FIRST CHAPTER OF THE QURAN br br Description: A brief commentary on Surah Al-Fatiha. br br “I begin with the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful br br All praise is to God, Lord of all the worlds br br Most Gracious, Most Merciful br br Master of the Day of Judgment br br You Alone do we worship and You Alone do we ask for help br br Guide us to the straight path br br The Path of those on whom You bestowed Your bounties br br Not the path of those who incurred Your wrath or those who went astray.” (Quran 1:1-7) br br Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, told us, that this chapter in the Quran is unlike any other. Nothing like it was revealed in any previous scripture. When one recites this chapter sincerely they would be professing their belief as a true Muslim. br br All praise is to God br br When you state that all praise is due to God alone, you are in fact acknowledging that only He has all the attributes of perfection and that only He is the bestower of all the bounties that any of His creation enjoys.  And since gratefulness is the essence of worship, you are also acknowledging that He is the only one who deserves to be worshipped. br br Lord of all the worlds br br The Arabic word for Lord, Rubb, conveys a number of meanings that are not accurately captured by the English word Lord. It means that He is the one who owns, who creates, who sustains and who looks after all that exists.  The only relationship between Him and all creation is that He is the creator of all that exists.  He cannot therefore be the father of anyone in any real sense! To say that He is the Creator and yet the father of some of His creation is a contradiction in terms.  You don’t create your child, you beget him.  It is because of this that the Quran keeps reminding those who claim that God has children (the Arabs who used to say that the angels are the daughters of God, the Christians who say that Jesus is the son of God, and a Jewish sect who used to believe that Ezra is the son of God) that God is the Creator and Owner of everything.     br br Most Gracious, Most Merciful br br The two Arabic words, Rahman and Raheem, for which these English phrases stand, are two intensive forms of a root word which conveys the meaning of mercy.  Rahman is more intensive than Raheem, and refers to God’s all-encompassing mercy, His mercy to all His creation in this life and the life to come.  Raheem refers to His special mercy to the faithful.  No created being can therefore be Rahman, but created beings can be described as Raheem in a limited and special sense of the word.  br br Master of the Day of Judgment.....