1. SURAH AL FATIHAH

Praise and Gratitude

Allah is worthy of all praise and gratitude. The word Hamd in Alhamdulilah covers both gratitude and praise. A reminder for us that all provision that we had, currently have and will have are from Allah, the Most Generous.

Allah's Ultimate Mercy

Of all the names Allah could have used in this important Surah, He chose two names which both reflect His supreme mercy. Ar Rahman refers to Allah's ultimate mercy in general and Ar Raheem refers to Allah's ultimate mercy specifically to His creation. A reminder for us that we are in constant error and in need of Allah's mercy and also a reminder that no matter how much we have sinned, Allah will forgive us so long as we repent. His forgiveness is vast and never-ending.

Allah's Greatness and Sovereignty

We are reminded of Allah being the Lord of all creation after the mention of the Alhumdulillah and we are also reminded of Allah being the King of the Day of Judgement after the mention of Allah's two names pertaining to His Mercy. There is a beautiful and harmonious balance in this which can be seen throughout the Quran. We are reminded of Allah's gentleness because He showers favours on us and grants us mercy, and we are also reminded of Allah's strength as He is the One who rules, He is the Sovereign, the King of all and everything. In that way, he encompasses all that is great. He is Perfection.

Seek refuge and help from Allah alone

Allah is the master and Lord of all creation and therefore it is He alone whom we should seek refuge and help (through dua) and He alone whom we should worship.

Guidance to the straight path

We are asking Allah to guide us to the straight path and to not let us err. From this we must understand that we are in a lifelong challenge of obtaining and then maintaining the guidance of Allah. Our Nafs and Shaytan will try to sway us away from the right path. We need to remain focused and also continually make dua that we always remain on the straight path.