Ideals and Realities of al-Fatiha

Friday, June 8, 2007

Ideals and Realities of al-Fatiha

According to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, author of "Ideals and Realities of Islam:"

"The basmalah opens every chapter of the Quran except one which is
really the continuation of the previous chapter. It also opens the
Surat al-fatihah, the opening chapter of the Qur'an, which is recited
over and over again in the daily canonical prayers, and which
contains the essence of the Qur'anic message. This chapter expresses the primordial relation between God and man. It consists of seven verses, three concerning God, three man, and one the relation between the two. In reciting its verses man stands in the primordial state before God, and prays in the name of all creatures and for all creatures. That is why its verbs are all in the first person plural and not the singular. It is the prayer of man as the conscious centre of all creation before the Creator and as such it contains symbolically the total message of the Quran.

The basmalah begins the Surat al fatihah and therefore the whole of the Quran. It thus comes at the beginning of the prophetic message which is itself revealed because of God's mercy towards men. It is in reference to the inner meaning of this formula that 'Ali, the
representative par excellence of esotericism in Islam, said that 'all
the Qur'an is contained in the Surat al-fatihah, all this Surat is
contained in the basmalah, all of the basmalah in the letter ba'
with which it begins, all of the letter ba' in the diacritical point
under it and I am that diacritical point.'

The beautiful symbolism indicated in this saying refers to Ali's 'supreme identity' as the perfect saint who is inwardly in union with God. This point with which the basmalah begins is according to another Hadith the first drop from the Divine Pen. It thus marks the beginning of things as it is also the beginning of the Quran. Like the point which generates all geometric space, this point is the symbol of the Origin of all creation, as the basmalah itself marks the beginning of things. Its recitation at the beginning of an act relates that act to God and sanctifies it. Even if every Muslim is not aware of the metaphysical implications of the formula, yet its sanctifying power is known and felt by all and for that reason every act which is necessary and legitimate in life should begin with the basmalah, such as eating a meal or beginning a journey. In fact that act is illicit at whose commencement a devout Muslim cannot pronounce the formula. Otherwise all that is acceptable before the eyes of God can be sanctified by it. Through the basmalah the Divine joy and bliss enters into human life to bless and sanctify it." (pp. 62-63).

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Al-Fatiha ~ The Opening

In the name of the Beloved One,
The Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Sustainer of all the Worlds,
The Infinitely Compassionate, the Infinitely Merciful,
The Sovereign of the Day of Resurrection.
Thee alone we worship and to Thee alone we pray.
Guide us to the Straight Path
of self-cultivation to the Gardens of Paradise,
the path of those upon whom
Thou hast bestowed blessings, favors and Grace,
not of those who are consciously or unconsciously immersed in Sacred Chaos,
Nor of those of who have lost their way.
~ Dr. Jalaledin Ebrahim translation
In the Name of God, the Infinitely Compassionate, Most Merciful.

All
praise is God's, The Sustainer of all worlds,

The Infinitely
Compassionate and Most Merciful,

Sovereign of the Day of Reckoning.

You alone do we worship,

And You alone do we ask for help.

Guide us on the straight path -

the path of those who have
received Your favor,

not the path of those who have earned Your wrath,

nor of those who have gone astray.

~ Sheikha Camille Helminski translation

DEDICATION

This Sacred Space is dedicated to celebrating
Al-Fatiha
or
Al-Hamd
The Opening Seven Verses of the Holy Qur'an
the one fundamental
"lived experience"
shared by every single Muslim,
with the intention of fostering a profound and abiding level of commitment to Love and Unity within the Ummah,
in commemoration on July 11, 2007 of the Golden Jubilee of the Imamat of His Highness, Prince
Karim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan,
The Imam of the Time.
Inshallah, it will also serve as a deep wellspring of inspiration, creativity and knowledge in the direction towards developing
An Integral Psychology of Islam.

THE CONTEXT

"A central element in a truly religious outlook, it seems to me, is a recognition that we all have a great deal to learn from one another. The Holy Quran speaks of how mankind has been created by a single Creator "from a single soul…" – a profound affirmation of the unity of humanity. This Islamic ideal, of course, is shared by other great religions. Despite the long history of religious conflict, there is also a long counter-history of religious tolerance. Instead of shouting at one another, our faiths ask us to listen - and learn from one another. As we do, one of our first lessons might well center on those powerful but often neglected chapters in history when Islamic and European cultures interacted cooperatively and creatively to realize some of civilization's peak achievements. The spirit of pluralism is not a pallid religious compromise. It is a sacred religious imperative. In this light, our differences can become sources of enrichment, so that we see "the other" as an opportunity and a blessing - whether "the other" lives across the street - or across the world."
~ His Highness the Aga Khan,
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris,
June 15, 2007

REMARKS BY HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN

This programme is also an opportunity for achieving insights into how the discourse of the Qur’an-e-Sharif, rich in parable and allegory, metaphor and symbol, has been an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration, lending itself to a wide spectrum of interpretations. This freedom of interpretation is a generosity which the Qur'an confers upon all believers, uniting them in the conviction that All-Merciful Allah will forgive them if they err in their sincere attempts to understand His word. Happily, as a result, the Holy Book continues to guide and illuminate the thought and conduct of Muslims belonging to different communities of interpretation and spiritual affiliation, from century to century, in diverse cultural environments. The Noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together. Tradition honours the vocation of the learned scholars who are gathered here for this colloquium. The Qur’an itself acknowledges that people upon whom wisdom has been bestowed are the recipients of abundant good; they are the exalted ones. Hence Islam's consistent encouragement to Muslim men and women to seek knowledge wherever it is to be found. We are all familiar that al-Kindi, even in the 9th century, saw no shame in acknowledging and assimilating the truth, whatever its source. He argued that truth never abases, but only ennobles its seeker...
Does not the Qur’an challenge the artist, as much as the mystic, to go beyond the physical - the outward - so as to seek to unveil that which lies at the centre but gives life to the periphery? Is not a great work of art, like the ecstasy of the mystic, a gesture of the spirit, a stirring of the soul that comes from the attempt to experience a glimpse of, and an intimacy with, that which is ineffable and beyond being?
Remarks made on October 19, 2003 at
"Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions"
at an International Colloqium sponsored by the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, England.

Al-Fatiha - The Opening to an Integral Psychology of Islam

Islamic Garden

Friday, June 8, 2007

Ideals and Realities of al-Fatiha

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