of Allah Most High as befits Him; worship through observing commands and prohibitions; promises and warnings; and other such matters.

Ibn al-Qayyim—may Allah have mercy on him—said in his book Ranks of the Wayfarers between the Stations of “You Alone We Worship” and “You Alone We Ask for Help”: “Know that this surah encompasses the fundamental, sublime themes in the fullest and most perfect manner. It introduces the One worshiped—glorious and exalted is He—through three names to which the Most Beautiful Names and the loftiest attributes refer and around which they revolve: Allah, the Lord, and the Most Compassionate. The surah is founded upon divinity, lordship, and mercy…” He went on to say: “It also affirms the Resurrection; the servants’ recompense for their deeds, both good and evil; the Lord’s sole authority to judge among creation on that Day; and the perfect justice of His judgment. All of this falls under His words, ‘Master of the Day of Judgment.’ It also affirms prophethood in numerous ways…”1

He then went on at length—may Allah have mercy on him—explaining the fundamental, sublime themes contained in this surah, its refutation of every group among the people of religious innovation and misguidance, the spiritual stages of those journeying to Allah and the stations of His worshipers, and the fact that no other surah can take its place or serve as a substitute for it.

It is therefore all the more incumbent upon every Muslim to devote the greatest care to this noble surah by memorizing, reciting, studying, and reflecting upon it. A Muslim recites it seventeen times each day and night in the obligatory prayers. If he regularly observes the voluntary prayers, or many of them, he recites it countless times—throughout his lifetime and the full span of his life, none can number them but Allah, glorious and exalted is He. It is regrettable that, despite all this, you find among