Surat Al Fatiha: verses 2 and 3

Surat Al Fatiha is really one of the most unique surahs in the entire Quran. We recite it in each and every rakah, of each and every Salah, every day of our lives. Think about how many times you are reciting this surah, per day, per week, per year per lifetime! Subhanallah, nothing in this dunya can come close to this. No song, document, hymn, nothing can come close to the amazing, majestic words of Allah. So let us try to know the meaning of Surat Al Fatiha, its general meaning as well as its deeper meaning. And just like any other Islamic topics, try to study more. Make a plan whereby you sit down and study more about Surat Al Fatiha and not just rely on the few khutba sessions we have. 

The second verse of Surat Al Fatiha is: ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ which can be translated as, “All praise is for Allah, The Lord of all the worlds. Now the word ‘hamd’ combines the words praise and gratitude. What is the difference between praise and gratitude? When you see a nice car and you say, ‘Wow! That is an amazing car’, you are praising the car. However, when someone does you a favour and you say, ‘Thank you very much,” here, you are showing gratitude. So when we say Alhamdulillah, we are praising Allah, as well as showing gratitude to Allah. So ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ Allah has made us Muslims. ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ for Islam and the Quran.  ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, Allah has given us a roof over our head, ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, Allah has given a strong healthy body. Whenever we are going through a problem in our life, when we feel down or upset, the first we should say is ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. Sometimes we find it hard to appreciate the favours and blessings of Allah during challenging times. However, the moment we start having a positive attitude and say لْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ and move forward then we will see the fruits of ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ in our lives. 

After ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, it is رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ  .رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ means, ‘Lord of all the worlds’. So Allah is the Lord of all the worlds. Now the deeper meaning of رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ is that Allah is the Lord and Master of everything that exist. Moreover, anything and everything that exists is a slave of Allah. So the tree is a slave of Allah, the big Sun is a slave of Allah, the angels, jinn and humans are the salves of Allah. The whole universe and the things outside it are all slaves of Allah. As the Lord and Master of everything, it is Allah who is looking after everything. Subhanallah, isn’t that amazing! Allah is looking after that small ant in the darkest of places, simultaneously Allah is looking after the big planets and the whole universe. So ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ means, all praise and gratitude belong to Allah, the Lord and Sustainer of everything that exists. So the next time we are going through difficulty and are stuck then remember Allah is the رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ and He can make a way out. We just need to constantly ask Allah and He will respond in the best way. 

The verse after ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ is ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ .ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ which is translated as, “The Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.” [1:3]

Although both these words are related as mercy, they have slightly different meanings. The word Ar-Rahman means extremely or highly merciful, but for a given period, and it can be taken away at any time. On the other hand, Ar-Raheem means permanently merciful. So Allah is Ar-Rahman to all His creation, Muslim and non-Muslim. If you do good, whether you’re a Muslim or non-Muslim, out of Allah’s rahma, Allah allows good things to happen and averts bad things from happening. However, Allah is Ar-Raheem, permanently merciful to the Muslims because we are the true obedient servants of Allah. We believe in Him and follow His commands. 

So Allah is Ar-Rahman, extremely merciful, and Allah is Ar-Raheem, His mercy is permanent. Allah is taking care of the current situation and also the future. So next time we are stuck and are in need of Allah’s Mercy, we should lift our hands and says, Oh Allah, you are the Rahman and you are the Raheem, please give me the strength to come out from this difficulty. Oh Allah, please increase your mercy on my family parents. Oh Allah, you are Ar Rahman, please shower your mercy on all those who are in challenging situations. 

Just to summarise, ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ means, “All praise is for Allah, The Lord of all the worlds. ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ means, “The Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.”

In conclusion, now that we know the meaning of verses two and three of Surat Al Fatiha, we should literally live these verses. So whenever we find ourselves in good or challenging situations, we should say ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ and say Oh Allah, Oh Ar-Rahman, we rely on Your mercy to take care of our needs, shower Your mercy on us and help us find a way out of every difficulty. 

We ask Allah for his mercy in the hereafter and in this dunya. We ask Allah to give us the ability to appreciate and reflect on the beauty of the Quran. Ameen.