Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
January 12, 1923
Topics: Surah Al-Fatihah, Human Capacity for Change, Spiritual Progress and Decline, Danger of Complacency, Divine Perfection, Perpetual Vigilance, Prayer
After recitation of Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor-e-Anwar addressed the community:
First, I wish to announce that although I still suffer from a cough, since this condition has prolonged and it is commonly observed that coughs tend to last longer during winter, and since there has been a prolonged gap in the Quranic lessons, I intend, if Allah Almighty wills, to resume the Dars-e-Quran (Quranic lessons) after Asr prayer starting tomorrow.
Following this, I wish to draw the attention of all friends to the fact that Surah Al-Fatihah is a subject matter to which Islam has given such emphasis that perhaps no other religion has placed such emphasis on any of its teachings. Every religion and people hold certain matters as distinctive to their faith. For example, Christians place great emphasis on atonement and salvation, and consider this an extremely important and necessary teaching of their religion. Similarly, Hindus regard certain teachings as important. Islam has placed great emphasis on the Kalimah (Declaration of Faith), and has made it the foundation of faith. Yet it is remarkable that there is not as much emphasis placed on reciting the Kalimah as there is on reciting Surah Al-Fatihah.
If we exclude the optional Sunnah prayers, the command comes from Allah Almighty to recite this teaching seventeen times daily as an obligatory duty. If we add the Witr prayers, which are obligatory, the number becomes twenty-one times daily. Then if we include the Sunnah prayers as established by the Messenger of Allah (saw), the total reaches approximately thirty times daily. And if we include the maximum number of Sunnah prayers, it becomes thirty-four times. If we then add the supererogatory prayers, which are highly beloved and upon which the Quran has also placed emphasis, the total becomes forty-two times. And if we include those supererogatory prayers which the Messenger of Allah (saw) commonly used to pray, the total becomes fifty times daily.
Thus, there is a continuous grading from seven to fifty times, where one limit is obligatory, another limit is nearly obligatory (the Sunnah prayers), and then the supererogatory prayers. And there is no prayer, nor even a single Rak'ah, in which the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah is not required. Indeed, even in the funeral prayer, the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah is obligatory, although this prayer appears to be a supplication for the deceased.
What is the wisdom behind placing such great emphasis on the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah? In my view, the reason for placing such emphasis is evident from the subject matter of Surah Al-Fatihah itself. Since Surah Al-Fatihah is a summary of all the themes of the Quran, it can be said that there is no subject matter in the Quran that is not contained within it. And since the Quran fulfills all spiritual necessities and contains all those subject matters without which God cannot be attained, without which spirituality cannot be completed, without which noble character cannot be achieved, and without which civilization cannot be established, it can therefore be said that all these themes are presented in Surah Al-Fatihah.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (as), has established this, and we too, by the grace of Allah, are able to establish all subject matters from Surah Al-Fatihah on a foundational basis. If an objector were to stand and ask us to explain the ways of drawing near to God, the methods of progressing in spirituality, the ethical teachings, or the principles of establishing civilization, then we, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, can not only do this but can extract every type of spiritual matter from this Surah on a foundational basis.
Some themes are related to separate pieces and words of the text, while others are related to the arrangement of the text itself. Thus, all themes emerge from the portions of this Surah. However, the entire Surah Al-Fatihah points attention toward one particular theme, and whoever reflects upon Surah Al-Fatihah will immediately understand that it is because of this particular theme that such great emphasis has been placed on its recitation.
What is this theme? Leaving aside Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, which is the key to Surah Al-Fatihah and possesses its own independent significance, the Surah begins with Quran 1:2: "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds." All excellence and perfection belong to Allah the Almighty alone. From this, every person can understand that no being other than God possesses all excellence. Only the being of Allah is such that it contains all excellence and perfection.
Then it is explained what these excellences in Allah are, and it is said: reflect and see whether you possess these qualities. A person will understand that they do not. And since humanity is the noblest of creation, if these qualities are not found in humans, they cannot be found in any other creation. Thus, in this section, there is a mention of the perfection and uniqueness of the Divine being and that the qualities found in other things are created qualities.
Following this, it is explained that there are two types of deficiencies and weaknesses in the world. One type cannot be removed, and the other type can be removed. For example, some human weaknesses are such that they can never be remedied. Just as human beings are permitted to grow up to a certain limit—one can be up to five or six feet tall and up to a certain width—if someone were to desire to become so fat that they could curl up in four or five coils, or so tall as to equal the height of the Himalayas, this cannot happen because there is a set limit.
Similarly, if someone desires (as some people who have such a passion for food wish) to constantly eat and their stomach never becomes full, such that they consume a hundred thousand or a million units of food, this cannot happen because there is a fixed limit. In the same way, there are other deficiencies—for example, if certain body parts are cut off, they cannot grow back. If someone's nose or ear is cut off, it will not regrow. These are the types of deficiencies that cannot be removed.
However, there are also defects that can be remedied. For example, if someone becomes weak from illness, they can become strong again by taking medicine. In Quran 1:5: "You alone do we worship, and to You alone do we turn for help," it is explained that humans should examine: Do I have the capacity for progress? Yes, one's nose cannot regrow, but the point is whether a human can progress or not. In the phrase "to You alone do we turn for help," it is explained that humans do have the capacity for progress. For help is only needed when one seeks to accomplish something.
Up to this point, it has become clear that humans are bound with deficiencies and weaknesses on one hand, and on the other hand, they have the capacity to progress. Next, it is explained that what has the capacity to progress also has the capacity to decline. When change is bound to humanity, this change can be for the worse or for the better. Therefore, it is explained through Quran 1:6: "Guide us on the straight path," to continually seek virtuous change. We say: "O Allah, our being is not complete; Your being alone is complete. However, You have created our nature such that change is possible in it. This change can lead downward and it can lead upward. However, we desire that our change be good, not evil."
This is the essence of this supplication, and this is why such great emphasis has been placed upon it. Because change is possible in human nature and can occur, this supplication has been taught, explaining that since both possibilities exist for you—goodness and evil—therefore, remain constantly fearful that you do not fall into evil; rather, aim for good. And as long as this fear and this hope remain, no person can be considered truly faithful.
This is why such strong attention has been drawn toward this matter. It is explained that there exists a Perfect Being who has made it such that you can move from your position. This movement can be forward or backward, but movement is inevitable. Therefore, pray that your movement be forward, not backward. In prayer, fasting, righteousness, piety, character, and civilization—in everything—this principle is embedded: Will a human progress or regress? Will it bring destruction or success?
Therefore, a believer should pay special attention to this and should not think that they can remain stationary in their position. They must either move forward or backward. Whenever anyone has been ruined, it has been due to not understanding this theme of Surah Al-Fatihah. Because when someone thinks, "Now I am secure; there is no danger for me," that very thought becomes their first step toward ruin, when Satan grasps them and leads them into the abyss of destruction.
However, it is regrettable that those people who recite this Surah many times daily during all five prayers, when they experience spiritual visions, forget this theme and believe themselves to be secure. Such people attain great stations but die as disbelievers. They exert great efforts but cannot achieve any real results. I know of such a person who neglects prayer and is lazy in paying the prescribed charity. When someone tells them to pray and pay charity, they respond, "I have already prayed many prayers and given much charity." This person may be from outside Qadian, but some people of this sort are found here as well.
There came a time when they served diligently, but then they thought, "Now we need not do anything; we have already accomplished what was to be accomplished." Such people become a cause of trial for others and a means of faithlessness for themselves. Let such people reflect: Why has Allah Almighty placed this Surah? Why has He placed such emphasis upon it? Why does it not change in each Rak'ah? Why is it recited with such frequency day and night? It is because a human cannot remain in one state. They will either go upward or downward, and certainty in this regard can only be obtained when death comes. At that time, a person passes away, and no one has ever failed an exam after passing.
Therefore, do not think that because you served in the past, you have become a believer and now have the choice to abandon religious service. If you do so, your position will not remain where your past services brought you; instead, you will begin to descend. Because nothing except Allah the Almighty can remain in one place. If you think you have no need to progress further, remember that you cannot even remain where you have reached; instead, you will begin to fall from that level.
Therefore, do not recite this Surah idly. Rather, build your lives in accordance with it, lest you progress from being Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to becoming Abu Jahl. Do not recite this Surah carelessly. Rather, remain steadfast upon it as a skilled rider remains balanced upon a spirited horse that bucks and could cause one to fall.
May Allah the Almighty grant me and all of you the ability to remain steadfast upon the theme of this Surah and save us from the path upon which walking brings Divine displeasure. A person who stumbles and whom others admonish is closer to success than one who thinks they have received guidance while actually stumbling, because such a person has neither an advisor nor does they themselves recognize the need for guidance. Therefore, the prayer is only to Allah the Almighty that He guide such people to the correct path.
Published in Al-Fazl, January 18, 1923
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