayers make up for the flaw of praying behind an Imam who made distorted errors in recitation?
- What is the ruling on reading surah Al-Fatiha when praying behind Imam
- There is a difference of opinion. Firstly what is the exact issue? = This issue affects only those who are praying behind an Imam
- Opinion 1: Recite Fatiha, what is evidence?
- Opinion 2: Do not recite Fatiha, instead listen to the Imam, what is the evidence?
- Opinion 3: During the loud prayers, do not recite, in the quiet prayers recite
Next week 2 weeks are cancelled insha Allah for Saturday lessons.