F I R
Five Initial Revelations Of Qur'an
Pehli Paanch Wahi
Period of fifth Revelation
•It is one of the very earliest
Revelations to the Holy Prophet. As a matter of fact, we learn from authentic
Traditions that it was the first complete Surah which was revealed to Muhammad
(Allah's peace be upon him). Before this, only a few miscellaneous verses were
revealed which form parts of `ALAQ, QALAM, MUZ-ZAMMIL, MUD-DATH-THIR.
Theme of fifth Revelation
•This
Surah is in fact a prayer which Allah Almighty has taught to all those who want to make
a study of His book. It has been placed at the very beginning of the book to
teach this lesson to the reader: if you sincerely want to benefit from the
Quran, you should offer this prayer to the Lord of the Universe.
•This
preface is meant to create a strong desire in the heart of the reader to seek
guidance from the Lord of the Universe, Who alone can grant it. Thus AL-FATIHAH
indirectly teaches that the best thing for a man is to pray for guidance to the
straight path, to study the Quran with the mental attitude of a
seeker-after-truth and to recognize the fact that the Lord of the Universe is
the source of all knowledge. He should, therefore, begin the study of the Quran
with a prayer to him for guidance.
•From
this theme, it becomes clear that the real relation between AL-FATIHAH and the
Quran is not that of an introduction to a book but that of a prayer and its
answer. AL-FATIHAH is the prayer from the servant and the Quran is the answer
from the Master to his prayer. The servant prays to Allah to show him guidance
and the Master, places the whole of the Quran before him in answer to his
prayer, as if to say, "This is the Guidance you begged from Me."
