The Qur'an - Al-Fatihah: The Opening

This opening chapter is, according to the commentary, the very summation of the whole of Islam. It is only seven verses but amusingly results in four full pages of text in the notes. Since it is that important, I will quote the seven lines here:

1 Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,
2 The Beneficent, the Merciful,
3 Master of the day of Requital.
4 Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.
5 Guide us on the right path,
6 The path of those upon whom Thou has bestowed favours,
7 Not those upon whom wrath is brought down, nor those who go astray.

Verse 1: From the notes, the description of Allah as ‘Lord’ is not in the sense that we would use it. Instead it indicates Allah as one who nourishes his people until they attain perfection. This seems to parallel the ‘shepherd’ image sometimes used for Jesus. By ‘worlds’ we appear to mean the nations or people of the world (not just the Muslims.)

Verse 3: The word here translated as ‘day’ is actually one that refers to any indefinite period of time. The author indicates this is indicative of the ongoing judgment of man, punishment of evil and reward of goodness that goes on around us all the time. The Requital seems to parallel closely the ‘Judgment Day’ of Christian religion.

Verse 4: Through humility and obedience to God, the followers will receive divine assistance in their daily lives.

Verse 6: Later we are apparently told who has favors bestowed upon them: the prophets themselves, the righteous, the truthful and the faithful. It is my hope that these groups are actually defined more specifically later.

Verse 7: Don’t screw up or you may still go to hell. The notes here are revealing. Among those who ‘go astray’ are the Jews and the Christians: the Jews because they refuse to believe in Jesus as a prophet and the Christians because they elevate a prophet to the status of God. Muslims are warned to tread the middle path and do good works as well as keeping the doctrine free of any corruption.

The summary seems simple and familiar: I am the one true god; I am merciful and good. Beware for a day of judgment will befall you and you shall reap what you have sown in life. Simple enough.