Part 6

30 * AL-FAWA'D: A Collection of Wise Sayings

existed and then He will resurrect its people after He had caused them to die, and indeed to Him will be the Resurrection.

A Precious Gem: Al-Fatihah and the Wisdom it Contains

Man’s endeavors in life arise from two main capacities: (i) a theoretical capacity of awareness, and (ii) a practical capacity of willingness to act. Therefore his complete happiness depends on both. The perfection of the theoretical capacity of awareness comes about by knowing his Creator, and His Beautiful Names and Attributes. It also lies in knowing the road that leads to Him and its obstacles, and by knowing his own self and its flaws. By means of these things, he will attain perfection of the theoretical capacity of awareness. The most knowledgeable people are those who know them best.

The perfection of the practical capacity of willingness to act, does not occur unless the rights of Allah, the Almighty are observed by the servant. The rights of Allah are fulfilled by performing one’s obligations with sincerity, honesty, advice, kindness, and acknowledging His favor upon him.

Therefore, the servant of Allah feels shy to stand before Him with the small amount of service he did for Allah, because he knows that it is far below what He deserves. He also knows that there is no way to perfect these two capacities unless Allah helps Him. So he desires to be guided to the Straight Way, to which He guides His sincere servants and helps them avoid the things that would let them stray from that Way, either by an imperfection in his capacity of awareness, or by an imperfection in his practical capacity. Going astray incurs the wrath of Allah, the Almighty.

AL-FAWA'D ; A Collection of Wise Syaings * 31

Therefore, man’s perfection and happiness cannot be compiete without these things. Sdrat Al-Fatihah has mentioned them and has arranged them perfectly.

Allah, the Almighty says,

which means, “All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exits). The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner (and Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection).” (Al-Fatihah, 1:1-4)

These Quranic verses contain the first principle, and that is to have knowledge of the Lord, Exalted be He, and to have knowledge of His Beautiful Names, Attributes and Deeds. The Names that are mentioned in this Sdrat are the bases of the Beautiful Names of Allah, the Almighty, namely Ar-Rabb and Ar-Rahman.

The Name ‘Allah’ belongs to the Divine Attributes, and the Name ‘Ar-Rabb’ belongs to His attributes of Lordship and the Name ‘Ar-Rahman’ belongs to the qualities of Benevolence and Generosity.

4D sl Lally AS Sep

which means, “You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). (Al-Fatihah, 1:5)

This Quranic verse contains the knowledge of the road that leads to Him, which is only found by worshipping Him Alone with that which He loves and prefers, and by asking His Help to worship Him properly.

And His statement, & dy pad Lyall Vaal >

which means, “Guide us to the Straight Way” (Al-Fatihah, 1:6)

This Quranic verse declares that the servant has no way to achieve happiness except by keeping on the Straight Way, and that there is no way to this straight path without the guidance of Allah. And just as he cannot worship Him, except with His Help, he cannot stand firm on the road except with His guidance.

The following Qur’anic statement, 4B odlast Gy ae Bhi 2b... >

which means, “Not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians). (Al-Fatihah, 1:7)

This Quranic verse declares that there are two ways to deviate from the Straight Way, and that one way is corruption of knowledge and belief, and the other is that concerned with the corruption of one’s intentions and actions.

Therefore, the beginning of the Sdrat speaks about mercy, the middle speaks about guidance and the end speaks about favor and blessings. The servant receives blessings according to his level of guidance, and the guidance he receives is according to the amount of mercy he receives from Allah. So the whole issue returns to His Blessings and Mercy, which are the characteristics of Lordship.

Therefore, He is Merciful and the Benefactor, and that is one of the characteristics of Divinity. He is the true God, even if the ungrateful choose to deny it and even if the polytheists treat others like they should only treat Him. So, whoever complies

AL-FAWA'ID : A Collection of Wise Syaings * 33

with the meaning of Al-Fatihah in terms of knowledge, action, and a way of life, the person will have then successfully perfected himself, and his submission will have become the same as those whose degree has been raised above the common worshippers. And it is Allan whose aid is to be implored.

A Precious Gem: Two Ways to Know Allah

Allah, the Exalted invites His servants to know Him in two ways:

The first one is: by observing His creation and pondering.

The second one is: by reflecting on His Qur’anic Verses. The first one is His signs in the universe, and the second one is the comprehension of His Verses of the Qu’ran.

The first one is illustrated in the following Qur’anic verse,

atl gk Maus 5 Sik ph ees ge g >

otge oh. Te agin fF eae 2 aie Cot. eg Le ewe 4 1a

which means, “Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayat (proofs, evidences, signs, etc.) for people of understanding.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:164)

34 * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

And the following Qur’anic verse, SW INES 5 io oh opiate gC)

which means, “Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.” (Al-‘Imran, 3:190)

There are many other verses having the same meaning.

The second is illustrated by the Quranic verse, which goes as follows:

Ae sat Gab nae wb hw a yh tag Js! D5 SoA5h S555 gly ow LE Tf OY ge Share bg >

Ba eF2F FR e ha Bt ae 0 ae e . ae # nore eae “e > ae od ABSY ayy Sele A YA Gl a bE gall ad a NT

which means, “Do they not then consider the Qur'an carefully?”

which means, “Have they not pondered over the Word (of Allah, i.e. what is sent down to the Prophet)." (Al-Mu’mimdn, 23:68)

sine AE Lee, ee et ee a ee CDMS Sissy aes dd Be at cig hees >

which means, “(This is) a Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.” (Sad,

There are many other Qur’anic verses that have the same meaning.

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Creation indicates actions, and actions indicate attributes, for the creation indicates the existence of a creator, and that requires His existence, ability, will and knowledge. It is impossible that a voluntary action proceeds from something that is nonexistent, helpless, lifeless, ignorant and having no will.

Moreover, the various characteristics in the creation prove the existence of the Creator's will, and that His action is repetitive. The elements of creation concerning _ interests, and praiseworthy purposes, indicate His wisdom. Those parts of creation, which are beneficial, and good, indicate His Mercy. In the same way, the fact that He Seizes, takes retribution and metes out punishment, indicates His Anger. The honor He bestows on His creatures, their closeness and care, indicate His Love. The fact that He banishes and abandons, indicates His Hatred and Abhorrence.

Every element of nature begins in a weak and incomplete state, then develops and grows to its complete and final state and this fact points to the reality of the Hereafter. The conditions of plants and animals, and the flow of water indicate the reality of the Hereafter. Man continually witnesses the effects of mercy and blessings upon creation and these indicate the fulfillment of prophecies. The creation of Allah is perfect to the extent that if any of its elements are removed there would be some kind of inadequacy, and this indicates that the Giver of perfection is truly deserving of praise and thanksmore than anyone or anything else.

Therefore, His creation really shows His Attributes and the truthfulness of that which His Prophets reported about Him. The creation is then evidence that confirms the verses of Qu’ran to be true and draws our attention to the signs in creation.

Allah, the Almighty said,

Soe bege oe dé

36 * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

which means, “We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their ownselves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Qur'An) is the truth.” (Fussilat, 41:53)

This simply means that the Qur'an is the truth. And He said that He will show them (the disbelievers) some of His signs that can be seen, and will make clear to them the truthfulness of His Verses (the Qur'an).

He then said that His witness is sufficient for the truthfulness of the evidence and proof that He provided concerning the authenticity of His Prophet. Therefore, His Verses are true evidence, and He is a true witness for His Prophet through His verses. So He is the Witness and the witnessed for, and He is the Evidence and the Indicated to. He is the Evidence by Himself about Himself, as some of the most knowledgeable people of Allah said, “How can | ask for the Evidence of whom is an Evidence for me over all things? If you ask for any evidence of Him, you will find that His Existence is more evident than that.” That is why the Messengers (peace be upon them) said, “What! Can there be a doubt about Allah?” (Ibrahim, 14:10) Therefore, He is more Known than all that is known and more evident than all evidence. Realistically, everything in the universe is proven to be a created object by the fact that there must be a creator, which is Allah, the Almighty; yet, and by way of deductive reasoning, He Himself is recognized through the existence of such creatures as well as through His actions and laws, which organize the course of all creatures in the universe.