tafseer surah faitah shanqitee

7/31/2019 Tafseer Surah Faitah Shanqitee

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[Note: any comments preceded by (ins) are taken from Vol. 10 of Adwaa al-Bayaan in whichthe author discusses apparent inconsistencies in Qur`aanic verses. I have included themecause we find some orientalists using these verses in an attempt to shed doubt into the

hearts of the Muslims. Any comments surrounded by [] are taken from other tafseers.]S u r a h a l -F a t ih a h 1) Wi th the Nam e of Al laah , the Mo s t Benef icen t , the Mo s t Mer c ifu l . 2 ) Al l th ep r a i s e s a n d t h a n k s a r e fo r Al la a h t h e L o r d o f th e Un i ve r s e . 3 ) Th e Mo s tBenef icen t , The M os t Mer c i fu l . 4 ) Mas te r o f the Day o f Recom pen se . 5 ) You Alonewe wo r s h i p , a n d Yo u Alo n e we a s k f o r h e lp . 6 ) Gu i d e u s t o t h e S t r a i gh t P a t h . 7 )

T h e P a t h o f th o s e o n wh o m Yo u h a v e b e st o we d y o u r g r a c e , n o t t h e P a t h o f t h o s ew h o e a r n e d y o u r An g e r , n o r o f t h o s e t h a t w e n t a s t r a y. The saying of the Exalted, ' a ll t h e p r a i s e s a n d t h a n k s a r e fo r All a a h ' : there is nomention here as to when this praise is said or from where this praise comes from, but in SurahRum there is mention that from amongst the 'where's' are the heavens and the earth - in Hissaying,' a n d H is is a l l t h e p r a is e s a n d t h a n k s i n t h e h e a ve n s a n d t h e e a r t h . '(30:18).And in Surah Qasas there is mention that from amongst the 'when's' are in this world and inthe Hereafter - in His sayings,

'An d H e i s All a a h , n o n e h a s t h e r i g h t t o b e wo r s h i p p e d b e s i d e s H i m . T o

Hi m b e l o n g s a ll p r a i s e in t h e b e g in n i n g ( i. e . t h i s wo r l d ) a n d i n t h e e n d( i .e . the Herea f te r ) . ' (28:70).And He said in the beginning of Surah Saba'a,

'Hi s i s a ll the p r a i se in th e H ere a f te r , an d H e i s the Al l-Wise , Al l-Aware . ' (34:1).

The Alif and Laam (i.e. the definite article 'the') in al-Hamd is so as to include all the differentmanners of praise, and it is an extolling with which Allaah has praised Himself and ordered Hisservants to praise Him with. The saying of the Exalted,' t h e Lo r d o f th e Un i ve r s e ( Aa l a m e e n ) ' : there is noexplanation here as to what al-Aalameen is but this is explained in another place with Hissaying,

' P h a r a o h s a i d : a n d wh a t i s t h e Lo r d o f t h e Aa l a m e e n ? He ( Mo s e s ) s a id :t h e Lo r d o f t h e h e a v en s a n d t h e e a r t h a n d w h a t i s b e tw e e n t h e m . ' (26:23-24)

Some of the scholars stated that al-Aalam (world, pl. aalameen) is derived from al-Allaamah

Tafseer of Soorah al-FatihahImaam Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqeetee rahimahullaah

Taken from Adwaa ul-Bayaan and Translated by Abu Rumaysah


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(sign) because the existence of the world is a sign, without doubt, of the existence of it's Creatorwho is described with perfect and magnificent Attributes. The Exalted said,'Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the change of the night and day aresigns (Aayaat) for the people of understanding.' And in the language ayah means allaamah. The saying of the Exalted, ' Th e M o s t B e n e f ic e n t ( a r -R a h m a a n ) , Th e Mo s t Me r c if u l( a r - R a h e e m ) ': these are two descriptions of Allaah the Exalted, and two of the Names fromamongst His Beautiful Names, derived from ar-Rahma (Mercy) in a way to express intense andexaggerated meanings. And ar-Rahmaan is more intense than ar-Raheem because ar-Rahmaanis the one endowed with Mercy which extends to all of the creations in this world and to the

elievers in the Hereafter, and ar-Raheem is the One endowed with Mercy which extends toonly the believers on the Day of Judgement - this being the understanding of the majority ofthe scholars. And from the discussion of ibn Jareer (at-Tabaree) one can understand that thereis an agreement on this, and the tafseer of some of the salaf lends weight to this understandingas was stated by ibn Katheer, and the narration reported from Eesa, as mentioned by ibnKatheer and others, also indicates this - that he (upon him and our Prophet be peace and

lessings) said, 'ar-Rahm aan: the One W ho shows M ercy in this w orld an d the Hereafter. Ar-

Raheem : the One W ho show s Mercy in the Hereafter .'{1}And Allaah the Exalted also points to what we have mentioned when He said,' th e n H e r o s eo ve r t h e T h r o n e , a r -R a h m a a n ' (25:59) and when He said,' a r -R a h m a a n r o s e o ve r t h eT h r o n e '.(20:5) So he mentioned the Istawaa (Rising over the Throne) with His Name ar-Rahmaan so as to embrace the whole of His creation with his Mercy as was stated by ibnKatheer{2}. And likewise is His saying, 'Do t h e y n o t s e e t h e b i r d s a b o v e t h e m ,s p r e a d i n g o u t t h e i r w i n g s a n d fo ld in g t h e m i n ? N o n e u p h o l d s t h e m e xc ep t a r -R a h m a a n ' (67:19) meaning: from his Mercy to His creation is his kindness to the birds andHis holding them in the sky while they are spreading out their wings and folding them in. Andfrom the clearest evidences pertaining to this is His saying,' a r -R a h m a a n . H e t a u g h t t h e

Qur 'aan . ..So wh ich o f the favou r s o f your Lord w i ll you tw o den y? ' (55:1-13)And He said,' a n d H e i s E ve r Mo s t Me r c i fu l ( R a h e e m ) t o t h e b e l ie ve r s ' (33:43) andhence particularised His name ar-Raheem to them. So if it said: 'how is it possible to reconcilewhat you have thusfar established with his (SAW) saying in the du'aa,'the Rahm aan of thew orld and the Hereafter and the Raheem of them '? {3} The obvious reply - and Allaah knows

est - is that ar-Raheem is specific to the believers as we have mentioned, but it is not specifiedto them in the Hereafter alone, rather His Mercy to them is included in this world as well. Sothe meaning of 'the Raheem of them' would be 'His Mercy to the believers in them'. And theevidence that He is Raheem to the believers in this world as well (as the Hereafter) is that thisis the literal meaning of His, the Exalted's saying,

'He i s t h e On e wh o s e n d s H i s B le s s in g s ( s a la a h ) u p o n yo u , a n d H isAn ge ls so as to lead you ou t o f the d a r kn ess to the l igh t , an d H e i s EverMos t Mer c i fu l (Rah eem ) to the be l ievers . ' (33:43)

Because His salaah upon them, the salaah of His Angels and His leading them out of thedarkness to the light is Mercy to them in this world, even though it be the reason for Mercy inthe Hereafter as well. And similar to this in meaning is His saying,


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'Alla h h a s fo r g ive n t h e P r o p h e t , t h e Mu h a a j ir o o n a n d t h e An s a a r w h ofo l lo we d h im i n t h e t i m e o f d is t r e s s a f t e r t h e h e a r t s o f a g r o u p o f th e mh a d n e a r l y d e v ia t e d ( f r o m t h e R i gh t P a t h ) , b u t H e a c ce p t e d t h e i rr e p e n t a n c e . Ce r t a in ly He i s F u l l o f Kin d n e s s t o t h e m , Mo s t Me r c i fu l( R a h e e m ) . ' (9:117)

For the Mercy is linked to the event that befell the Prophet, the Muhaajiroon and the Ansaar,and also His forgiving them was Mercy in this world even though it be the reason for Mercy inthe Hereafter as well. And the Knowledge (of what is correct) lies with Allaah. The saying of the Exalted, 'Ma s t e r o f t h e Da y o f R e c o m p e n s e ( De e n ) ' : There is noexplanation here (as to what the Day of Deen is), but this is explained in His saying,'Andwh a t wi ll m a k e yo u c o m p r e h e n d wh a t t h e Da y o f De e n i s ? Ag a in w h a t w i ll m a k eyo u c o m p r e h e n d wh a t t h e Da y o f De e n i s ? I t is t h e Da y wh e n n o p e r s o n s h a l l h a vep o w e r ( t o d o ) a n y t h in g fo r a n o t h e r .' (83:17-19).And the meaning of Deen in the verse is recompense, as can be seen in His saying,' on t h a tDa y Al la a h wi ll p a y t h e m t h e i r d e e n i n t r u t h ' (24:25) meaning: the recompense of their

actions with complete justice. The saying of the Exalted, 'You Alon e we wor sh ip ' : Indicating in this noble verse to therealisation of the meaning of Laa ilaaha illaa Allaah (there is none worthy of worship except forAllaah) for it's meaning is comprised of two matters: negation and affirmation. So the negationaspect means to remove every single object of worship apart from Allaah in all the actions ofworship, and the affirmation aspect means to single out the Lord of the heavens and the earthAlone for all matters of worship in the way that has been legislated by the Sharee'ah.This negation in the laa ilaaha illaa Allaah was indicated by placing the object of worship firstin the verse hence, 'You Alone', and it is established in 'al-Usul' under the discussion on 'Daleel

al-Khitaab Alladhee huwa Mafhum al-Mukhaalafa', and in 'al-Ma'aanee' under the discussionof 'al-Qasr': that placing the object first (in a sentence) is one if the ways of confining (themeaning of the verb to the object alone).And the affirmation part of the kalima was indicated in His saying, 'we worship'.And He, the Exalted, explained this meaning which is indicated here in detail elsewhere. Forexample His saying,

'O Ma n k i n d ! Wo r s h i p yo u r Lo r d wh o c r e a t e d y o u ' (2:21)Clarifying the affirmation aspect with his words, 'worship your Lord' and the negation aspect atthe end of this noble verse with His words,' so do n o t se t up r iva l s wi th Al laah wh i le youk n o w '(2:22). And for example His saying,

'We h a v e in d e e d s e n t a Me s s e n g e r t o e v er y p e o p l e s a y in g : wo r s h i pAl laah an d leave a ll tha t is wor sh ipp ed bes ides Al laah ' (16:36)

Clarifying the affirmation with His words, 'worship Allaah' and the negation with His words,'and leave all that is worshipped besides Allaah'. And for example His saying,


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'An d wh o s o e ve r r e j e c ts a l l t h a t i s wo r s h i p p e d b e s i d e s All a a h a n d b e l ie ve s i nAl la a h h a s h e ld o n t o t h e m o s t t r u s t w o r t h y h a n d h o l d ' (2:256) Clarifying the negationwith his words, 'whosoever rejects all that is worshipped besides Allaah' and the affirmationwith His words, 'and believes in Allaah'. And for example His sayings,

'An d w h e n Ab r a h a m s a id t o h is fa t h e r a n d h i s p e o p le : In d e e d I a m fr e eo f wh a t yo u wo r s h i p e xc e p t He wh o c r e a t e d m e ' (43:26-27)'An d W e d i d n o t s e n d a Me s s e n ge r b e fo r e y o u e x ce p t t h a t We r e ve a l e dt o h i m : t h a t t h e r e i s n o n e w o r t h y o f w o r s h ip b u t M e , s o w o r s h i pMe ' (21:25)'As k t h o s e o f Ou r Me s s e n g e r s wh o m We s e n t b e fo r e y o u : Did W e e ve ra p p o i n t g o d s t o b e wo r s h i p p e d b e s id e s Al la a h ' (43:45) And other verses.

The saying of the Exalted,'You Alon e we a sk fo r h e lp ' : meaning that we do not seek aidfrom anyone but You because the command / affair in it's totality is under Your control Alone,no one else has even an atoms weight of control over it. And in this statement's following His

saying, 'You Alone we worship ' lies an indication that it is not permissible to put our trust inanyone except the One that deserves worship because no one else has control over thecommand / affair. This meaning which is indicated here is clearly explained in other verses,like His sayings,

'S o w o r s h i p H i m a n d p u t yo u r t r u s t in H im ' (12:123)'Bu t i f the y tu r n a way , say: Al laah i s su f ficien t fo r m e , non e h as th e r igh tt o b e w o r s h i p p e d b u t H i m , in H i m I p u t m y t r u s t ' (9:129)' Th e L o r d o f th e E a s t a n d t h e W e s t , n o n e d e s e r v e s to b e wo r s h i p p e d b u t

Hi m , so t a k e H i m a s t h e Di s p o s e r o f yo u r a f fa i r s ' (73:9)' Sa y : H e i s t h e Mo s t B e n e f ic e n t , we h a v e b e li ev ed i n H im a n d p u t o u rt r u s t in H i m ' (67:29)

The saying of the Exalted,' t h e p a t h o f t h o s e wh o m Yo u h a v e fa v o u r e d ' : there is noexplanation here as to who are the ones that have been favoured, but this is explained inanother place with His saying,

'An d wh o s o e ve r o b e ys Al la a h a n d t h e Me s s e n g e r t h e n t h e y wil l b e i n t h ec o m p a n y of t h o s e t h a t Al la a h h a s fa v o u r e d : o f t h e P r o p h e t s , t h e

Tr u t h f u l On e s ( S id d e e q ) , t h e Ma r t yr s a n d t h e R i gh t e o u s - wh a t a nexce l len t com pa ny!' (4:69).

Addendum 1: the correctness of the khaleefate of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (RA) can be derivedfrom this noble verse because he is included amongst those that Allaah has commanded us, inthe Great Qur'aan and the Seven Oft-Repeated Verses - I mean al-Faatihah, to ask Him that Heguide us to their path thus indicating that their path is the Straight Path.This lies in His saying,' gu i d e u s t o t h e S t r a i gh t P a t h , t h e P a t h o f t h o s e wh o m Yo u


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h a v e fa v ou r e d ' and He explained who these favoured people were and included amongstthem the Siddeeqeen. And he (SAW) explained that Abu Bakr (RA) was from amongst theSiddeeqeen, so it becomes clear that he is included amongst those that Allaah has favoured -those that Allaah has commanded us to ask Him to guide us to their path. So there remains nodoubt that Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq was upon the Straight Path and that his khilaafate was correct.Addendum 2: you have come to know that the Siddeeqeen are from those that Allaah hasfavoured. And Allaah has made clear that Maryam the daughter of Imraan was a Siddeeqa inHis saying,' a n d H is m o t h e r w a s a S id d e e q a ' (5:75). So is Maryam included in His saying,' t h o s e wh o m yo u h a ve fa v o u r e d ' or not? The answer: whether or not she is includedamongst them is dependent upon a foundational principle which has a well known dispute overit. This is - does the sound masculine plural and it's likes which occurs in the Qur'aan and theSunnah include the feminine gender in all cases or only in those cases for which there is aspecific evidence?A group of scholars took to the opinion that it does - so according to them Maryam is includedin the above verse. And these scholars depended upon two proofs:1. The consensus of the people of the Arabic Language that the masculine gender takesprevalence over the feminine.{4}2. There a number of verses which prove that the females are included in the sound masculineplural, like His saying concerning Maryam herself, ' s h e t e s t ifi e d t o th e t r u t h o f t h e W o r d so f h e r L o r d a n d H is B o o k s , a n d s h e wa s o f t h o s e o b e d i e n t t o Alla a h ( Qa a n i t e e n - as o u n d m a s cu l in e p lu r a l) ' (66:12), and His saying concerning the wife of al-Azeez, 'OYus uf ! Tur n a way fr om th i s ! (O Wom an !) Ask fo rg iven ess fo r your s in , ind eedyo u r we r e o f t h e s i n f u l ( Kh a a t i 'e e n - a s o u n d m a s c u l in e p l u r a l ) ' (12:29), and Hissaying concerning Bilqees, 'An d t h a t wh i c h s h e u s e d t o wo r s h ip b e s i d e s All a a h h a sp r e ve n t e d h e r ( fr o m I s la a m ) , fo r s h e wa s o f a d i s b e lie vi n g p e o p le ( Qa wm

Ka a f i r e e n ) ' (27:43) , and His say ing , 'We sa id : ge t down ( ihb i too) a l l of you f romt h i s '(2:38) and this includes Hawaa by consensus. And the majority of scholars took to theopinion that the females are not included in the sound masculine plural unless there is aspecific evidence, and they depended upon a number of verses like His saying,' in d e e d t h em a l e Mu s li m s a n d t h e f e m a l e Mu s l im s , t h e m a l e b e l ie ve r s a n d t h e f e m a leb e l ie ve r s . Al la a h h a s p r e p a r e d f o r t h e m a f o r g iv en e s s a n d a g r e a t r e w a r d ' , and Hissaying, ' Te l l t h e b e li e vin g m e n t o l o we r t h e i r g a z e a n d p r o t e ct t h e i r p r i va t e p a r t s .Th a t i s p u r e r f or t h e m ' (24:30) following this with, ' a n d t e ll t h e b e l ie vi n g wo m e n t ol owe r t h e i r g a z e a n d p r o t e ct t h e i r p r i va t e p a r t s ' (24:31). So their following the mentionof the men indicates that they are not included amongst them. And they replied to theproponents of the first opinion by saying that the fact that the masculine gender takes

prevalence over the feminine is not a matter of dispute. What is disputed is whether themasculine plural includes the females in every case. And they replied to the verses (the firstgroup) used by saying that it is known by the context of these verses and the meaning of thewordings that the females are included in the male plural - and that their inclusion in the maleplural in the case of their being an evidence that they are included is not contended.So according to this opinion Maryam is not included in the verse.And this difference of opinion was pointed out in 'Maraaqee as-Sa'ud' with his saying:


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'There is nothing untoward in including the feminine (amongst the masculine gender) For thisis a matter in which the Muslims have differed' The saying of the Exalted, 'n o t t h e P a t h o f t h o s e w h o h a ve e a r n e d Yo u r An g e r , n o r o f t h o s e t h a t w e n t a s t r a y ': the majority of the scholars of tafseer said that ' t h o s e wh o h a vee a r n e d Yo u r An g e r ' are the Jews, and' t h o s e t h a t we n t a s t r a y ' are the Christians, andtheir is the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) reported from Adee bin Haatim (RA)concerning this{5}. And the Jews and the Christians even though both of them are misguidedand both of them have Allaah's Anger on them - the Anger is specified to the Jews, even thoughthe Christians share this with them, because the Jews knew the truth and rejected it anddeliberately came with falsehood, so the Anger (of Allaah being upon them) was the descriptionmost befitting them. And the Christians were ignorant, not knowing the truth, so misguidancewas the description most befitting them.So with this the saying of Allaah, 's o t h e y h a ve d r a w n o n t h e m s e lve s a n g e r u p o na n g e r ' (2:90) clarifies that the Jews are those that' h a v e e a r n e d y o u r An g e r ' . And likewiseHis sayings,

' Sa y : s h a ll I i n f or m yo u o f s o m e t h i n g wo r s e t h a n t h a t , r e g a r d in g t h er e c o m p e n s e fr o m Alla a h : t h o s e ( J e w s ) w h o i n c u r r e d t h e Cu r s e o f Al la a h a n d H i s An g e r ' (5:60)" In d e e d t h o s e wh o t o o k t h e c a l f ( fo r w o r s h i p ) , a n g e r fr o m t h e i r L o r da n d h u m i li a ti on w ill co m e u p o n t h e m ' (7:152).

And the saying of Allaah,'An d d o n o t fo l lo w t h e v a in d e s i r e s o f p e o p l e ( i. e . th e Ch r i st i a n s ) wh owe n t a s t r a y i n t im e s go n e b y , a n d m i sl ed m a n y, a n d h a v e t h e m s e lve s

s t r a ye d f r o m t h e S t r a i gh t P a t h ' (5:77)Clarifies that it is the Christians who are astray.

FOOTNOTES:{1} Ibn al-Jawzee includes this hadeeth in his 'Mawdoo'aat' (1/204) saying, "it's (chain of narration) containsIsmaa'eel bin Ayaash who was declared to be da'eef by an-Nasaa'ee. It also contains Ismaa'eel bin Yahya about

whom ad-Daaruqutnee said: a liar, abandoned." It also contains Atiyyah bin Sa'd who is a Mudallis, a Shee'ee,truthful but has many mistakes. [the footnotes of Muqbil bin Haadee to ibn Katheer (1/37 fn.1){2} This is because the Throne of Allaah is far greater than the expanse of the Heavens and the Earth, and Allaahis Above the Throne. So His mentioning His Name of ar-Rahmaan with respect to the Throne is implying that theeffects of this name are true for the whole of creation - Muslim or non-Muslim. {3} Al-Haakim declared this to be saheeh in 'al-Mustadrak' (1/515) and adh-Dhahabee followed this up saying, "al-Hakm (one of the narrators) is not trustworthy." Al-Haafidh al-Mundhiree said in 'at-Targheeb wa at-Tarheeb' (2/616), "reported by al-Bazzaar, al-Haakim, al-Asbahaanee all via the route of al-Hakm bin Abdullaahal-Aylee and al-Haakim said, 'saheeh chain of narration'. How can this be when al-Hakm is abandoned andaccused." [Ibid. 1/43 fn.1]


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{4} For example a mixed gathering of males and females would be referred to by using the male plural not thefemale plural even if their be more females than males. {5} The hadeeth is: Adee bin Haatim said, "I asked the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) about Allaah's saying about,'those who have earned Your Anger', and He said: it refers to the Jews. And I asked about, 'those who have goneastray' and he said: the Christians are those that have gone astray." Reported by at-Tirmidhee and Ahmad and it issaheeh.

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