divinity, lordship, and mercy; for the words, “You alone we worship,” rest upon His divinity, while “and You alone we ask for help” is built upon His lordship, and the request for guidance to His straight path is grounded in His mercy. Praise (al-ḥamd) gathers all three together, for He, exalted be He, is praised for His divinity, His lordship, and His mercy.

Commendation (thanāʾ) and glory (majd) are the perfection of that praise. The surah also contains the affirmation of the oneness of divinity and lordship in His statement: “You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.” Now, because every person needs to seek guidance to the straight path and to tread it first in knowledge and understanding, then in action and commitment, the servant must petition and request this from the One who holds it in His hand. Indeed, this supplication is the greatest thing a servant requires and is driven to at every blink of an eye. For people are of three kinds:
• Those who knew the truth and turned away from it—the ones who have incurred wrath.
• Those who were ignorant of it—the misguided.
• Those who knew it and acted upon it—the favored.

And since the servant (1) possesses no benefit or harm for himself, he is in need of asking for guidance to the path of the favored, and deliverance from the way of those