3 Struggles Most Muslims Face Every Day

I went to Islamic school for the majority of my younger years...

One thing I still remember distinctly is that every morning during assembly, we would collectively say the translation of surah al-Fatihah.

It went like this:

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Kind. All praise is for Allah. Lord of the universe. Most Merciful, Most Kind. Master of the day of judgement. You alone we worship, You alone we ask for help. Guide us along the straight path. The path of those You have favored, not of those who've earned Your anger, nor of those who go astray. Ameen.

We said this hundreds, if not thousands, of times over many years... which is why I still remember it, word for word.

But do you know what the problem was?

1. I didn't know what the main purpose of the surah was. Why is it so important? Why do we say it in every unit (rak'ah) of every prayer?

2. Even though I had memorized the translation, I couldn't explain it in my own words... which meant I didn't truly understand it.

3. I wouldn't mean the words while I was saying them in prayer.

Can you relate?

You're not alone. The vast majority of Muslims face these struggles...

That's why I'm excited to share with you a five-step framework to help you transform the way you understand and express surah al-Fatihah, forever.

I call it the A.B.C.D.E. Framework:

We covered Step A in my last post.

Today we're covering Step B:

Bird's-Eye View

Imagine that surah al-Fatihah is a city, and you're in an airplane slowly flying over it...

You look below and you can see the entire city, and the different parts that make up the city, including the blocks / squares, neighborhoods, streets and landmarks.

That's what we're doing today: getting an aerial view of surah al-Fatihah...

...before we land our plane and go around the city to take a closer look (in the next email).

Surah al-Fatihah is comprised of four sections...

Section 1: Build-up (verses 1-3)

You may be thinking: "Build-up to what?"

We are building up to the central objective of this surah: the request for guidance (in verse 5).

We are doing so by praising Allah, recognizing who He is and mentioning certain qualities of His...

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil-‘alamin
All praise and thanks belong to God,
Caring Master of everything

Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
The Most Loving and Merciful,
the Always Loving and Merciful

Maliki yawmid-din
Owner / King of the Day of Judgement

This is part of the etiquette of requesting anything from God - you don't go straight into the ask.

There's a similar dynamic in human relationships... you don't make a request straight into a conversation, do you?

That's not very respectful, nor is it very effective.

If you want a positive response to your request, then you'll lead up to it in a befitting manner.

Section 2: Pivot (verse 4)

In Section 1, we were talking about Allah, in the third-person.

In Section 2, we are now talking to Allah, in the second-person.

The build-up continues, as we now relate ourselves to the One whom we just praised and whose qualities we declared.

We are making two statements:

Iyyaka na’budu
We worship / serve only You

wa iyyaka nasta’in
and we ask for help only from You 

We are declaring our commitment and devotion to Him and acknowledging our reliance on Him.

It's like we're saying: We are 'here' to serve you, God... and we need You to 'be here' for us.

We recognize that the journey of service, worship and commitment to Him will require His assistance.

Section 3: Ask (verse 5)

This is the central objective of the surah: the request for guidance...

Ihdinas-siratal mustaqim
Guide us on the straight path

If surah al-Fatihah is a city, then this verse is the capital of the city.

Section 4: Elaboration (verses 6-7)

In this final section, we are elaborating on our request...

Sirat alladhina an’amta ‘alayhim
The path of those You have blessed

Ghairil maghdubi ‘alayhim wa lad-dallin
Not those who deserve [Your] anger
or are going the wrong way

We are clarifying to ourselves and expressing to Allah what exactly we're asking for when we say: "Guide us on the straight path."

—

I hope you found this Bird's-Eye View of surah al-Fatihah to be eye-opening (pun intended) and beneficial.

I look forward to giving you A Closer Look in my next post...

We'll dive into the deeper meaning of each verse and extract some valuable and practical gems, God willing.

At your service,

Farzan Parupia
Founder & CEO

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