Author of this post is Brother Naeem. Originally posted on Brother Naeem’s blog.
As I was contemplating on the beauty of Sura Fatiha, it struck me how powerful the essential dua’a in the sura is:
“Guide us to the straight path”
We’re asking Allah (swt) to guide us to the path of righteousness. But which path is that? Thus Allah (swt) answers in the following verse:
“The path of those upon whom You (Allah) have bestowed Your blessings.”
So it’s a path characterized not by ideals or principles, but by the people who embody those very ideals and principles.
It’s not the path of the Quran. It’s not the path of the Hadith. It’s not the path of detailed Fiqh or correct Aqeedah. It’s not the path of dry texts and lifeless manuscripts.
It’s the path of living, breathing individuals. It’s the path traversed by our noble elders, who are able to pass along the experiences and life-long lessons of this journey. It’s the path of beacons of light who we are blessed to sit with and learn from. It’s the path of following the good examples and shunning the bad ones.
It’s the path of interacting with society, not the path of isolating oneself.
It’s the path of sitting at the feet of a teacher, not the path of Do-It-Yourself.
It’s the path of discovering and emulating these vibrant gems of society, not the path of mechanically memorizing drab data from bloodless books.
It’s the path of debasing oneself before another (for the purpose of learning), not the path of anointing oneself over another (for the purpose of teaching).
It’s the path navigated by our spiritual forefathers.
Let us all embark on our journey down this path.
July 26, 2008 at 1:59 am
[...] Our Quran Blog – Alif Laam Meem Thoughts on Surah Fatiha [...]
July 26, 2008 at 3:25 pm
MA very good thoughts here… it’s in a way simple.. conflict about what to do? think of What Would Our Sahaba Do…
July 29, 2008 at 5:14 pm
So true. We take everything out of context and yet it is so simple. I use to read surah Fatiha when I was in primary school with my 3 mates during the assembly, both in arabic and english. Imagine doing it at a young age and at that time, you do not *think* of the meanings. Subhanallah.
August 22, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Interview Request
Hello Dear and Respected,
I hope you are fine and carrying on the great work you have been doing for the Internet surfers. I am Ghazala Khan from The Pakistani Spectator (TPS), We at TPS throw a candid look on everything happening in and for Pakistan in the world. We are trying to contribute our humble share in the webosphere. Our aim is to foster peace, progress and harmony with passion.
We at TPS are carrying out a new series of interviews with the notable passionate bloggers, writers, and webmasters. In that regard, we would like to interview you, if you don’t mind. Please send us your approval for your interview at my email address “ghazala.khi at gmail.com”, so that I could send you the Interview questions. We would be extremely grateful.
regards.
Ghazala Khan
The Pakistani Spectator
http://www.pakspectator.com
October 14, 2008 at 2:52 am
Here’s one excellent resourceful blog on Al-Fatiha
http://jalaledin.blogspot.com/
October 16, 2008 at 5:00 pm
ameen. great post.
April 20, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Salams
Thanks for sharing. Jazakallah Khair.
Whenever I recite Surah Al-Fatiha, I am always at awe with the fact that after creating us, HE (the exalted one) gave us directions and guidance to lead this life. I think that this is something great and that we should be thankful for this, everyday in our prayers.
Subhanallah.
Interesting posts. Keep it coming
June 23, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Nice explanation, thanks.