Al-Fawāʾid - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/26)

Al-FawāʾidIbn al-Qayyim

and with an ever-present awareness of His favor toward him and of his own shortcoming in giving Him His due. Because of that awareness he is too shy to face Him with such paltry service, knowing that it falls short of what He deserves—indeed, immeasurably short. He also knows that he has no means to perfect these two faculties except through His aid. He is therefore compelled to beseech Him to guide him to the straight path to which He has guided His friends and elect, and to protect him from straying from that path—whether through a defect in his cognitive faculty that would plunge him into error, or through a defect in his practical faculty that would draw upon him wrath.

Human perfection and happiness can only be achieved when all of these elements come together, and Sūrat al-Fātiḥah gathers them and arranges them in the most perfect order.

His words,
“ All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds (2),
the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful (3),
Master of the Day of Judgment (4)” [al-Fātiḥah: 2-4],
contain the first foundation: knowledge of the Lord—exalted is He—and knowledge of His names, attributes, and acts. The names mentioned in this surah are the roots of the Beautiful Names: Allah, al-Rabb, and al-Raḥmān. The name “Allah” encompasses the attributes of divinity; the name “al-Rabb” encompasses the attributes of lordship; and the name “al-Raḥmān” encompasses the attributes of beneficence, generosity, and kindness. The meanings of His names revolve around these.

His words, “You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help (5)” [al-Fātiḥah: 5], set forth the knowledge of the path that leads to Him—namely, worshipping Him alone in the way He loves and approves, while relying on Him for assistance in that worship.

And His words, “Guide us to the straight path (6)” [al-Fātiḥah: 6], show that the servant has no route to his happiness except by remaining steadfast upon the straight path, and that he has no way to such steadfastness except through his Lord’s guidance—just as he has no way to worship Him except through His aid. Thus there is no path to steadfastness on the straight path except through His guidance.

وشُهودًا لمِنَّتِهِ عليه وتقصيرِهِ هو في أداءِ حقِّه؛ فهو مُسْتَحْي من مُواجَهتِهِ بتلك الخدمةِ؛ لعلمِهِ أنها دونَ ما يَستحقُّه عليه ودونَ دونِ ذلك، وأنَّه لا سبيل له إلى استكمال هاتين القوتين إلا بمعونتِهِ؛ فهو مضطرٌّ إلى أنْ يَهدِيَهُ الصراطَ المستقيمَ الذي هَدى إليه أولياءَهُ وخاصَّتَهُ، وأن يُجنِّبَهُ الخروج عن ذلك الصراطِ: إما بفسادٍ في قوتِهِ العلميةِ فيقعُ في الضَّلال، وإما في قوتِهِ العمليةِ فيُوجِبُ له الغضبَ. فكمالُ الإنسانِ وسعادتُهُ لا تَتِمُّ إلا بمجموع هذه الأمور، وقد تضمَّنَتْها سورةُ الفاتحة وانتظمتْها أكمل انتظام: فإنَّ قوله: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالمِينَ (٢) الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ (٣) مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (٤)﴾ [الفاتحة: ٢ - ٤] يتضمَّنُ الأصلَ الأول، وهو معرفةُ الربِّ تعالى ومعرفةُ أسمائِهِ وصفاتِه وأفعالِهِ. والأسماءُ المذكورةُ في هذه السورة هي أصولُ الأسماءِ الحسنى، وهي اسمُ اللهِ والربِّ والرحمن؛ فاسم الله متضمِّنٌ لصفات الألوهيَّةِ، واسمُ الربِّ متضمِّنٌ لصفاتِ الربوبيَّةِ، واسمُ الرحمن متضمِّنٌ لصفاتِ الإحسانِ والجودِ والبرِّ. ومعاني أسمائه تدورُ على هذا. وقولُهُ: ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ (٥)﴾ [الفاتحة: ٥] يتضمَّنُ معرفة الطريق المُوصِلةِ إليه، وأنها ليستْ إلَّا عبادتَهُ وحدَه بما يُحِبُّه ويرضاهُ واستعانتَهُ على عبادتِهِ. وقولُهُ: ﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (٦)﴾ [الفاتحة: ٦] يتضمَّن بيانَ أنَّ العبد لا سبيل له إلى سعادتِهِ إلا باستقامتِهِ على الصراطِ المستقيم، وأنَّه لا سبيلَ له إلى الاستقامةِ إلَّا بهداية ربِّه له؛ كما لا سبيلَ له إلى عبادتِهِ إلَّا بمعونتِهِ؛ فلا سبيلَ لهُ إلى الاستقامة على الصراط إلَّا بهدايتِهِ.