The recitation of the Fatiha during the Salat
By: A. Muhammad
It is customary for the believers to recite the Fatiha during the Salat. Various reasons are suggested by the scholars for doing so. The aim of this article is to analyse this matter in the light of the Quran.
The Salat is primarily a worship practice designed by God for the believers with the aim of achieving a number of objectives:
FIRST- The Salat is observed to commemorate, praise, and glorify God:
I am God, there is no god except Me. Therefore, you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate Me. 20:14
SECOND- The Salat is an expression of submission and devotion to God:
Say, "My Salat, my worship rituals, my life and my death, are all devoted to God, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. 6:162-163
THIRD- The Salat is a means for imploring God:
Implore God for His favour. Indeed, God is Knowledgeable of all things. 4:32
Your Lord said, "Implore Me and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated." 40:60
The best time to implore our Creator is when we are worshipping Him during our Salat, and in particular during the act of prostration which expresses total submission.
Thereupon, Zechariah implored his Lord: "My Lord, grant me from You good offspring. You are the Hearer of prayers." So the angels called out to him while he was standing, praying in the sanctuary: "God gives you news of John, confirming a Word from God, who will be honourable and celibate, as well as a prophet, from among the righteous." 3:38-39
The verse above about prophet Zechariah is one example for imploring God during the Salat.
FOURTH- The Salat helps the believers to stay away from immorality and evil:
Recite what is revealed to you of the Book and observe the Salat, for the Salat forbids immorality and evil. 29:45
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In order to fulfil the objectives of the Salat presented above, it is necessary to select Quranic words to recite in the Salat that achieve those objectives. The following are examples of such verses:
1- Quranic verses that commemorate, praise, and glorify God:
- He is the Supreme over His servants. He is the Wise, the All-Aware. 6:18
- Exalted is God, the true King. There is no other god except Him, the Lord of the Noble Throne. 23:116
- Praise be to God to whom belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and praise be to Him in the Hereafter. He is the Wise, the All-Aware. 34:1
2- Quranic verses that express submission to God:
- I have turned my face towards the One who initiated the heavens and the earth; a monotheist, I am not one of the mushrikeen. 6:79
- My Salat, my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted to God, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. 6:162-163
- To God prostrates all who are in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows, in the mornings and the evenings. 13:15
- God is the One I worship, devoting my religion purely to Him alone. 39:14
3- Quranic verses that can be recited to implore God:
- Our Lord, grant us something good in this world, and something good in the Hereafter, and guard us against the punishment of the Fire. 2:201
- Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excessiveness in our affairs, secure our foothold, and support us against the disbelieving people. 3:147
- Our Lord, do not deviate our hearts after You have guided us, and grant us a mercy from You. You are the Grantor. 3:8
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When we examine the words of the Fatiha, we find that they fulfill all the objectives mentioned above:
FIRST- The Fatiha commemorates and glorifies God:
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds 1:2
The Almighty, the Merciful 1:3
SECOND- The Fatiha proclaims the believers' submission to God's absolute authority, in the worldly life and in the Hereafter:
In the worldly life:
You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help 1:5
On the Day of Judgment/Hereafter:
Possessor of the Day of the Religion 1:4
THIRD- By reciting the Fatiha, the believers implore God for His guidance and His blessings:
Guide us to the straight path 1:6
The path of those whom You have blessed 1:7
FOURTH- By reciting the Fatiha, the believers pray to be guarded against God's wrath:
Not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of the misguided 1:7
The wrath of God is directed towards the disbelievers as well as those who engage in immorality and evil. It follows that a prayer to be safeguarded against God's wrath is also a prayer to be guarded against all such sins and evil.
FIFTH- The Fatiha is a unique Sura:
Besides achieving the objectives of the Salat listed above, the Fatiha is the only Sura in the Quran that is, from beginning to end, a prayer recited by the believers and addressed directly to God. Considering that the Salat is first and foremost a call out to God, the Fatiha becomes the most appropriate recitation during the Salat.
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The spiritual nourishment attained by reciting the Fatiha is immense. It can be said that the Fatiha represents the heart of the relationship between man and His Creator. Indeed, the Fatiha is an abbreviated representation of the foundations on which Islam is built. It is not surprising thus to find that God has instilled an awesome mathematical design in the Fatiha.
Mathematical design in the Fatiha
Researched by: A. Muhammad
The Fatiha is the first Sura in the Quran. The Arabic word 'Al-Fatiha' has two meanings: the 'Key' and also the 'Opener'. The Fatiha is God's gift to the believers to establish contact with Him during the daily Salat. This fact is supported by a miraculous mathematical design in the Fatiha. A design that is easy to witness yet impossible to duplicate.
Acknowledgement
Signs 1 to 6 below were discovered by Dr. Rashad Khalifa (1938-1990). Signs 7 onwards were discovered by A. Muhammad in 2002. All praise and glory to Almighty God.
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Table 1
The Fatiha verses: words, letters and
Gematrical values
|
Verse
|
Words
|
Letters
|
G. Value
|
|
1
|
4
|
19
|
786
|
|
2
|
4
|
17
|
581
|
|
3
|
2
|
12
|
618
|
|
4
|
3
|
11
|
241
|
|
5
|
4
|
19
|
836
|
|
6
|
3
|
18
|
1072
|
|
7
|
9
|
43
|
6009
|
|
Total
|
29
|
139
|
10143
|
1- Sura number (1) followed by the number of every verse in the Sura:
1 1234567 = 19 x 591293
2- Sura number (1) - followed by the number of letters in every verse:
1 19 17 12 11 19 18 43 = 19 x 6272169010097
3- Sura number - number of letters in verse - G. Value of the verse:
1 19(786) 17(581) 12(618) 11(241) 19(836) 18(1072) 43(6009) =
19 x 630453556901377953901044009530128211
4- The same long number in point 3 but with its components written backwards:
(6009)43 (1072)18 (836)19 (241)11 (618)12 (581)17 (786)19 1
= 19 x 3162858459046506275848220066216725589
5- The same long number in point 3 but with the insertion of the verse numbers:
1 1 (19 786) 2 (17 581) 3 (12 618) 4 (11 241) 5 (19 836) 6 (18 1072) 7 (43
6009) = 19 x 5893611671480592728480218525455884775128211
6- Sura number - number of verses in the Sura (7) - the first verse number (1) - the number of letters in the first verse (19) - GV of every letter in first verse. This is followed by the same data for verse 2, then verse 3 and so on until verse number 7.
The resulting number is made up of 274 digits and is also a multiple of 19.
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7- Sura number (1) - GV of the Sura (10143):
1 10143 = 19 x 5797
8- Sura (1) - verses (7) - letters (139) - GV of the Sura (10143):
1 7 139 10143 = 19 x 90205797
9- Sura (1) - verses (7) - number of words in each of the 7 verses:
1 7 4423439 = 19 x 9180181
10- Sura (1) - verses (7) - number of words in the Sura (29):
1 7 29 = 19 x 91
also, 1 + 7 + 2 + 9 = 19
11- The number of letters in each of the 7 verses in reverse order:
43 18 19 11 12 17 19 = 19 x 2272732164301
The role of the word God in the design
The frequency of the word God in the Sura plays a role in the mathematical design of the Sura. The word God appears twice in the Sura, once in verse number 1, and once in verse number 2 (total 2).
12- Sura number (1) - number of words in the Sura (29) - frequency of the word God in the Sura (2):
1 29 2 = 19 x 68
13- Sura number (1) - number of words in Sura (29) - number of letters in the Sura (139) - frequency of the word God in the Sura (2):
1 29 139 2 = 19 x 67968
14-Sura (1) - number of verses in the Sura (7)- number of words in the Sura (29) - number of letters in the Sura (139) - frequency of the word God in Sura (2):
1 7 29 139 10143 2 = 19 x 91007321128
The role of the Basmalah in the design
15- Sura number (1), Basmalah is verse (1), number of words in the Basmalah (4):
1 1 4 = 19 x 6 (Number of Suras in the Quran).
16- Sura (1), number of verses in the Sura (7), total letters in the Sura (139), Basmalah is verse (1), number of words in the Basmalah (4), number of letters in the Basmalah (19):
1 7 139 1 4 19 = 19 x 9020601
17- The total of the previous numbers:
1 + 7 + 139 + 1 + 4 + 19 = 171 = 19 x 9
18- Sura (1) + number of verses in the Sura (7) + number of words in the Basmalah (4) + the number of letters in the Basmalah (19), + the G. Value of the Basmalah (786):
1 + 7 + 4 + 19 + 786 = 817 = 19 x 43
19-Sura (1) - Number of verses in Sura (7) - Verse 1 (Basmalah) - Number of words in the Basmalah (4) - Number of letters in the Basmalah (19) - G. Value of the Basmalah (786).
1 7 1 4 19 786 = 19 x 9022094
20- Sura number (1) - Basmalah is verse (1) - Number of letters in the Basmalah (19) - Number of times the word God appears in Basmalah (1).
1 1 19 1 = 19 x 589
21- The following are the G. Values of the 19 letters of the Basmalah:
(2 60 40) (1 30 30 5) (1 30 200 8 40 50) (1 30 200 8 10 40)
If we add the single digits we get 66
The G. Value of the word Allah is 66.
The role of the Names of God used in the Fatiha
Two of God's Glorious Names appear in the Fatiha, they are Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem. The two Names also play a role in the mathematical design of the Sura.
Table 2
The data of the 2 names of God in the Fatiha
|
|
Al-Rahman
|
Al-Raheem
|
|
Letters
|
6
|
6
|
|
Frequency in Sura
|
2
|
2
|
|
Verses the Name appears in
|
1 and 3
|
1 and 3
|
|
Name position in the Sura
|
3 and 9
|
4 and 10
|
|
G. Value
|
329
|
289
|
The Name 'Al-Rahman' appears twice in the Sura, once in verse number 1, and once in verse number 3 (total 2).
The Name 'Al-Raheem' appears twice in the Sura, once in verse number 1, and once in verse number 3 (total 2).
Both Names, 'Al-Rahman' and 'Al-Raheem', have 6 letters each (total 12).
The Name Al-Rahman is the 3rd and 9th word in the Sura
The Name Al-Raheem is the 4th and 10th word in the Sura
The G. Values of the 2 Names are 329 and 289. Total = 618
The G. Values of the 2 Names are 329 and 289. Total = 618
The following calculation is identical to fact (12) above, only here we use the number of Names of God used in the Fatiha. Since it is identical, it is not given a separate fact number.
Sura number (1) - number of words in Sura (29) - number of letters in the Sura (139) - number of Names of God used (2)
1 29 139 2 = 19 x 67968
22- Sura number (1) - number of Names of God used (2) - Total of letters in the two Names (12) - number of verses where the two Names are used (2):
1 2 12 2 = 19 x 638
23- Sura number (1) - number of words in Sura (29) - number of letters in the Sura (139) - number of Names of God used (2) - G. Value of Al-Rahman (329) - G.Value of Al-Raheem (289):
1 29 139 2 329 289 = 19 x 67968017331
24- Sura number (1) - number of Names of God used (2) - number of letters in the two Names (12) - Total G. Value of the two Names (618):
1 2 12 618 = 19 x 63822
25- Sura number (1) - number of Names of God used (2) - number of letters in the two Names (12) - Number of verses where the two Names occur (2) - G. Value of Al-Rahman (329) - G. Value of Al-Raheem (289):
1 2 12 2 329 289
26- Sura number (1) - number of letters in Al-Rahman (6) - Frequency of Al-Rahman in the Sura (2) - Position of Al-Rahman in the Sura ( 3rd and 9th words) - G. Value of Al-Rahman (329) - This is followed by the same data for Al-Raheem:
1 (6 2 39 329) (6 2 410 289) = 19 x 85470155916331
27- Same as point 26 but this time we remove the individual G. Values (329 and 289) and replace with the total G. Value of the 2 Names (618):
1 (6 2 39) (6 2 410) 618 = 19 x 85471705822
28- Sura number (1) - total occurrences of the 2 Names in the Sura (4) - total letters in the 2 Names (12 - Position of Al-Rahman in the Sura ( 3rd and 9th words) - G. Value of Al-Rahman (329) - Position of Al-Raheem in the Sura ( 4th and 10th words) - G. Value of Al-Raheem (289):
1 4 12 39 329 410 289 = 19 x 7433648916331
29- Sura number (1) - total letters of the 2 Names in the Sura (24) - total occurrences of the 2 Names in the Sura (4) - positions of the 4 occurrences in the Sura (3,4,9,10) - Total G. Value of the 2 Names (618):
1 24 4 34910 618 = 19 x 6549205822
The mathematical design presented above includes all possible data that can be derived from the Fatiha. This design cannot be coincidental, nor can it be duplicated.