Exegesis of Surat al-Fatihah, verses (4-7), and other selected verses, and the lessons 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 thirteenth session of the Open Door, which takes place every Thursday, and this is the twenty-ninth Thursday of the month of Rajab in the year 1416.
We begin this session by completing Surat al-Fatihah, where we discussed three of its verses, namely the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: .
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: The two phrases contain exclusivity. The meaning of: is: we do not worship except You, and we do not seek help except from You. The method of exclusivity is that the object is brought forward, whereas its proper place is to be delayed. Whenever what is properly delayed is brought forward, it signifies exclusivity. This is the case in the Arabic language, as stated by the scholars of rhetoric and grammar.
So what is the meaning of worship, about which Allah said: ? Worship is the humbling of oneself to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and submission to Him by obeying His commands, avoiding His prohibitions, believing His news, magnifying Him, loving Him, and so on from the types of worship. The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Worship is a comprehensive name for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, of words and deeds, apparent and hidden".
So ritual purity is worship, and prayer is worship, and voluntary charity is worship, and the obligatory alms is worship, and fasting is worship, and the major pilgrimage is worship, and a vow is worship, and reliance upon Allah—which is absolute entrustment—is worship, and so on from the types of worship mentioned by the scholars. The worshipping person feels that he is a slave to his Master and his God. When he is commanded, he says: We hear and we obey.
And from the perfection of servitude is: love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah. Indeed, this is the strongest bond of faith: that you love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah, and show loyalty for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah. So whoever is among the righteous servants of Allah, he is your beloved in any place on earth, and in any time of the times. Even those who believed in Moses from the Children of Israel, and those who believed in Jesus from the Children of Israel, are our beloveds and our brothers.
That is to say: do not think that the beloved or the brother, and whoever is from this Ummah, everyone who is a Muslim in any time and in any place, is our brother. Because this is the requirement of worship: love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah, and loyalty for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. This is from the perfection of worship.
From the perfection of worship is: when Allah commands something, you say: We hear and we obey. Some people now, if you say: Allah commanded such and such, or the Messenger commanded such and such, they say: Is the command for obligation or for recommendation? Glory be to Allah! Did the Companions inquire like this when Allah commanded them something, or the Messenger commanded them something? They would say: Is it for recommendation or for obligation? No, they would say: We hear and we obey.
Yes, if a person falls into disobedience, then at that time this question is directed: Is this obligatory, and does it require a ransom payment or an expiation or something similar? If Allah and His Messenger prohibit something, do you say: Is the prohibition for dislike or for prohibition? Glory be to Allah! If something is prohibited, say: We hear and we obey, and avoid it.
Therefore, no one can bring a single letter from the Companions that when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded them something, they said: Are you commanding us by way of obligation or by way of recommendation? If he prohibited something from them, did they say: Are you prohibiting us by way of prohibition or by way of disliking? Never. Yes, if something occurred that necessitated inquiry, they inquired.
For example: the case of Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her). When she was freed and her husband was a slave, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: And her husband was Mughith, who loved her intensely, and she disliked him intensely. So he would walk behind her in the markets of Medina, asking her to return and to change her opinion, but she refused. So Mughith asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to intercede for him, so he interceded for him, hoping he would return to her. She said: .
Likewise, if the context indicates that the command is not for obligation, such as the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah: Sell me the camel So he bargained with him until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) bought it. The point is that the Companions could not say regarding the legal command: O Messenger of Allah, is it a command of recommendation or a command of obligation?
So from the perfection of worship is that when you hear the command of Allah and His Messenger, you do not hesitate. Do not say: Is it for obligation or for recommendation? Say: We hear and we obey, and do it, and you will be rewarded. Likewise, when you hear the prohibition, do not hesitate. Do not say: Is it for prohibition, so I must avoid it, or for dislike, so I avoid it out of reverence? Say: We hear and we obey. But I told you now: except if a person falls into disobedience, then at that time he asks: Is it obligatory or forbidden, in order to make up for what he missed? The point is that from the perfection of worship is complete compliance, by doing the commands and avoiding the prohibitions.
The meaning of "we seek help" is: we ask for help from Allah. Seeking help takes place in two ways: The first way: seeking help in worship, meaning: that the person entrusts his affair to Allah, and knows that he has no ability for anything except with the help of Allah. Did you understand, my brother? I did not understand? This attendee is not attending with his heart and his body.
Seeking help is of two types:
Seeking help in worship is that the person entrusts his affair to the one he seeks help from, with complete entrustment, and knows that he has no power for this thing except with the help of the one he sought help from. This is only for Allah.
Seeking help with a matter that the helper is able to do, and the person does not see that he entrusts his affair to this one he sought help from, but sees that it is from the door of assistance. This is permissible. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He helped him, so he affirmed the assistance of the created for the created.
What is the meaning of seeking help here? The seeking help that is only suitable for Allah, or the one that is suitable for Allah and the created? The first is intended: the seeking help that contains absolute entrustment, and that the seeker has no ability for anything except with help. This seeking help is from Him, and this is only for Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Guidance can mean indication, and it can mean success. So which of the two meanings does the supplicant intend here: guidance of success or guidance of indication, or both?
The student: Both.

The Shaykh : Both. He intends guidance of indication, meaning: knowledge. Guidance of success, meaning: adhering to the straight path. And it is known that a person cannot adhere to the straight path except with knowledge. How can he worship Allah in ignorance? It is not possible. He must be guided by Allah: He indicates to him first, then He grants him success second.
The saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: addresses the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). What is the meaning of guidance here? Guidance of indication, direction, and explanation. And His saying: is guidance of success. Meaning: you cannot ever grant anyone success to guidance. No one can do that except Allah alone. His saying, the Exalted: is guidance of indication. Allah indicated to them the truth, and their Messenger explained to them the truth, but they: preferred blindness over guidance .
The point is that guidance is of two types: guidance of indication, and guidance of success.
Guidance of indication is by knowledge. Guidance of success is by walking on the straight path.
And the saying of the one praying or the supplicant with this noble verse: means: guidance of what? Indication and success. So this supplication includes knowledge of the truth, and action according to the truth.
And His saying: The scholars of language say: the word "Sirat" is not used for a path unless it is wide. As for the narrow path, it is not a Sirat. The aspect of this in meaning is: that Sirat, Zarat, and Sarat all indicate width and ease of passage. It is said: The man Zarat the mouthful.
Meaning: he swallowed it quickly and easily. Here, the Sirat means: the wide path by which the person proceeds without fatigue or hardship.
But the Sirat may be inclined, and it may have highs and lows. Therefore, he said: meaning: the one in which there is no crookedness, and there is no low or high in it. Because the crooked path hinders.
For example: if the distance between you and the town in a straight line is twenty kilometers, the distance between you and it in a curved line might be thirty kilometers or more, depending on the degree of curvature. The same applies to depressions and elevations; if the road is level, you reach your destination quickly, but if it goes up and down, the road becomes longer for you. Therefore, the straight path is the level, moderate one, which excludes the curved path and the one with depressions and elevations.
So what is meant by the straight path here: is it the physical straight path or the spiritual one? It is the spiritual one, not the physical one. As for the statement of Musa (peace be upon him): , the meaning there is the physical one, for this reason Allah the Exalted guided him to the even path. But here, the path is the spiritual one, and the spiritual path is defined by His saying: , meaning: You bestowed upon them the complete blessing, which includes the blessing of religion and worldly life. Who are these people? Allah the Exalted said: . There are four categories of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, and they are in these ranks: The first: He said: . The prophets here include the messengers, because a messenger is a prophet, and the messengers are a higher rank than the prophets, and the resolute ones (awli al-'azm) are a higher rank than the other messengers, and Muhammad is the highest rank among the resolute ones.
Therefore, the prophets include the messengers in their ranks; yes, the messengers are higher than the prophets, the resolute ones are higher than the remaining messengers, and Muhammad is the highest rank among the resolute ones.
Do you keep these masters in mind when you read this verse? Do you keep them in mind? Answer honestly?
The student: Sometimes.

The Shaykh : Sometimes and sometimes, but it is necessary that you have the remembrance of these masters in your heart.
Now, the sincere friends (al-Siddiqun). The sincere friends are those who reached the peak of truthfulness in believing in what Allah revealed to His Messenger, and they acted upon it. At their head is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him).
The student: ...

The Shaykh : At the head of the sincere friends is the sincere one, Abu Bakr. How do we know that he is at the head of the sincere friends? Because there were companions and supporters of the previous messengers. So how do we know that Abu Bakr is the best of them? We know this because this nation is the best of nations: , and the best of this nation is Abu Bakr, by the consensus of the Companions. The Companions used to say during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . Even Ali ibn Abi Talib used to declare from the pulpit of Kufa, after he had become the caliph: "The best of this nation after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar". And by this we know the lie of the Rafidah who claimed that Abu Bakr was not a caliph and that he was an oppressor, an oppressor of Ali, because Ali is the caliph in their view. It is asked: Why did not Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), when he was caliph, declare that he was oppressed? Rather, he declared that what happened was justice? Because he approved and acknowledged that the best of this nation is Abu Bakr. This is an acknowledgment of his virtue and his right to the caliphate, because only the best and the best of the people are appointed over them.
In any case: we say that the second category or the second rank of creation are the sincere friends.
The martyrs. The martyrs include the martyrs of the battlefield, who are those who were killed in the cause of Allah. And who is the one who was killed in the cause of Allah? It is the one who fought so that the word of Allah would be the highest, specifically. So whoever fought for nationalism is a loser, and whoever fought for patriotism is a loser, and whoever fought to be seen is a loser, and whoever fought for showing off is a loser. The fighter who, if he is killed, is a martyr is the one who fought for this purpose, so that the word of Allah would be the highest. This is the fighter in the cause of Allah, and he is the martyr. And , meaning: these are not in the cause of Allah. For this reason, it came in the hadith: , meaning: there is no one who is wounded in jihad . This phrase is important, meaning: not everyone who is killed in jihad is a martyr with Allah. He may be a martyr in our opinion, but he is not a martyr with Allah, because he said: .
The martyrs also include the people of knowledge, for the scholars are among the martyrs. Allah the Exalted said: . But who are the people of knowledge who are among the martyrs? They are the people of knowledge who seek knowledge for the sake of Allah, and who, when the truth becomes clear to them, follow it, and who do not deviate from the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. It is not the scholar who is merely a reader. For this reason, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "How will it be with you when your readers increase and your jurists decrease?", meaning: if we found a person who is an ocean in knowledge, if you came to him for tafsir, he would be an ocean, in hadith an ocean, in fiqh an ocean, in every discipline he is an ocean, but he does not act upon his knowledge, and does not follow the way of the Salaf, then he is not among the people of knowledge. Allah the Exalted says about the hypocrites: . Why do they listen? Because of eloquence and clarity, and they are in an appearance that pleases them, but there is no good in them: .
So the result is that the martyrs include two groups of people: The first: those who were killed in the cause of Allah.
And the second: the scholars, the true scholars.
And the righteous: they are the last rank, and they are the general Muslims and believers. So you ask Allah to guide you to the straight path, the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, from the prophets, the sincere friends, the martyrs, and the righteous. And these are united by one meaning: which is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it. All these four categories are united by one thing, which is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it.
He said: . These are two categories that are contrary to those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor.
We said: those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, we said that they are united by one thing, which is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it. These two categories, namely: , are the opposite of that. So those upon whom is the anger, they knew the truth but did not act upon it, and at their head are the Jews, who knew the truth but did not act upon it. And the astray are those who did not know the truth, meaning: they worshipped Allah in ignorance. And at their head are the Christians before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). But after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the Christians and the Jews are the same, because they knew the truth but did not act upon it. Just as the Jews knew the truth of the prophethood of Isa but did not follow him, so the Christians knew the truth of the message of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) but did not follow him. Therefore, there is no difference between them and the Jews, so all of them after the sending of the Messenger are those upon whom is the anger.
And here it is asked: Why did he say: , while he said: ? Because the blessing is from Allah, and the anger can be from Allah and from others. So if Allah is angry with someone, all those who believe in Allah are angry with him. For this reason, the Jews are those upon whom is the anger from Allah, and from the messengers, and from the sincere friends, the martyrs, and the righteous.
We ask Allah to guide us and you to His straight path, the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, from the prophets, the sincere friends, the martyrs, and the righteous.
Now to the questions. We start from the right, and the guest is given precedence over the host.