Praise be to Allah (God), the lord of the worlds.
The Compassionate, The Merciful.
Lord of the judgment day.
It is you alone we serve and you alone we seek for help.
Guide us to the straight path.
The path of those you have blessed, not those who deserved your wrath, nor those gone stray.
Is it really “often repeated”?
Yes, it should be & probably is …and here is why;
Every moment is the prayer time for 5 groups of people, in the time zone that they are for their five daily contact prayers in their own time zone and as this chapter is required to be recited in every prayer, therefore these seven versus should naturally be the most often repeated seven phrases there is.
It’s importance is in being one of the two ways for guidance, according to 15:87 (note 1). Doing the good deeds in addition to believing God & resurrection that is acknowledged here, are the way of salvation in the rest of Quran.
Significance:
- This chapter is the only full chapter that every body, regardless of their religion or or prophet, is acknowledging God and after life, wishing well for all humanity, not any specific religion or sect. This is the common denominator and a platform for all.
- It’s importance in the issue of guidance, is that Quran equates opening chapter to the rest of Quran. We have given you this and the big (rest of) Quran ( 15:87, below number 1).
- The first chapter, the only chapter of 114 chapter, which in all of it, man is talking to God, the rest of 113 chapter, according to the next Ayeh, 2:2, God is talking to those willing to use self control to gain guidance.
- It has been and is undoubtedly “seven often repeated phrases”, as it’s name says in 15:87. Being the requirement for Muslims in their five contact daily prayers, makes it most repeated seven phrases (below illustration of Earth).
- It acknowledges both ideological requirements for salvation in Quran: Believing in God and after life.
- Requesting God for guidance at the end. Request is from all of us, for all of us, inclusive.
- Allah, the name of God in Arabic is praised. The only God. Christians in old Bibles used the same name too. New Western influenced evangelists are replacing Allah with other names of God in new Arabic Bibles to claim Allah is different, to claim Allah is blood thirsty and orders evil deeds. Quran insists that there is only one God, same God that Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all other prophets believed in and prayed to.
- The new name that didn’t exist before for God and is exclusively used after Quran and in this chapter is RAHMAN (beneficent, compassionate) and is used as his name as well as an adjective, both.
- It contains both attributes of God; RAHMAN: compassionate and beneficent to all, regardless, & RAHIM: who is merciful to those who do wrong, but repent.
- Being chapter one, opening, its understanding, is the key in understanding Quran.
- Following this chapter, in chapter 2, after praising God in first verse, second verse says this book, referring to the rest of the book is “without a doubt guidance for the pious”, “righteous”, “people with self control” or “mindful of God”,…. Those who are willing to give up some things, to abstain from what they naturally like, for achieving a higher goals, guidance,…, and not every one,… ( see note 2 below).
Notes:
1: وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِّنَ الْمَثَانِي وَ الْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ1: (for guidance) …And we gave you “seven repeated versus and great Quran”., Translated also as often repeated, like seconds that come one after another, or seven intermingled & related sentences, Quran 15-87
2: ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ2: Disclaimer in the first understandable sentence, pointing to the rest after first chapter, says this book is without a doubt is the guidance for the pious (righteous). 2-2 leaves no doubt that the rest is not for everybody, it is for people who want to be guided, who knowingly seek guidence and are willing to pay the price for it. Price is self contrl, obstaining from what you like to acheive higher goals.
For verification of above comments, you can research in web sites such as: www.islamawakened.com which has Quran with 42 English translations. www.parsquran.com with 4 English translations, 3 Persian translations. www.Quran.com with 6 English translation,34 other languages translations. www.equran.com leads to 3 English translation and 27 other languages. |