What is the most important thing to have in life. What is the greatest prayer to make?
With the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful,
We all pray to Allah Subhanatallah to help us with the things we need. Some of us will pray to him to help us to pass our exams, or to help us to recover from our illnesses, or to help us with our finances, or to forgive our sins and to grant us heaven etc. Now have we ever thought about what is the best prayer (“dua”) to make? What is the best thing to have?
In order to appreciate the importance of this “dua”, we need to know a little bit about Sura Fatihah. We all know that this is the first sura of the Holy Quran, and we also know that we have to read it in every rakaath of every prayer – in fact it is ‘wajib’ to read this sura in every rakaath of every prayer and the Prophet (SAW) has said that
“our prayer is incomplete if we do not read this sura.”Al Hadis 3:34:12:221.
This sura is therefore the most frequently read sura and the Quran itself refers to this sura as the
“…seven often repeated (verses)…” Al Quran 15:87.
This chapter is therefore the most important chapter of the Holy Quran because it is so stressed. The Holy Prophet SAW) has confirmed this by saying that Sura Fatihah is “Ummul Kitab”(same Hadith as above) which means the mother of the Quran. In other words, it is the essence of the Holy Quran or the Holy Quran in a nutshell.
It is in this most important chapter of the Holy Quran that Allah Subhanatallah teaches us this most important prayer and gives us clear directions as to how we can overcome the many hurdles in life. The Prophet (SAW) has said in a Hadis e Qudsie that there are two parts to Sura Fatihah –
one belongs to Allah and consists of praises to Him while the second part is for us which consists of us making a ‘dua’ – (prayer). Al Hadis 3:34:12:222.
After praising Allah Subhanatallah in the first few verses we then pray for the following need in the second part:
“Guide us on the straight path.”
Immediately thereafter Allah Subhanatallah gives us further details on how we can be guided by saying
“the path of those upon whom You (Allah) have bestowed favor,”
In the 4th sura verse 69 Allah Subhanatallah gives us further details as to who these people are that we should be getting guidance from:
“… of those on whom is the Grace of Allah, – of the Prophets the Truthful (Siddiq) as well as the Martyrs (Shouda), and the Righteous (swaleheen)…”
There are no more Prophets to come and we therefore have to find guidance from the people that Allah Subhanatallah describes after the Prophets and these people are in a nutshell the “Aulia Allah” which is a description derived from another verse of the Holy Quran (10:62), which simply means the Friends of Allah.
Now this is a big clue in our quest for guidance and the true path. Our Murshid, Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saib (RA) has said, based on this sura, that the path in which there are the Aulia Allah and the practice of pledging allegiance – That is the right path. Some Muslims stress in Allah only, some include the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhe wa Allihi wa Sallam as well, while others also include his family (the 12 Imaams). The right path is that which stresses in all of this and also the Aulia Allah, especially a current Aulia Allah of our time in whose hands we have pledged our allegiance (baith).
In reading the rest of the Holy Quran, one would notice that it is largely about seeking guidance from those that have the blessings of Allah Subhanatallah. Following the chosen people of Allah is the only way to be rightly guided.
“I shall soon turn away from My Messages those who behave haughtily in the land without any justification. Even if they witness every (possible) sign they will not believe therein and even if they see the path of rectitude they will not adopt it as (their) way; but if they see the way of error and falsehood they will adopt it as (their) way. This (state of theirs) is because they cried lies to Our Messages and they were heedless to them.” Al Quran 7:146
Seeking guidance by following the righteous people is therefore not only the crux of Sura Fatihah but also the Holy Quran and therefore our religion. Being rightly guided is the best thing to seek because it is the foundation on which we would build our beliefs and live our lives. It is the recipe not only for a healthy spiritual life only but also a happy, fulfilling earthly life as well.
In completing this dua we ask Allah Subhanatallah to protect us from
“those who have evoked (Allah’s) anger or of those who are astray.”
Asking to be rightly guided should be good enough and by adding in this verse Allah Subhanatallah is drawing our attention to be cautious because there are many who would cunningly and deviously try to mislead us by using the guise of religion. Look through history and you would notice that the words and teachings of Allah Subhanatallah were always changed by the so called learned people of religion. When Hazrath Moosa (AS) left his people for forty days to go up to the mountain of Tur, the crafty “Samiri” Al Quran 20:88 misled his people by turning them towards worshipping a golden calf which they themselves made. He justified his actions by saying: “I saw what they saw not: so I took a handful of dust from the footprint of the messenger and threw it into the calf:” Al Quran 20:95 He took the dust from the footprint of Hazrath Gibrieel (AS) and added it into the gold thus fooling them into believing that the cow is now sacred. During the time of the Prophet (SAW) there were many such people as well, such as Abu Amir Rahib who got his followers to build a mosque in Quba on the pretext of advancing Islam.
“And (there are) those who have built a mosque to cause harm (to Islam)…” Al Quran Sura At Tauba 9:107.
Even at present, there are many sweet talkers and movements out there that try to “pull the wool over our eyes” so that they could have the glory of being leaders and making easy money. We must free our minds from the shackles of superstition, petty “fatwas” that cause divisions and meaningless rituals. Instead we must use our minds to explore and ponder. However, being people that are prone to error, we must not depend totally on our intellect but rather; we should humble ourselves in front of our Creator and plead to Him for guidance. We must place our trust in Him and rely on His help. Apart from publicly praying, we need to humbly pray to our Creator in private (late at night), telling him that we are incapable of making this choice and we depend on His help.
“Call on your Lord in humility and in private…” Al Qur’an 7:55.
It is such private prayers that are earnest and Inshallah our prayer for guidance will be accepted.
If and when Allah Subhanatallah directs us to His chosen people then know that they are not the easiest of people to accept and follow. Even the likes of Hazrath Moosa (AS) found it difficult when he spent time with Hazrath Kizar (AS). (Incident related in Sura Khaf).
Peace and salutations be upon Allah’s Messengers who are responsible for guiding humanity throughout time. Ameen.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
The Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (lovingly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saab RA).
Author: Mohamed Hassan Gaffoor
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