In The Name of Allah, The Infinitely Compassionate and The Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds
The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful
The ruler of the Day of Reckoning
You alone do we worship
and You alone do we ask for help
Guide us on the straight path
the path of those who have received your grace
not the path of those who have brought down wrath
nor of those who wander astray.
Assalam.
This morning I just felt like sharing the translation of this surah, this very first surah in the Holy Quran hence the name Al-Fatihah, or The Opener. The name itself has shown how beautiful our Holy book is, that no other beings can create the same or anything similar to It.
This surah also is the one we recite at least seventeen times everyday, in our prayers. Now here comes the big question, do we recite them for the sake of completing our prayers, or do we UNDERSTAND and FEEL each and every ayaah when we present ourselves to our Creator? Haaaa... Well, this is more of a question to myself actually. Honestly, I'm not sure myself if I ever encounter the feeling of loss within prayers, being too grossly involved in my conversation with Him, yes I admit that. But it IS what I aim to have everytime I pray, just that my dunyaa temptation is too.. tempting.
I realized how compelling this surah is that it actually greets us before the other surahs do. I especially feel its greatness last weekend, when Br Yusha Evans talked about it in the event Being Me in Putrajaya (finally get to hear his talk live). This is the very surah (and a few ayaahs coming after), with its powerfulness that moved him, that made him chose Islam when he was searching for the true religion. That no other religion book can ever be compared to our Holy Quran - truthful and complete.
Then this struck me - how ignorant I was that I actually did not 'feel' this surah (and other surahs) and its translation when I recite it astaghfirullah.. The very surah that I read thousands times of my life, I failed to grasp it, such a waste. I was taking advantage of the fact that I was born a Muslim and took things easily.
Living overseas for 3 years actually did me good alhamdulillah - I got to open my eyes to everything real. Now, I'm striving to be a better person inside out, and a better Muslim inshaAllah. And I tell you, there's always time for self evaluation and think for a while, have I been a good Muslim so far? :)
Assalam
