Tafsir Tafsir of of Surat Surat ul-Fa ul-Fati tihah hah by by Khaja Khaj a Abdulla Abdu llah h Ansari Ans ari In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. According to the Men of `Irfan, (Insight (Insight and Perception of the Divine Kno wledge of Allah ):
is the Budding Springtime of Allah. The letter 'seen' is the Splendour of Allah. The letter 'meem' is the Mastery of Allah. The letter 'ba'
According to the People of Ma'rifah (Intimate Knowledge): Knowledge):
is the Beauty of Oneness. The letter 'seen' is the Splendour of Eternity. The letter 'meem' is the Mastery over the Divine. The letter 'ba'
His Beauty is Ancient, His Splendour is Noble, His Mastery and Dominion is Immense. His Beauty is combined wi th Gl or y. Hi s Splendour Splendour is combined combined with Majesty. Majesty. His Mastery Mastery is Never-En Never-Ending. ding. His Beauty is Heart-Ravishing. His Splendour increases the love. His Mastery is Un-Vanishing. 'O You Whose Glory precedes all in its goodness, You are far from error's misery in Your completeness, The planet Venus dances at the sound of Your melody, The Sun itself is in envy of Your Beauty.'
: According to the Men of Taste and Perception
is the Beneficence to the Friends of Allah. The letter 'seen' is the Secret of Men of Purity. The letter 'meem' is the Munificence with the Men of Nearness. The letter 'ba'
is His Beneficence with His slaves. The letter 'seen' is His Secret with His lovers. The letter 'meem' is His Munificence with those full of longing. The letter 'ba'
If it it were were not for His Goodne Goodness, ss, how could could one one percei perceive ve His Sec ret ? If it were not for His Fa vou r, how cou ld the slave reach Him; and what place would there be for him in the Royal Court of His Glory? If it were not for the love which comes from Him Who is Eternal, how could the slave come to know the One That is Everlasting? 'The world is joyous with the Name of Allah, The Abode of Punishment is joyous with His Forgivenes Forgiveness, s, And Paradise is joyous with the vision of Him. If the Name and Message of Allah were not in the world , where would the slave find a place to abide? If it were not for His For given ess and Generosity in the the Abo Abode de of Puni Punish shme ment nt,, the toil of the slave would have been too difficult. If it were not for the heart-burning vision of Him in the Garden, from what would the poor soul find joy?'
O Allah! With a signal from You we are made to see, by Knowing You we are brought to life and by Your Name we are replenished. We are joyous in the memory of you and intoxicated from Your cup of love. We are the prey of love caught in Your trap. The name bismillahi name bismillahi is a sign and a mark of slavery. That is, he that says this shows his mark of servitude. Imam Rida, upon him be peace, has said, "When the slave says, bismillah says, bismillah,, he means, O Allah! I am marked with the mark of slavery to You and I am joyous. I cry out for the tyranny of my own being and existence."' O Generous One! Take my existence away from me so that Your Existence might set my affairs aright. O Allah! Your Existence has ignited the lamp of intimate knowledge so that the illumination of my heart has increased. Your Will has established my affairs so my effort and struggle have increased. increased. O Lord! What have have I seen from my own own existence and being bei ng other than affliction affl iction and and wea wearin rines ess? s? What What have I attained from Your Existence? All gi fts a nd f idelit y. The Book of Allah begins with the Names Allah, (the One True Reality), Rahmaan, (Beneficent) and Raheem, (Merciful) because all meanings are gathered together in these Names. These meanings are separated into three divisions. The first is Glory and Awe, which are found in the Name of Allah. Then the second, which is Grace and Sustenance, are contained in the Name Rahmaan. Finally, there is Mercy and Forgiveness, which are encompassed by the Name Raheem. Another aspect in the meaning of these words is that at the time when Allah sent the Messenger, may the peace and blessings blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, to the people (of Arabia), they were divided into three groups: Idolaters, Idolat ers, Jews and Christians. Christians. The idol worshippers knew the Creator Creator by the Name Allah and this N ame was wellwell known among them. The Jew knew Him by the Name Rahmaan and He was mentioned in the Torah by that Name. The Christians knew Him by the Name Raheem Raheem and He was known known to them by this Name in the (Injil, Gospels). The reason for its beginning first with the Name of Allah followed by Rahmaan then finally ending with Raheem, is that the very beginning of everything is the Creator, then comes the Power and Sustaining qualities and then come the aspects of Mercy and Forgiveness. That is, "By My power I created, by My Grace I sustained and nourished and by My Mercy I forgave." Pir-i-Tariqat says: O Allah! Your Name is safe passage to us. Your love is a ship. The knowledge of You is for us a protection and Your subtle kindness is clear. O Allah! You are a refuge for the weak; for the traveller you are the destination, and for those in Iman you are a proof. How precious is he that desires only You! Al Hamdullilah: The praise is to the Merciful Allah, The Creator Who gives us our daily sustenance, One in name and in meaning. The Lord, Who being unsought is found, Who is known as precious and dear, and Who being unseen is loved. He is All-Powerful without beguilement. He is standing and lasting without change. His Dominion is secure from decline. He is exalted and lofty in His Essence and Attribute Attributes, s, Everlast Everlasting, ing, Never-Vanishing, described with the Attribute of Glory. The Grand Grandeur eur of the the Qur' Qur'an an stan stands ds as as a witn witness ess to the the helpl essnes s o f H is serv ants yet, thr ough His per fect ed and radiant Glory and Sacredness, He has appointed men as His viceroys. He has spoken the praise of His own Essence. He has taught men to glorify Him; He has instructed them. If it were not for His aid and help, who is it that could teach them how to sin g His pr ais es? O You Who are wor thy of Your Your own own prai praise se and and adul adulat ation ion.. O You Who Who give give thank thankss for Your own bounteous gifts! I am in my very essence weak and incapable of serving you. Incapable and too weak to ('aql). I am completely unable to prevent Your retribution with my own recognise Your Grace with my reason ('aql). strength. O Generous One! I am a prisoner of that pain for which You are the remedy. I am a slave of the adulation for which only You are worthy. What can I know about you? For You Yourself already know. You are That which You Yourself have already described. Know that Hamd that Hamd , (praise and adulation) comes from either witnessing the Grace or by witnessing the One That bestows that Grace. One must stand in obedience before Allah with the praise which comes from witnessing His Grace and tomorrow it will take tak e you to His Hi s Garden. That praise which is from witnessing the the Bestower of all Grace Grace is on the tongue of the courageous for He has caused them to drink from the wine of longing. They look upon the Master of all Grace with humility and shame to the point where they themselves have vanished. They have heard the mention of the Truth, seen the lantern of acknowledgement, heard the response of subtle kindness, witnessed the reliance on love and arrived at the t he love of the t he Eternal One. This courageous courageous one at first found the target target and lost his heart, heart, then he h e hit the mark mark and and became became all heart heart,, the then n finall y he saw his Bel oved and beca me t he m ast er over his heart. heart. Pir-i-Tariqat has said: This world and the next have become encompassed in love and love is en co mpa sse d within within the Beloved Beloved;; now how can can I still still continue continue to use the word " He?"
'In my eye the form of my Beloved is contained, I am joyous with my eye as long as He remains. It is wrong to distinguish between this eye and my Love's face, Either the eye is my Beloved or my Beloved has taken its place.' Rabbil Alameen: The Lord and Sustainer of he Worlds, He gives to one the sustenance for the body and to another the sustenance for the heart. One's body is sustained by Grace, another's heart is sustained by the guardian of Grace. Grace is for him who makes the effort to lot slac slacke ken n in in his his serv servic ice. e. The The nat natur uree of of beh behol oldi ding ng the the belov ed is an att rib ute of men. The vic tor y bel ong s to tha t slave who beholds his Beloved's face. 'The vision of You for all is a sweet anticipation. For everyone's path You are the final destination . O moon overall and star of every nation Your Beauty outshines outshines everyone's everyone's esteem and rep utatio n.' Ar-Rahmaanir-Raheem: The Beneficent, the Merciful, He is Rahmaan because He makes the way easy for the toiler. He is Raheem because He has lit the candle of love in the path of the lovers. 'On the day when union with You was attained, I looked upon the dwellers of Paradise with disdain.' He is Rahmaan because He bestows upon Him that aims at that (union) the success of his striving. He is raheem because He gr ants to him t hat finds it t he c onfir mation of actual actual witnes witnessin sing. g. The The firs firstt stati station on is the condition of the murid (the one who seeks and wants). The second station is the state of the murad (the object of the guest, that which is wanted). The murid has taken taken the lantern of success and arriv ed t o t he point of witnessing. The murad ha s ta ke n th e lantern of confirmati confirmation on and arrives arrives at active active contemplation contemplation.. For when the seeke seekerr goes goes far far from from himse himself lf he becomes becomes near near to Hi m. W hen he is lost to hims elf he begi ns to know Him. For He is not far from those whose aim is Him, nor is He lost to those who seek Him, nor absent from those those who who desire Him. 'Have mercy upon the hearts of men and come out from behind the veil, So the disputes of the seventy-two sects will finally be curtailed.' Maaliki yawmideen- The Master of the day of deen. Th is in di ca te s the Do min io n of the One One and and the the remaining remaining Permanence Permanence of His Power. Every dominion dominion and kingdom kingdom comes to an end one day and vanishes, but the Dominion of Allah is continuous and never comes to an end nor does it vanish. vanish. No one in this world or the next is outside of His Dominion. No o ne has dominion like the Dominion of Allah. Today He is the Lord and Sustainer of the Worlds Rabbil alameen yawmideen . His Dominion in the two worlds and tomorrow He is the Master of the Day of Reckoning Maaliki Reckoning Maaliki yawmideen. is completely without partner or associate. He is without need or requirement. So where is the choice of the slave? And he that has no choice has no rule or dominance. The word Deen here has the meaning of reckoning and recompense. He is saying, "I am the Master and Lord over the reckoning of My slaves. "Unless there was one who was aware of the faults of men, they wo ul d ha ve no r eason for shame. Even though r eckoning is an indic ation of His His des destru truct ctiv ivee Mig Might ht,, not not removi removing ng the veil veil from from our action s indi cates His Ge nerosit y. Al lah wants to show H is Generosity so He manifests His Severity. This is the way of Allah. Every time that He strikes a blow of Might, He puts the ointment of Generosity on the wound.
Pir-i-Tariqat says: If tomorrow at the place of reckoning I have a voice and can speak, I will say: Out of all the things that I have done, please look upon these. First, look upon my prostration's (sajdah) , which were never performed except with longing for You in my heart. Second, look upon my belief. Everything You said, I said, "It is true." Third, when the gentle breeze of Your Generosity blew in, my heart and my soul continued to want only You. 'I have no other longing than to stand before You, I wouldn't even want to breathe if I was without You.' Ihdeenus Siratal Mustaqeem: We adoringly serve You and seek help from You, This ayah points to two great pillars which are the adornment of the din. These two pillars are the foundation of the Way of the pious. The first is the adornment of the nafs with adoring worship and service which is not for the eyes of anyone else, else, and and the the embellishment embellishment of it with obedience which is devoid of hypocrisy. The other pillar is the trimming, pruning and protection of purity of the nafs from associating the creations with Allah, from corruption and from the relian reliance ce on its power power and and stren strength gth.. The The expres expressio sion n "ad orn men t o f t he naf s," is an ind ica tio n o f t hat whi ch is obligatory in the Shariah (the law of Allah). The expression "trimming and pruning ... of the nafs" indicates that which is not obligatory by the Shariah. Iyyaka na`abudu: W e adoringly adoringly serve serve You Is absol absolute utely ly Tawhid; Tawhid; the Lord is One and He alone is the deserving (of adoration). He i s the one worthwhi le worshippi ng, wit hout equal, the Absolute Absolute One. Iyyaka nastaeen: We seek help from You, This indicates the knowledge (ma'rifah) of thos thosee who are i n a state of nearness to Allah. The basis of this knowledge is the recognition of the Oneness of Allah, then of His Power and Wisdom. Tawhid is the foundation of Islam and Ma'rifah is the foundation of Iman. The first guidepost on the path is seeing the Creator's order and arrangement and another is seeing His Wisdom. Pir-i-Tariqat says: It is in this way that the `arif (one who has an intimate knowledge and closeness to Allah), finds himself seeking because he has found something and it is not that he finds something through his seeking. The cause springs from the essence not the essence from the cause. The obedience of the obedient comes from his sincerity, his sincerity does not come from fro m his obedience. obedie nce. The sinner performs evil actions because because of the punishment punishment which whi ch he is is und ergoin erg oin g, it isnot that he receives receives punishment for his evil actions. actio ns. Ihdeenas Siraatul Mustaqeem: Guide us on the straight straight Path. Path. This ayah ayah is the epitome of worship worship and adoration and the essence o f obedience. I t is the prayer, pr ayer, the plea, pl ea, the earnest supplication and the cry of those in Iman. It is their seeking for steadfastness on the Path. Those with Iman say: O Allah! Show us Your Path, and and then cause us to keep keep it, to be drawn and allured to You. The P ath is shown when Allah reveals reveal s His sign. Keeping to it comes from being established upon it stage by stage. Being drawn and allured means that it is Allah That wants one to be close to Him. In this ayah those in Iman ask for all three; to be shown the Path, to keep to it, and to be drawn and allured allured to Him. Not everyone that has seen t he Path travel s upon it, and no t everyone everyone who who has has travell travelled ed it it has has reache reached d his his goal. goal. Many have hear d o f i t a nd not see n it ; m any have seen it and not recognised it; and many have recognised recognised it, yet have have not attained it. 'There is many an old man with fervent fervent prayer who never mounted the camel, And many a lover of the Tavern who has placed his saddle on a lion.' Seeratul Seeratul latheena latheena an ampt alayhim: alayhim: The The Path of those upo n whom You bestowed b estowed favours. It is said that this is the Path and the way of the Companions of the cave (Asahaab Al Kaaf) . Those in Iman say, "O Lord, take us along Your Path without our sense of self and bestow upon us Your favour and tenderness as You did with the Companions of the Cave. You said to them, "Be in this cave and sleep well for We have preferred your sleep over the worship of all others in the world." O Allah! Grant us Grace and tenderness and carry out our affairs without us as you have done with them. For everything that we do brings us loss and everything that You do brings us honour in this world and the next.
Pir-i-Tariqat says: O Allah! We cannot carry out these affairs without repentence (tawbah), nor do we have the power to carry on after our repentence. Every time we think that we have arrived, we are turned back by our confusion in love. O Allah! When will we find that day when You are with us and we are not? O Allah! How can we find that day again in which you were with us and we were not in existence? Until we can return to that day we we remain in the Fire and smoke. smoke. If we could give this world and the next as the price for that day, we would profit. An ampt alayhim: Upon whom You have bestowed favours, The fa vour of Islam a nd t he S unnah (the tradit ions of the Prophet Prophet Muhamm Muhammad ad and his family family)) which were were joined joined together. If they were not together the servant would not be able to maintain maintain steadfastne steadfastness ss in the Din. Din. For there is no Islam without the Sunnah and everything which is devoid of the Sunnah is not the Din of Truth. It is for this reason that the Messenger of Allah said, "Good words go with good actions." These both must be combined with a good intention. All three then must be in accordance with the Sunnah. Ghayrul Ghayrul Maghtu Maghtubi bi alayhim alayhim wa wa ladhaalee ladhaaleem: m: not the Path of those upon up on whom is Your anger nor n or those tho se who go astra astray. y. O All ah! Do not mak e us go wit h tho se who m You have have rejec rejected ted in orde orderr to make make them them weary weary with with the sword sword of of separation and so they might be bound by the peg of rejection. What burden can be carried by an untied rope? What use are unworthy actions? They lived in hostility and alienation. They lost the P ath and thought t hought that the crooked path was was straight. straight. These are the ones w whose hose actions in this this world were useless and who thought their deeds were righteous. ri ghteous. Anecdote
Surat ul-Fatihah is known known as the key to the Garden. The doors of the Garden are eight in number and t his surah is divided into eight portions. Unless one learns those eight portions and believes them these doors will not be opened. The first is Al-Hamd -- a reminder of the Essence of Allah. The second is Ar-Rahmaan -- a remembrance of His Attributes. The The thir d i s iyyaka na'budu , we adoringly serve and worship You -- a remembrance of His actions. The fourth is iyyaka nastaeen, we seek help from You You -- a remembrance of the resurrection. resurrectio n. The fifth fift h is ihdinas, guide us -a remembrance remembrance of the the purification of the nafs. The sixth is As-siratal-Mustaqim, the straight Path -- a remembrance of the adornment of the nafs with good actions. The seventh is Siratal-ladhina , the Path of those) -- a reminder of the lovers and Allah's contentment with them. The eighth is Ghayril Maghdubi, not the Path of those upon whom is your an ge r -- a reminder of those who are in alienation alienation and estranged and of the discontentment discontentment of Allah with them. Each Each one of these knowledge's is a door of the Garden. Everyone who recites this surah with sincerity, the eight gates of t he Garden Garden will open for them. Today th e Garden of Irfan `Irfan and tomorro w the Garden of Ridwan (the contentment of Allah) and a closeness to the Rahmaan.
