Exegesis of Surat al-Fatihah, verses (1-3), and other selected verses, and what is derived from the verses.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the one hundred and twelfth session of the Open Door sessions, which take place every Thursday, and this is the twenty-second day of the month of Rajab in the year 1416.
We begin this session by speaking about Surat al-Fatihah. It is called that because the Noble Qur'an was opened with it in writing, though it was not the first thing revealed. Rather, the first thing revealed from the Qur'an was the saying of Allah the Exalted: .
This surah is also called the Mother of the Qur'an, and it is called the Seven Repeated Verses. It has multiple names. It is called the Mother of the Qur'an because all the meanings and objectives of the Qur'an are present in this surah, even though it consists of only seven short verses. Yet all the objectives of the Qur'an are contained within it, including tawhid (the oneness of Allah), beliefs, history, the paths of people, and other matters, though they are mentioned in general terms.
The Basmala is not part of al-Fatihah; rather, it is an independent verse with which the surahs are opened, except for Surat al-Bara'ah, which is not opened with it, following the practice of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). What indicates that al-Fatihah does not include it is what is established in the authentic hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that Allah said: قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، فإذا قال: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ قال الله تعالى: حمدني عبدي، وإذا قال: الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ قال: أثنى عليّ عبدي، وإذا قال: مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ قال: مجدني عبدي، وإذا قال: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ قال: هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين ولعبدي ما سأل، فإذا قال: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ * صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ قال الله تعالى: هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل The prayer was divided between Me and My servant into two halves. So when he says: Praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah the Exalted says: My servant praised Me. And when he says: The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, He says: My servant praised Me. And when he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, He says: My servant glorified Me. And when he says: You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help, He says: This is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is what he asked. So when he says: Guide us to the straight path. The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray, Allah the Exalted says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked. So it is seven verses: the first three verses are for Allah, the last three verses are for the servant, and the fourth verse, which is the middle of the seven, is between Allah and the servant. This is also a semantic preference, because al-Fatihah begins with: and the Basmala is not part of it. The linguistic preference is that if we considered the Basmala to be part of al-Fatihah, the last verse would be long and not proportionate to the verses before it, because it would be: and this equals two verses. For this reason, the correct view is that the end of the sixth verse is the saying of Allah the Exalted: .
A person should, when he recites it, and especially in prayer, pause at every verse, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) converses with the servant in prayer: إذا قال: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ قال: حمدني عبدي When he says: Praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds, He says: My servant praised Me. as you heard in the hadith.
Allah the Exalted began this surah with praise: Praise is describing the one praised with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification. This is because describing another with perfection may be out of fear of him, awe of him, or seeking his favor, and this does not necessarily imply love and magnification. The proof is that poets come to kings and ministers and describe them with praise, but they may not have love for them or magnification of them in their hearts, but rather they are seeking favor or out of fear or the like. For this reason, such a thing is called praise (madh) and not praise (hamd). As for hamd, it must be accompanied by love and magnification. Accordingly, the praise of Allah, which I mean, is describing Him (Blessed and Exalted is He) with perfection above which there is no perfection. And the saying: the letter "al" here indicates comprehensiveness, meaning: all praises from every angle belong to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And His saying: "for Allah," the letter "lam" here indicates exclusivity and deservingness. As for its indicating exclusivity, it is because no one is praised with all praises except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And as for its indicating deservingness, it is because no one is praised with a praise that he deserves in terms of perfection except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For this reason, the scholars made the "lam" in His saying: "for Allah" for what? For exclusivity and deservingness. As for Allah, it is a proper name for the Lord of the worlds (Exalted and Majestic is He), and no other is called by it.
And "Rabb" means: the Creator, the Owner, the Manager. That is, it includes three meanings: the first meaning is the Creator, and there is no Creator except Allah. And Allah the Exalted said, rebuking the idols: And He said: .
The Owner: no one has ownership except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He is the one who owns complete, absolute, and general ownership, while the ownership of others is limited. It is limited in terms of comprehensiveness, for no one owns everything in the heavens and the earth. It is limited in terms of disposal, for no one owns the right to dispose of what he owns with exclusive ownership except according to what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has legislated. But the absolute, complete, and general ownership belongs to Allah alone.
The third is: the Manager. So the complete management belongs to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); no one manages except Him. Even the polytheists acknowledge that the one who manages affairs is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But know that Allah the Exalted does not manage anything in vain or without wisdom. Everything that Allah has decreed, destined, and managed is for a great wisdom. But some of the wisdoms we know and some we do not know, because our minds are too short and too low to encompass the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
Things from the Shari'ah come to a person and he says: How is this forbidden? For example, he says: How is it forbidden for a person to exchange a sa' of good wheat for two sa' of bad wheat when the value is the same? This may be difficult for a person to understand. And it is forbidden to give a sa' of wheat for two sa', this is forbidden in any case. A person might say: Why? We say: You are not wiser than Allah. And if it were not for the fact that great harms result from this, Allah would not have forbidden it for the servants. Because Allah wants ease for the servants and does not want hardship for them. And it is not possible that He would prevent any transaction except that there is harm in it, either apparent or expected. It is difficult for a person that Allah decrees wars, poverty, drought of the land, and drought of the sky where no rain falls. He says: What is this? And what is the benefit? This is a harm to the servants. So we say: You are not wiser than Allah. Allah the Exalted does not decree it except for a great wisdom, which you may know or may not know. For this reason, it is obligatory for us to submit to the legislative decree just as we submit to the divine decree. Everyone submits to the divine decree: even the disbelievers submit to the divine decree. But the legislative decree is not submitted to except by the believers. And it is obligatory for us to submit to both: the cosmic and the divine. If you wish, say: that we submit to the legislative decree just as we are submitting to the divine decree. The important thing is: who manages the affairs? Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
So "Rabb" includes three meanings: the first, the second, and the third is management.
And His saying: the intended meaning is everyone other than Allah. Everyone other than Allah is the worlds. And this term, which I mean "al-'alamin" (the worlds), is derived from "al-alamah" (the sign), because the entire universe is a sign from the signs of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And in every species of it, type of it, and individual of it is a sign from the signs of Allah. Everything you contemplate, you find that it points to the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) and to His wisdom and mercy. And how true is the saying of the poet:
"And in everything He has a sign *** indicating that He is One"
So who are the worlds? Everyone other than Allah. And they are called "al-'alamin" (the worlds) from "al-alamah" (the sign), because the existence of this universe and what happens in it is all a sign and indication of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And you must know the difference between "al-'alamayn" with an open "lam" and "al-'alimeen" with a kasrah on the "lam." "Al-'alamayn" we said: everything other than Allah. And "al-'alimeen" are the people of knowledge, as He said: .
This is a description of the Name of Majesty, which is called by grammarians "al-na't" (the adjective). means: the One possessing the vast, comprehensive mercy for everything. As He said: And this general mercy includes even the disbeliever. The disbeliever lives by the mercy of Allah. If Allah did not have mercy on him, he would not find food, drink, clothing, or shelter. But he lives by the mercy of Allah in these things, except that it is a mercy that does not benefit him in the Hereafter, because it is a limited mercy in this world only.
That is: the One possessing the specific mercy that reaches the one being shown mercy, and this is only for the believers, because Allah the Exalted said: For this reason, some scholars said: Ar-Rahman is general and Ar-Rahim is specific. And the mention of after He said: is evidence that this Lordship is a Lordship of mercy, not a Lordship of retribution or anger, but rather a Lordship of mercy. And everything that comes from Allah Mighty and Majestic is mercy, even the calamities that befall people are, in reality, mercy. How is it mercy? Is illness mercy? I ask you, yes, it is mercy, but one does not know that it is mercy except one who reflects and contemplates: Illness, for the believer, is a means by which Allah expiates his sins, and this is mercy, because what befalls you in this world is transient and does not remain; it must end. "The permanence of a state is impossible" It is mentioned regarding some of the female worshippers that she was afflicted in her finger and she was not affected by it, and she said: "The sweetness of its reward made me forget the bitterness of its patience" A great word: the sweetness of its reward made me forget the bitterness of its patience. So this illness that befalls you is mercy. Then, illness may be a cause for a person to return to his Lord if he was fleeing from Allah; it may be a cause for the guidance of the sinner and his return to his Lord.
I was recently informed of a person who was extravagant with himself, an open sinner, far from Allah. So his father died, and as soon as his father died and he was struck by this calamity, he returned to Allah and became upright, and he became one of the best of the young men. So look at how this calamity corrected him.
So we say: everything in the universe and what Allah decrees in the universe is the result of mercy. And the indication of this is that when Allah said: Lord of the worlds, He said what? So His Lordship is not based on might, on embarrassment, or on making things difficult for the servants, but it is based on mercy.
And in a recitation: So Malik is a noun of the active participle, and Mulk is a descriptive noun. And for the first, it is said: Mulk (with a kasrah on the lam), and for the second, it is said: Mulk (with a dammah on the lam). Meaning: the Mulk (with dammah) belongs to the Malik (the King), and the Mulk (with kasrah) belongs to the Malik (the Owner). So you say, for example: this watch is the Mulk (with kasrah) of so-and-so, and you say regarding a kingdom under a King: this kingdom is the Mulk (with dammah) of so-and-so. The Malik (King) and the Malik (Owner) are two correct canonical recitations; it is permissible for a person to read with both, but he reads with this one time and that one another time, in prayer and outside of prayer. However, it is not befitting for us to read with a recitation that differs from the Mushaf in front of the common people, because that causes fitnah (trial/discord). Indeed, that may diminish the awe of the Qur'an in the mind of the common person, or the common person may deny it in his heart or with his tongue against this one who read with a recitation he does not know. For this reason, it is befitting for students of knowledge not to read with a recitation that differs from the Mushaf that is in the hands of the people, for what we mentioned, which is that it may be a cause for the common people to belittle the Qur'an, or a cause for them to criticize this reader and say that he does not know how to read.
The important point: That is: Allah Mighty and Majestic is the One who disposes of that day; no one ever disposes of that day. If anyone could have disposed of it, He would have created for him a shade from the heat of the sun. But Allah the Exalted said: So it is He, Mighty and Majestic, who creates a shade at that time for whoever deserves it, like the seven whom Allah shades in His shade. And it came in the hadith: .
Likewise, He is the King of the Day of Judgment; no one has kingship with Him, as He the Exalted said: He answers Himself: Meaning: the kings of this world, however great their kingship, however wide and strong their authority, it vanishes from the moment the ruler dies. From the moment the ruler dies, whether he is called a Sultan, a King, or a President, that authority ceases with his death. And what is done after him, such as exalting his grave or planting flowers on it or the like, does not benefit him; he does not benefit from it at all. Why? Because he died and his kingship ceased. On the Day of Resurrection also, there is no kingship except for Allah alone, Exalted and Majestic. For this reason, He said: or .
If someone asks: What is the meaning of: the Day of Judgment? We say: The Day of Judgment means the Day of Resurrection, because it is the day in which the servants are judged, meaning: they are recompensed for their deeds. And "Deen" (Judgment) can mean recompense, as in this verse, and it can mean deed, as in His saying the Exalted: .
These are three verses, all for Allah Mighty and Majestic.
We stop at this point and will complete it, if Allah wills, in the next meeting, to begin the questions from the right, and each person has one question.