of Nokounam, (Session Twenty-Five)
Surah Al-Fatiha, as the Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book) and the epitome of the divine knowledge contained within the Holy Quran, acts as a mirror reflecting the relationship between the Creator and the created in its most profound semantic layers. This Surah, with its dual structurehalf dedicated to the description of Divine attributes and half to human needsconceals the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey beneath a veil of secrecy. This treatise, adopting a scientific, mystical, and philosophical approach, analyses the content of Surah Al-Fatiha and, relying on Quranic verses and narrations, examines the position of humanity in the cosmic order and the ranks of human spiritual progression. The objective is to offer a systematic and academic exegesis that is insightful and compelling for researchers of Quranic sciences and scholarly audiences.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ مَٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
Translation: In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to God, the Lord of the Worlds. The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship, and You alone we seek for help. Guide us on the Straight Path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have evoked Your anger, nor of those who go astray.
Surah Al-Fatiha is divided into two distinct parts: half belongs to the Exalted God (نَصْفٌ لِي), encompassing verses of praise and descriptions of Lordly attributes such as compassion and sovereignty, and half pertains to creation (نَصْفٌ لَكُم), which expresses the needs of the servants, especially the request for guidance. This division, like the two wings of a bird soaring in the sky of knowledge, manifests the reciprocal relationship between Creator and created.
The ultimate goal of Surah Al-Fatiha lies hidden behind a veil of concealment, signifying the grandeur and sublimity of its purpose. Unlike other Surahs that sometimes explicitly reveal the final objective, Surah Al-Fatiha shrouds the ultimate aim within a vessel of divine mysteries. This concealment, like a jewel within a shell, indicates the sanctity and profundity of the Surahs truth.
Surah Al-Fatiha, with its dual structure, is a mirror of the existential relationship between Creator and created. The concealment of the ultimate goal renders this Surah a multilayered text encompassing both Divine knowledge and human needs.
The ultimate perfection of the believing human in the spiritual journey is the abandonment of doubt towards the Exalted God and conditionality imposed upon Him. These two traits, like two chains binding the soul from flight, hinder pure servitude. The perfect believer harbours no doubt about the Truth nor sets conditions for it, but is immersed in surrender and contentment.
Fear is the characteristic of human beings aware of their own deficiencies, while hope is the attribute of the Exalted God whose mercy prevails over His wrath. These two, like the two scales of the spiritual journey, maintain the believers spiritual equilibrium. The believer, through fear of self and hope in Divine mercy, treads the path of perfection.
Surah Al-Fatiha, evidently, encompasses all the meanings of the Holy Quran. This comprehensiveness is akin to an ocean into which all rivers of Quranic knowledge flow. Each verse of this Surah is a summary of Divine wisdom that, through careful contemplation, reflects the entire Quran.
The ultimate goal of the spiritual journey in Surah Al-Fatiha is achieving pure servitude through the abandonment of doubt and conditions. Fear and hope, as the two wings of this journey, alongside the Surahs comprehensiveness, render it the epistemological and spiritual axis of the Holy Quran.
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
Translation: Guide us on the Straight Path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have evoked Your anger, nor of those who go astray.
According to this verse, humanity is divided into four groups:
This classification is like a map defining the position of humans within the cosmic system.
Al-Anmyyn, by virtue of possessing infallibility and freedom from oppression, are distinct from the Hadyatyyn. Although Hadyatyyn are on the straight path, they may become tainted by oppression and thus rank lower.
Hadyatyyn can elevate through spiritual endeavour and willpower to the rank of Al-Anmyyn, or fall due to error into the ranks of the misguided or even the accursed. This dynamism is like a current that propels humanity forward in the path of choice and free will.
Al-Anmyyn and Al-Maghbn are few owing to the exclusivity of the highest and lowest ranks. Conversely, Hadyatyyn and lln are abundant, as Divine mercy surpasses wrath and most humans reside within this spectrum.
Al-Anmyyn, due to freedom from oppression, exist in perfect security. This fact is confirmed in verse 82 of Surah Al-Anm:
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُوٓا۟ إِيمَٰنَهُم بِظُلْمٍ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ لَهُمُ ٱلْأَمْنُ وَهُمْ مُهْتَدُونَ
Translation: Those who have believed and have not mixed their belief with injustice those will have security and they are rightly guided.
This security is like a shield that protects Al-Anmyyn from existential dangers.
The fourfold classification of humanity clarifies the epistemological and spiritual system of Surah Al-Fatiha. Al-Anmyyn, as the pinnacle of perfection, dwell in security and infallibility, while Hadyatyyn and lln remain midway, and Al-Maghbn rest in the depths of misguidance.
The Holy Quran is speaking and its secrets are revealed in the hands of the infallibles. As Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) stated: I am the speaking Quran. The Quran is eloquent in the hands of its rightful owners but silent in those of the unqualified. This characteristic is like a light that shines in the hands of the Divine saints and illuminates the path of guidance.
The Straight Path is the path of the Al-Anmyyn, yet not everyone on this path belongs to them. The request for guidance in ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ implies a petition to be placed upon the path of Al-Anmyyn rather than an attainment of their rank.
Verse 69 of Surah An-Nis affirms this reality:
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّينَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًا
Translation: And whoever obeys God and the Messenger those will be with the ones upon whom God has bestowed favour, among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions.
This companionship is like being accompanied by the stars of guidance in the sky of knowledge.
The Qurans speaking nature in the hands of the infallibles highlights their role as intermediaries of Divine guidance. The Straight Path is the path of Al-Anmyy
