1- Surat Alfatihah
7 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi ellahi Al-Rahmani Al-Raheem
(1).
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Alhamdu le-llahi Rabbi al-alameen (2).
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Al-Rahmani Al-Raheem (3).
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Maliki yawmi eldeen (4).
The Sovereign of the day of Judgment.
Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta-een
(5).
You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.
You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.
Ehdena alserata almustaqeem (6).
Guide us to the straight path.
Guide us to the straight path.
Serata allazina an'amta alaiyhim ghaiyri almaghdoubi alaiyhim wa la al-ddalleen (7).
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are
astray.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Alfatihah is called the mother of the Quran, the mother of the Book, the seven Oft-repeated, and the Great Quran. Allah has named it "Alsab' Almathani: the seven Oft-repeated" in Aya (87) of Surat Alhijr because it consists of seven verses that are repeated in each rak'ah of any prayer, obligatory or supererogatory, and it has no parallel in any of the heavenly Books, where as narrated by Abu Hurayrah: "The Messenger of Allah came out to Ubayy bin Ka'b, and the Messenger of Allah said O Ubayy! And he was performing the prayer, and Ubayy turned around but he did not respond to Him, so Ubayy finished his prayer quickly, then he turned to the Messenger of Allah and said Alsalamu alaiykum: peace be upon You O Messenger of Allah! The Messenger of Allah said wa alaiykum Alslam: and peace be upon you, what prevented you from responding to Me when I called you Ubayy?, he said O Messenger of Allah I was performing the prayer, so He said Do you not find among what Allah revealed to Me Respond to Allah and to the Messenger when He calls you to what gives you life? Surat Alanfal Aya (24), He said Of course, I shall not repeat that, if Allah wills, Allah's Messenger said would you like for Me to teach you a Surah the like of which has neither been revealed in the Torah, nor the Gospel, nor the Psalms, nor in the Criterion?, he said yes O Messenger of Allah! The Messenger of Allah said What do you recite in your prayer?, he said I recite Umm Alquran (The mother of the Book: Surat Alfatihah), the Messenger of Allah said by the One in whose Hand is My soul! The like of it has neither been revealed in the Torah, nor the Gospel, nor the Psalms, nor in the Criterion. It is the seven Oft-repeated and the Great Quran which I was given" (Jami' Altirmidhi 2875).
Some have called Surat Alfatihah the prayer because it is a condition of the validity of prayer, where as narrated by Ubada bin Al-Samit that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Whoever does not recite Surat Alfatihah in his prayer, his prayer is invalid" (Sahih Albukhari 756). And as narrated by Al-Ala' bin Abdul-Rahman from his father from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Whoever performs a prayer in which he does not recite Umm Al-Quran: Alfatihah, then it is aborted, it is aborted, not complete, He said I said O Abu Hurayrah! Sometimes I am behind an Imam, he said O Ibn Alfarisi then Recite it to yourself, for indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying Allah, the Most High, says I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, half of it is for Me and half of it is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for, My servant stands and says {Alhamdu le-llahi Rabbi al-alameen: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds}, so Allah, Blessed is He and Most High says My servant has expressed his gratitude to Me, then he says {The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}, so Allah says My servant has praised Me, then he says {The Sovereign of the day of Judgment}, so He says My servant has glorified Me, and this is for Me, and between Me and My servant is {You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help} until the end of the Surah this is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asks for, he says {Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are astray}" (Jami' Altirmidhi 2953).
Surat Alfatihah is one of the two lights which have not been given to any Prophet before Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH), and one of the great favors of Allah that He has bestowed upon His Messenger (PBUH) and His Ummah is that you will never recite a letter from it for which you will not be given a reward, where as narrated by Ibn Abbas: "While Gabriel was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), He heard a creaking sound above Him, He lifted His head and said this is a gate opened in heaven today which has never been opened before, then when an Angel descended through it, He said this is an Angel who came down to the earth who has never come down before, He greeted and said Rejoice in two lights given to You which have not been given to any Prophet before you Fatihat-Alketab ''Surat Alfatihah", and the concluding verses of Surat Albaqarah, You will never recite a letter from them for which You will not be given it i.e. its reward" (Sahih Muslim 806).
Among the virtues of Surat Alfatihah is that it is a Ruqya (Spiritual healing) that helps in healing the sick, where as narrated by Abu Sa'id Alkhudri: "Some of the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) went on a journey till they reached some of the Arabs tribes, they asked them to treat them as their guests but they refused, the chief of that tribe was then bitten (by a snake or a scorpion), and they tried their best to cure him but in vain, some of them said nothing has benefited him, will you go to the people who resided here at night, it may be that some of them might possess something, so they went to them, and said our chief has been bitten and we have tried everything but he was not benefited, Have you got anything?, one of them replied yes, by Allah! I can recite a Ruqya, but as you have refused to accept us as your guests, I will not recite the Ruqya for you unless you fix for us some wages for it, they agreed to pay him a flock of sheep, one of them then went and recited {Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Surat Alfatihah}, and puffed over the chief who became all right as if he was released from a chain, and got up and started walking, showing no signs of sickness. They paid them what they agreed to pay. Some of the companions then suggested to divide their earnings among themselves, but the one who performed the Ruqya said Do not divide them till we go to the Prophet (PBUH) and narrate the whole story to Him, and wait for His order, so they went to Allah's Messenger and narrated the story. Allah's Messenger (PBUH) asked How did you come to know that it is a Ruqya i.e. Surat Alfatihah?, then He (PBUH) added you have done the right thing, Divide them and Assign a share for me as well, the Prophet (PBUH) smiled thereupon" (Sahih Albukhari 2276).
Thereupon, Surat Alfatihah must be recited in every Rak'ah of the prayer, and if the worshipper is praying in congregational prayer, he should recite it silently behind the Imam, whether the prayer is silent such as Dhuhr and Asr prayers, or aloud such as Fajr, Maghrib, and Ishaa prayers. The well-known view held by the majority of scholars is that seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan to ward off intrusive thoughts during prayer should be done before recitation the Holy Quran, for Allah says in Aya (98) of Surat Alnahl {So when You recite the Quran, seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan}.
Allah Almighty says in the first verse (1) "In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful", that is, this verse is called Al-Basmalah, and the companions of Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) began the Holy Quran with it, but the scholars differed on whether it is an independent verse at the beginning of every Surah, Or it is a part of every Surah except Surat Altawbah, or it is a part of the first verse of each Surah, or it is only a part of Surat Alfatihah and not in other Surahs, and then it was written for separation between the Surahs of the Holy Quran, not as a verse, where as narrated by Ibn Abbas: "The Prophet (PBUH) did not distinguish between the two Surahs until {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful} was revealed to Him" (Sunan Abi Dawood 788). And they agreed that it is a part of a verse from Surat Alnaml {It is from Solomon and it is in the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Aya 30}.
As for reciting Al-Basmalah aloud in the prayer, whoever does not consider it to be a verse of Surat Alfatihah, he does not recite it aloud, and whoever considers it to be a verse of Surat Alfatihah, he recites it aloud, and the scholars agreed on the validity of the prayer of one who recites Basmalah aloud, and the one who recites it silently, and it has been reported from some of the companions of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) that reciting it aloud is preferable, including Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Al-Zubair, where as narrated by Nu'man bin Almujamir: "I prayed behind Abu Hurayrah and he recited {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}, then he recited Umm Alquran: Alfatihah, and when he reached {Not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are astray}, he said Amin, and the people said Amin, and every time he prostrated, he said Allahu-Akbar: Allah is the Greatest, and when he stood up from sitting after two Rak'ahs, he said Allahu-Akbar. And after he finished the prayer with Salam, he said By the One in whose Hand is my soul! I am the one among you whose prayer most closely resembles the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon Him" (Sunan Alnasai 905).
It is likely that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) recited it aloud at times, and silently at other times, where as narrated by Anas bin Malik: "I observed prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and with Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, but I never heard any one of them reciting Besmi ellahi Al-Rahmani Al-Raheem" (Sahih Muslim 399). And as for those who do not consider the Basmalah to be a verse of Surat Alfatihah, they have divided the last verse into two verses, making {The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor} the sixth verse, and {Not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are astray} the seventh verse.
It is recommended to recite Al-Basmalah (Besmi ellahi Al-Rahmani Al-Raheem: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), at the beginning of each action such as eating, drinking, slaughtering animals, performing ablution, performing ritual purification, engaging in sexual intercourse, embarking on the sea, and other similar acts. So Mention the Name of Allah when eating and drinking, where as narrated by Umar bin Abi Salama: ''I was under the care of Allah's Messenger (PBUH), and as my hand used to roam about in the dish, He said to me O boy! Say in the Name of Allah, and Eat with your right hand, and Eat from what is near to you" (Sahih Muslim 2022). When slaughtering animals for Allah says {So Eat of that upon which the Name of Allah has been mentioned, Surat Alan'am Aya 118}, as narrated by Jundab that he witnessed the Prophet (PBUH) on the day of Nahr (Eid Al-Adha), the Prophet offered the prayer and then delivered a sermon saying: "Whoever slaughtered his sacrifice before offering prayer, Should slaughter another animal in place of the first, and whoever has not yet slaughtered any, Should slaughter a sacrifice and mention Allah's Name while doing so" (Sahih Albukhari 7400), and when engaging in sexual intercourse, where as narrated by Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "If any of you, when having sexual intercourse with his wife says besmi ellahi, Allahumma jannibni alshaiytana wa jannibi alshaiytana ma razaqtana: In the Name of Allah, O Allah! Protect us against Satan and Keep Satan away from the one that you have bestowed upon us, and if it is destined that they should have a child, then Satan will never be able to harm him" (Sahih Albukhari 5165).
And Mention the Name of Allah when embarking on the sea, for Allah says {And He said Embark therein, in the Name of Allah is its course and its anchorage, Surat Hud Aya 41}, and in case of illness, where as narrated by Uthman bin Abi Al-As Althaqafi that he complained of pain to Allah's Messenger (PBUH) that he felt in his body at the time he had become Muslim, thereupon, Allah's Messenger said: "Place your hand at the place where you feel pain in your body and Say Besmi-ellah: In the Name of Allah, three times, and seven times A'auzu be-llahi wa qudratehi min sharri ma ajeduo wa auhazir: I seek refuge in Allah and in His power from the evil that I find and that I fear" (Sahih Muslim 2202), and Mention the Name of Allah in all daily life activities, and as narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "When night falls, or when it is evening, Stop your children from going out, for the devils spread out at that time, but when an hour of the night has passed, Release them and Close the doors and Mention Allah's Name, for Satan does not open a closed door, Tie the mouth of your water-skin and Mention Allah's Name, Cover your containers and utensils and Mention Allah's Name, Cover them even by placing something across it, and extinguish your lamps" (Sahih Albukhari 5623).
When you mention the Name of Allah at the beginning of your actions, every action will happen by Allah's command and decree, and danger and evil will be averted from it, and as narrated by Abu Al-Malih on the authority of a man: "I was riding on a mount behind the Prophet (PBUH) , the mount stumbled, thereupon, I said May the devil perish! He (PBUH) said Do not say May the devil perish, for when you say that, he will swell so much so that he will be like a house, and say by my power, but Say In the Name of Allah, for when you say that, he will diminish so much so that he will be like a fly" (Sunan Abi Dawood 4982).
The Name Allah is the greatest and the most comprehensive of the Divine Names, and when the word Allah is pronounced, it refers to the Creator alone, who has no partner, and there is no difference between all human beings in understanding the meaning of the word Allah, but the difference between them is to whether they believe in Him and follow His Messengers, peace be upon them, or not, where Allah addresses His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) in Aya (87) of Surat Alzukhruf saying "And if You asked them who created them, they would say Allah, so How are they being turned away?". The name Allah, and the Name Most Gracious (Al-Rahman) have superiority over other Beautiful Names of Allah, and the names of men that attributed to these two Names are the most beloved names to Allah, where Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Ibn Umar: "The names dearest to Allah are Abdullah, and Abdul-Rahman" (Sahih Muslim 2132).
The Most Gracious and the Most Merciful are attributes of Allah Almighty, and they signify the Mercy of Allah. But the Most Gracious (Al-Rahman) is employed only when we are referring to Allah, it has the same attribute of the word Allah, and the two words Allah and Most Gracious altogether have been mentioned in Surat Alisraa Aya (110) where Allah says: "Say Call upon Allah or Call upon the Most Gracious, whichever you call, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names", so if you call upon Him by Allah, He is so, and if you call upon Him by the Most Gracious, He is so.
So among all Beautiful Names of Allah, only the Name Allah and the Name Al-Rahman are exclusive to the One, and it is not permissible to qualify anyone besides Allah by the two attributes. But the Name Raheem (Merciful) is not the same; For Allah has described His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) with the attribute Raheem as He says in Surat Altawbah Aya (128) {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves, grievous to Him is what you suffered, keen on you, and to the believers is kind, merciful}.
The attribute Al-Raheem conveys a glad tidings of the mercy of Allah Almighty to the believers, as Allah says in Aya (43) of Surat Alahzab {It is He who sends blessings upon you and His Angels, so that He may bring you out of the darknesses to light, and He is Most-Merciful to the believers}. Thus, there is a broader scope of the attribute the Most Gracious (Al-Rahman) than the attribute the Most Merciful (Al-Raheem); Al-Rahman shows Allah's mercy to His creations, and the attribute Al-Raheem (Most Merciful) is exclusive to the believers. Allah described Himself and His Messenger (PBUH) with mercy to the believers, and Allah's Mercy is not only in the worldly life by showing them the right path and bringing them out of the darknesses to the light, but it is also in the Hereafter by saving them from Hellfire on the day of resurrection.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (2) "Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds", that is, Allah praises Himself with what He is worthy of, then He taught His servants to praise Him and made it obligatory for them to recite, so praise be to Allah without anything that is worshipped besides Him for the countless blessings He has bestowed upon His servants, and when the servant praises Allah, he then submits to him and acknowledges the blessings whose number none but He can comprehend. And as narrated by Abdullah bin Mas'ud that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "None has more sense of jealousy than Allah, and for this, He has forbidden immoralities, what is apparent of them and what is concealed, and none loves to be praised more than Allah does, and this is why He praises Himself" (Sahih Albukhari 4637), and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Anas bin Malik: "Allah is pleased with His servant who eats a meal and praises Him for it, or drinks a drink, and praises Him for it" (Sahih Muslim 2734).
Allah has taught His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) and the believers to say Alhamdu-lellah: praise be to Allah in many places of the Holy Quran such as Surat Alisraa Aya (111), Surat Alnaml Ayat (59,93), Surat Alankaboot Aya (63), and Surat Luqman Aya (25), and Allah commanded the Prophet Noah to say it in Aya (28) of Surat Almu'minun. The Prophets before Allah's Messenger said praise be to Allah such as the Prophet Abraham in Aya (39) of Surat Ibrahim, and the Prophets David and Solomon in Aya (15) of Surat Alnaml, and the people of Paradise will say it on the day of resurrection as in Aya (43) of Surat Ala'raf, Aya (10) of Surat Yunus, Aya (34) of Surat Fatir, and Ayat (74,75) of Surat Alzumar.
The reward for praising Allah is endless and will weigh heavily on the scale of the servant on the day of resurrection, and as narrated by Malik Al-Ash'ari that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Purification is half of faith, Alhamdu-lellah: praise be to Allah fills the scale, and Subhana Allah wa Alhamdu-lellah: Glory to be Allah and praise be to Allah, fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith), and patience is a brightness, and the Holy Quran is a proof on your behalf or against you, all people go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves" (Sahih Muslim 223).
Allah assures that He is the Lord of the worlds, and the scholars differed greatly regarding the meaning of the worlds for it was mentioned in the Holy Quran in more than one sense, therefore, some said that it refers to everything that existed besides Allah, so it compasses every created being, as Allah says in Ayat (23-28) of Surat Alshu'araa {Pharaoh said and what is the Lord of the worlds?, He said the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, if you are certain, He said to those around him Do you not hear?, He said your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers, He said indeed, your Messenger who has been sent to you is a madman, He said the Lord of the east and the west and whatever is between them if you understand}, thereupon, the word worlds encompasses all of creation, the heavens and the earth, and everything is in both of them, both what we know and what we do not know. Some said that it refers to the people of every era, for Allah says in Aya (165) of Surat Alshu'araa {Do you approach the males among the worlds?}, and some said that it refers to the worlds of Jinn and men for Allah says in Aya (1) of Surat Alfurqan {Blessed is the One who has sent down the Criterion upon His servant, so that He may be a warner to the worlds}, but the first statement is the most correct of these statements, because it encompasses every creature and being in the world and the Hereafter.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (3) "The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful", that is, Allah shows His mercy to His servants and assures that He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, so Allah's mercy encompasses all things, and both attributes convey the encouragement to seek Allah's mercy and not despairing of His mercy, and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Allah has created one hundred parts of mercy, and He distributed one amongst His creation and kept one hundred except one with Himself" (Sahih Muslim 2752 b). And in another narration of Salman Alfarisi, Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "Indeed, there are one hundred parts of mercy, and it is one part of this mercy by virtue of which there is mutual love between the people and ninety-nine reserved for the day of resurrection" (Sahih Muslim 2753).
So Do not despair of Allah's mercy for Allah forgives those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds, and as narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "If a believer were to know the extent of Allah's punishment, none would aspire for His Paradise, and if the disbeliever were to know the extent of Allah's mercy, none would despair of His Paradise" (Sahih Muslim 2755). And as narrated by Abu Hurayrah that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "A man who never did any good deed, said that if he died, his family should burn him and throw half the ashes of his burnt body in the earth, and the other half in the sea, for by Allah! If Allah should get hold of him, He would inflict such punishment on him as He would not inflict on anybody among the people, but Allah ordered the sea to collect what was in it (of his ashes) and similarly ordered the earth to collect what was in it, then Allah said Why did you do so?, the man replied for being afraid of You, and You know it, so Allah forgave Him" (Sahih Albukhari 7506).
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (4) "The Sovereign of the day of Judgment", that is, Allah is the Sovereign of the day of Judgment, and the day of Judgment is the day of resurrection, and it is the day of reward and reckoning for deeds, so every soul will be recompensed for what it has earned of good and evil, except for those whom Allah pardons and forgives. The sovereignty belongs to Allah on the day of resurrection to the exclusion of all creation, so those who were mighty kings characterized by pride, grandeur, and power in the worldly life, will realize on the day of resurrection that the sovereignty belongs to Allah alone, and that they are the humiliated ones, and as narrated by Abdullah bin Umar that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would fold the Heavens on the day of resurrection, and then He would place them on His Right Hand and say I am the Lord, Where are the haughty and Where are the proud?, He would fold the earth on the Left Hand and say I am the Lord Where are the haughty and Where are the proud?" (Sahih Muslim 2788).
So none will claim anything on the day of resurrection, nor will anyone speak except by the permission of Allah, nor will anyone have authority that day, as Allah says in Aya (26) of Surat Alfurqan {The kingdom on that day is for the Most Gracious, and it will be a difficult day upon the disbelievers}, and Allah will say on the day of resurrection {To whom belongs the kingdom today?, to Allah, the One, the Oft-Omnipotent,} as mentioned in Aya (16) of Surat Ghafir. Thereupon, pride, majesty, and absolute dominion belong to Allah alone, so Allah will deal with those who are arrogant and call themselves king of kings by making them the most lowly and humiliated on the day of resurrection, where as narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The vilest name in the sight of Allah is that of a man who calls himself the king of kings, and Ibn Abi Shaiybah added in his narration There is no king but Allah, the Exalted and Glorious" (Sahih Muslim 2143).
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (5) "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help", that is, this verse embodies the perfection of obedience, humility and reliance on Allah, as when the servant utters it, he then acknowledges Allah's Lordship, affirms the worship of Him alone, and seeks Allah's help and support, so we worship none but You while others worship idols and other things with You, and we rely upon you alone. So the first half of this verse is a disavowal of polytheism, and the second is a disavowal of one's power and strength, and turning to Allah and His power and strength.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (6) "Guide us to the straight path", that is, the servant is in constant need of Allah, Almighty, at every moment and every situation, to strengthen him in guidance, to make him steadfast in it, and to grant him insight, for the servant has no power to benefit or harm himself except as Allah wills, therefore, Allah has guided him to ask Him at all times to grant him guidance, steadfastness, and success. When the servant asks Allah to guide him to the straight path, he then asks Allah to grant him success in remaining steadfast in what Allah has approved and granted success to those whom He has favored, in words and deeds, and that is the straight path; Because whoever is guided to what Allah has guided those upon whom He has bestowed His favor from among the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, he has been guided to Islam, to believing in Allah's Messengers, to adhering to the Book of Allah, to acting upon what Allah has commanded, to refraining from what He has forbidden, and to following the path of the prophets, and all of this is from the straight path. Thereupon, this verse implies that the will of humans is not sufficient for actions, whether obedience or disobedience, for if the matter were up to them and the choice were in their hands without Allah, they would not have asked Allah for guidance, nor were they have repeated the request in every payer, and Allah assures that guidance and misguidance are in His Hand alone saying in Aya (17) of Surat Alkahf {whoever Allah guides, then he is the guided one, and whoever He lets go astray, then You will not find for him a protecting guide}, and in Aya (186) of Surat Ala'raf {Whoever Allah lets go astray, then there is no guide for him, and He leaves them in their transgression, wandering}.
And as narrated by Al-Nawwas bin Sam'an Al-Kilabi that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Indeed, Allah has made a parable of the straight path, at the sides of the path, there are walls with open doors, each door having a curtain, there is a caller at the head of the path calling, and a caller above it calling {And Allah calls to the abode of peace, and guides whom He wills to a straight path, Surat Yunus, Aya 25}. The doors which are on the sides of the path are the limits of Allah, no one breaches the limits of Allah except that curtain is lifted, and the one calling from above it is the preacher of His Lord i.e. in his heart" (Jami' Altirmidhi 2859).
Allah Almighty says in the last verse (7) "The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are astray", that is, Allah has taught the believers to ask Him to guide them to the straight path, the path of those upon whom Allah has favored with obedience and worship, and the majority of scholars said that those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor are the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous; For Allah says in Aya (69) of Surat Alnisa' {And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and good are those as companions}, so this implies that the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous are on a straight path, and the current Aya demonstrates that obedience to Allah is only attained by the obedient through Allah's favor and mercy.
So the believers ask Allah to guide them to the path of the people of guidance, righteousness, obedience, compliance with His commands, and abandonment of His prohibitions and warnings, not the path of those who have incurred Allah's wrath when they knew the truth and turned away from it, and not of the path of those who are astray and are not guided to the truth. There is disagreement regarding those who have incurred Allah's wrath, and those who have gone astray, the majority of scholars said that those who have incurred Allah wrath are the Jews, and those who have gone astray are the Christians. And this opinion is supported by Allah's words concerning the Jews in Aya (60) of Surat Alma'idah {Those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He became angry, and He made of them apes and pigs and slave of Taghut}, and Allah's words concerning the Christians in Aya (77) of Surat Alma'idah {And Do not follow the desires of a people who had certainly gone astray before and had led many astray and they had strayed from the straight way}.
It is recommended to the one who recites Alfatihah to say afterwards Amin, where as narrated by Wa'il bin Hujr: "I heard the Prophet (PBUH) recite {Ghaiyri almaghdoubi alaiyhim wa la al-ddalleen: Not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are astray}, and He said Amin, and He stretched it out with His voice" (Jami' Altirmidhi 248). And it is recommended for he who is outside of prayer to say Amin after reciting Alfatihah, and it is specially emphasized for he who is praying in all circumstances, whether he is praying alone, leading the prayer, or following an Imam, and as narrated by Abu Hurayrah that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "When the Imam says {Ghaiyri almaghdoubi alaiyhim wa la al-ddalleen: not of those who have incurred Your wrath, or of those who are astray}, then you must say Amin, for if one's utterance of Amin coincides with that of the Angels, then his past sins will be forgiven" (Sahih Albukhari 4475).
Allah Almighty has endowed the Muslim nation with special characteristics and advantages that distinguish it from other nations in terms of goodness and reward, and as narrated by Aisha that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "The Jews do not envy you for anything more than they envy you for the Salam and saying Amin" (Sunan Ibn Majah 856).