The Opening

Prophet Muhammad said that this is the greatest surah in the Quran. (Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari)

Muslims read this surah a total of 17 times in their 5 daily prayers.

We should read its verses properly in a relaxed way, not very quickly. The Prophet said that this surah is a dialogue between you and Allah. So, every time you recite a verse in salah, Allah will respond to you. For example, when you say "All praise is for Allah—Lord of the whole universe," Allah will say, "My servant has praised Me." When you say, "Master of Judgment Day," Allah will say, "My servant has submitted to My authority." When you say,"Guide us along the Straight Path ..." Allah will say, "The prayer of My servant has been answered." (Recorded by Imam Muslim).

This surah teaches us that:

1. Allah is the Lord of the universe, Who is taking care of everyone and everything.

2. He will judge everyone on Judgment Day.

3. He is the only One Who deserves our worship.

All these topics are explained in the rest of the Quran.

Allah sent many Holy Books before the time of Prophet Muhammad. The message of all these Books are summed up in the Quran. The message of the Quran is summed up in this surah. And this surah is summed up in verse 5: You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.

Verse 7 talks about 3 types of people:

1. Those 'who are blessed' because they have knowledge and follow it.

2. Those 'who deserve (Allah's) anger' because they have knowledge but don't follow it.

3. And those 'who lost their way' because they don't have knowledge and make things up.

When we pray, every one of us says, 'we,' not 'I' in verses 5 and 6. It is like we are all standing around the Ka'bah in a big circle that covers the whole world. This is a reminder that we are part of a large family of over 1.8 billion Muslims—which means that 1 out of every 4 people worldwide is Muslim. We should care about our brothers and sisters all over the world. The Prophet said that Muslims are like one body—when any part of the body feels the pain, the whole body responds. (Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim).

They start to serve lunch and sweets. And your favorite movie is now playing on the screen in front of you. But you can't enjoy the food or the movie because those 3 questions are ringing in your head. You ask people around you, but no one seems to know or care. Suddenly, you wake up and realize you were dreaming. You go to the masjid for Fajr salah (early morning prayer), still thinking about those questions. As soon as the Imam starts reciting Al-Fatihah, a light bulb turns on in your head. And you finally find the answer:

The answers to your questions:

1. The plane is planet earth, and you were put here by Allah—Lord of the whole universe.

2. He put you here to worship Him.

3. And you will reach your final destination when you return to Him for judgment.

This surah is a prayer for guidance. This is why we say 'Ameen' at the end, which means: O Allah! Answer (my prayer) We should always pray to Allah, trusting that our prayers will be accepted. If you pray for others, the angels say 'And you too will get the same,' Recorded by Imam Muslim. The Prophet said that one of the prayers that Allah always answers is the du'a of a parent for their child. (Recorded by Imam ibn Majah)

There was a young boy named Sulaim Ar-Razi. He went to study with a teacher in his town, but reading was very difficult for him. He said he couldn't even read Al-Fatihah. When he became very frustrated, he asked his teacher, "What should I do?" His teacher said, "Is your mom still alive so she can pray for you?" When Sulaim told his mother, she prayed to Allah to make learning easy for him. Allah accepted her prayers. Sulaim then traveled to other places to gain more knowledge, until he became a big scholar. His teacher had to travel to other places too. Sulaim later returned to his town after many years of traveling. He was giving a talk at the masjid when his teacher came in. But his teacher couldn't recognize him because he now looked different, just like how the brothers of Prophet Yusuf could not recognize him after he grew up, according to Surah 12. After the talk, his teacher asked him, "Sub-hana-Allah! What should I do to have great knowledge like you?" Sulaim said, "I was about to tell him: 'Is your mom still alive so she can pray for you?' but I felt shy. So, I said instead, 'It is all from Allah.'"

When the believers recite this surah, they praise Allah in the first half and pray to receive His guidance in the second half. We learn from this that before we ask for something (or even correct someone), we should say something positive or nice about them first. This attitude makes it easier for our request (or advice) to be accepted. Being rude to people doesn't guarantee that they will listen to us.

Now, which of the following would you say if you want extra milk in your cereal?

1. This is bad. You don't know how to make food. Add more milk, right now!

2. Thanks. Would you please add more milk?

If you want to correct someone's recitation of the Quran, what would you say?

1. What a fool! You are 10 years old and you don't know how to read Al-Fatihah. Even a 3-year-old kid can read better than you.

2. Ma-sha-Allah! You have a beautiful voice —it will be great if you can practice a little bit.

Abdullah ibn Omar was a young man who prayed 5 times a day, but didn't pray at night. The Prophet said, Abdullah is a very good person. It will be great if he prayed a bit at night. When Abdullah heard what the Prophet said, he started to pray most of the night. (Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari)