Learn Tafseer Online part No: 9 of Surat Al-Fatihah

The Meaning of Ad-Din

Ad-Din means the reckoning, the reward or punishment. Similarly, Allah said, ﴿يَوْمَئِذٍ يُوَفِّيهِمُ اللَّهُ دِينَهُمُ الْحَقَّ﴾ (On that Day Allah will pay them the (Dinahum) recompense (of their deeds) in full) (24:25), and, ﴿أَءِنَّا لَمَدِينُونَ﴾ (Shall we indeed (be raised up) to receive reward or punishment (according to our deeds)) (37:53). A Hadith stated, «الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوتِ» (The wise person is he who reckons himself and works for (his life) after death.) meaning, he holds himself accountable. Also, `Umar said, "Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable, weigh yourselves before you are weighed, and be prepared for the biggest gathering before He Whose knowledge encompasses your deeds, ﴿يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَضُونَ لاَ تَخْفَى مِنكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ ﴾ (That Day shall you be brought to Judgement, not a secret of yours will be hidden) (69:18).'' ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (5. You we worship, and You we ask for help.) (1:5) The Linguistic and Religious Meaning of `Ibadah Linguistically, `Ibadah means subdued. For instance, a road is described as Mu`abbadah, meaning, `paved'. In religious terminology, `Ibadah implies the utmost love, humility and fear. The Merit of stating the Object of the Action before the Doer of the Act, and the Merit of these Negations "You...'', means, we worship You alone and none else, and rely on You alone and none else. This is the perfect form of obedience and the entire religion is implied by these two ideas. Some of the Salaf said, Al-Fatihah is the secret of the Qur'an, while these words are the secret of Al-Fatihah, ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (5. You we worship, and You we ask for help from.) The first part is a declaration of innocence from Shirk (polytheism), while the second negates having any power or strength, displaying the recognition that all affairs are controlled by Allah alone. This meaning is reiterated in various instances in the Qur'an. For instance, Allah said, ﴿فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَـفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾ (So worship Him (O Muhammad ) and put your trust in Him. And your Lord is not unaware of what you (people) do.) (11:123), ﴿قُلْ هُوَ الرَّحْمَـنُ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا﴾ (Say: "He is the Most Gracious (Allah), in Him we believe, and in Him we put our trust.'') (67:29), ﴿رَّبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلاً ﴾ ((He alone is) the Lord of the east and the west; La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). So take Him alone as Wakil (Disposer of your affairs)), (73:9), and, ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (You we worship, and You we ask for help from). We should mention that in this Ayah, the type of speech here changes from the third person to direct speech by using the Kaf in the statement Iyyaka (You). This is because after the servant praised and thanked Allah, he stands before Him, addressing Him directly; ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (You we worship, and You we ask for help from). So take Him alone as Wakil (Disposer of your affairs)), (73:9), and, ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (You we worship, and You we ask for help from). We should mention that in this Ayah, the type of speech here changes from the third person to direct speech by using the Kaf in the statement Iyyaka (You). This is because after the servant praised and thanked Allah, he stands before Him, addressing Him directly; ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (You we worship, and You we ask for help from). Al-Fatihah indicates the Necessity of praising Allah. It is required in every Prayer. The beginning of Surat Al-Fatihah contains Allah's praise for Himself by His most beautiful Attributes and indicates to His servants that, they too, should praise Him in the same manner. Hence, the prayer is not valid unless one recites Al-Fatihah, if he is able. The Two Sahihs recorded that `Ubadah bin As-Samit said that the Messenger of Allah said, «لَا صَلَاةَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَقْرَأْ بِفَاتِحَةِ الْكِتَابِ» (There is no valid prayer for whoever does not recite Al-Fatihah of the Book.) Also, it is recorded in Sahih Muslim that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said, «يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : قَسَمْتُ الصَّلَاةَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي نِصْفَيْنِ، فَنِصْفُهَا لِي وَنِصْفُهَا لِعَبْدِي وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ، إِذَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ: «الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبّ الْعَـلَمِينَ يَوْمِ إِنَّ اللَّهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ كَفَرُواْ اللَّهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ غِشَـوَةٌ عَلَى الْمَغْضُوبِ يُنفِقُونَ اللَّهُ سَوَآء قُلُوبِهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ قُلُوبِهِمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ يُوقِنُونَ اللَّهُ بِالْغَيْبِ سَمْعِهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ قُلُوبِهِمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمِ أَمْ اللَّهُ لّلْمُتَّقِينَ قُلُوبِهِمْ بِمَآ اللَّهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِنَّ اللَّهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ كَفَرُواْ اللَّهُ الْمَغْضُوبِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ» ، قَالَ اللهُ: أَثْنى عَلَيَّ عَبْدِي فَإذَا قَالَ: ﴿مَـلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ﴾، قَالَ اللهُ: مَجَّدَنِي عَبْدِي، وَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾، قَالَ: هذَا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي، وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ، فَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ﴾ ﴿صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّآلِّينَ ﴾، قَالَ: هذَا لِعَبْدِي، وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ» (Allah said, `I divided the prayer into two halves between Myself and My servant, one half is for Me and one half for My servant. My servant shall have what he asks for.' When the servant says, ﴿الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ﴾ (All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists.), Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.' When the servant says, ﴿الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ ﴾ (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.' When the servant says, ﴿مَـلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ﴾ (The Owner of the Day of Recompense), Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me.' If the servant says, ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴾ (You we worship, and You we ask for help), Allah says, `This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked.' If the servant says, ﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ - صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّآلِّينَ ﴾ (Guide us to the straight path. The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your grace, not (that) of those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray), Allah says, `This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked.') Tawhid Al-Uluhiyyah Ad-Dahhak narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ﴾ (You we worship) means, "It is You whom we single out, Whom we fear and Whom we hope in, You alone, our Lord, and none else.