By Abul A'la Maududi
One of the many practices taught by Islam is that its followers should begin
their activities in the name of God. This principle, if consciously and
earnestly followed, will necessarily yield three beneficial results. First, one
will be able to restrain oneself from many misdeed, since the habit of
pronouncing the name of God is bound to make one wonder when about to commit
some offence how such an act can be reconciled with the saying of God's holy
name. Second, if a man pronounces the name of God before starting good and
legitimate tasks, this act will ensue that both his starting point and his
mental orientation are sound. Third - and this is the most important benefit -
when a man begins something by pronouncing God's name, he will enjoy God's
support and succour; God will bless his efforts and protect him from the
machinations and temptation of Satan. For whenever man turns to God, God turns
to him as well.
As we have already explained, the character of this surah is that of a prayer.
The prayer begins with praise of the One to whom our prayer is addressed. This
indicates that whenever one prays one ought to pray in a dignified manner. It
does not become a cultivated person to blurt out his petition. Refinement
demands that our requests should be preceded by a wholehearted acknowledgement
of the unique position, infinite benevolence and unmatched excellence of the One
to Whom we pray. Whenever we praise someone, we do so for two reasons. First,
because excellence calls for praise, irrespective of whether that excellence has
any direct relevance to us or not. Second, we praise one who, we consider to be
our benefactor; when this is the case our praise arises from a deep feeling of
gratitude. God is worthy of praise on both counts. It is incumbent on us to
praise Him not only in recognition of His infinite excellence but also because
of our feeling of gratitude to Him, arising from our awareness of the blessings
He has lavished upon us. It is important to note that what is said here is not
merely that praise be to God, but that all praise be to God alone. Whenever
there is any beauty, any excellence, any perfection-in whatever thing or in
whatever shape it may manifest itself- its ultimate source is none other than
God Himself. No human beings, angels, Demigods, heavenly bodies-in short, no
created beings-are possessed of an innate excellence; where excellence exists,
it is a gift from God. Thus, if there is anyone at all whom we ought to adore
and worship, to whom we ought to feel indebted and grateful, towards whom we
should remain humble and obedient, it is the creator of excellence, rather than
its possessor.
In Arabic the word Rabb has three meanings: (i) Lord and Master; (ii) Sustainer,
Provider, Supporter, Nourisher and Guardian, and (iii) Sovereign, Ruler, He Who
controls and directs. God is the Rabb of the universe in all three meanings of
the term.
Whenever we are deeply impressed by the greatness of something we try to express
our feelings by using superlatives. If the use of one superlative does not do
full justice to our feelings, we tend to re-emphasize the extraordinary
excellence of the object of our admiration by adding a second superlative of
nearly equivalent meaning.* This would seem to explain the use of the word Rahim
following Rahman. The form of the word Rahman connotes intensity. Yet God's
mercy and beneficence towards His creatures is so great, so extensive and of
such an infinite nature that no one word, however strong its connotation, can do
it full justice. The epithet Rahim was therefore added to that of Rahman.
God will be the Lord of the Day when all generations of mankind gather together
on order to render an account of their conduct, and when each person will be
finally rewarded or punished for his deeds. The description of God as Lord of
the Day of Judgement following the mention of his benevolence and compassion
indicates that we ought to remember another aspect of God as well-namely, that
He will judge us all, that He is so absolutely powerful, that on the Day of
Judgement no one will have the power either to resist the enforcement of
punishments that He decrees or to prevent anyone from receiving the rewards that
He decides to confer. Hence, we ought not only to love Him for nourishing and
sustaining us and for His compassion and mercy towards us, but should also hold
Him in awe because of His justice, and should not forget that our ultimate
happiness or misery rests completely with Him.
The term ibadah is used in three sense: (i) worship and adoration; (ii)
obedience and submission; and (iii) service and subjection. In this particular
context the term carries all these meanings simultaneously. In other words, we
say to God that we worship and adore Him, that we are obedient to Him and follow
His will, and also that we are His servants. Moreover man is so bound to none
save God, that none but He, may be the subject of man's worship and total
devotion, of man's unreserved obedience, of man's absolute subjection and
servitude.
Not only do we worship God, but our relationship with Him is such that we turn
to Him alone for help and succour. We know that He is the Lord of the whole
universe and that He alone is the Master of all blessings and benefactions.
Hence, in seeking the fulfilment of our needs we turn to Him alone. It is
towards Him alone that we stretch forth our hands when we pray and supplicate.
It is in Him that we repose our trust. It is therefore to Him alone that we
address our request for true guidance.
We beseech God to guide us in all walks of life to a way which is absolutely
true, which provides us with a properly-based outlook and sound principles of
behaviour, a way which will prevent our succumbing to false doctrines and
adopting unsound principles of conduct, a way that will lead us to our true
salvation and happiness. This is man's prayer to God as he begins the study of
the Qur'an. It is, in short, to illuminate the truth which he often tends to
lose in a labyrinth of philosophical speculation; to enlighten him as to which
of the numerous ethical doctrines ensures a sound course of conduct; to show
which of the myriad ways and by-ways is the clear, straight, open road of sound
belief and right behaviour.
This defines the 'straight way' which we ask God to open to us. It is the way
which has always been followed by those who have enjoyed God's favours and
blessings. This is the way which has been trodden from the beginning of time by
all those individuals and communities that have unfailingly enjoyed God's
favours and blessings.
This makes it clear that the recipients of God's favour are not those who
appear, briefly, to enjoy worldly prosperity and success; all too often, these
people are among those whom God has condemned because they have lost sight of
the true path of salvation and happiness. This negative explanation makes it
quite clear that in'am (favour) denotes all those real and abiding favours and
blessings which one receives in reward for righteous conduct through God's
approval and pleasure, rather than those apparent and fleeting favours which the
Pharaohs, Nimrods and Korahs (Qaruns) used to receive in the past, and which are
enjoyed even today by people notorious for oppression, evil and corruption.