“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”
The first part of this verse is connected to chapter 4 An Nisa, verse 69:
“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous…”
This makes it clear that one will only obtain right guidance when they sincerely obey Allah, the Exalted, and His Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. This involves using the blessings one has been granted in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
In addition, in order to recognize the right and straight path taken by the Holy Prophets, peace be upon them, one must study their lives and act on their teachings. This is why the Holy Prophets, peace be upon them, are extensively discussed in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It is important to note, one must not study their lives for the sake of entertainment, such as learning fascinating and miraculous stories about them. One must learn about their lives in order to seek guidance from them, so that they can journey down the same straight path they journeyed down. Chapter 6 Al An’am, verses 89-90:
“Those are the ones to whom We gave the Scripture and authority and prophethood…Those are the ones whom Allāh has guided, so from their guidance take an example…”
Chapter 1 Al Fatihah, verse 7:
“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour…”
As the inspiration, strength, knowledge and opportunity to obtain right guidance all come from Allah, the Exalted, one must never adopt pride. Pride only encourages one to look down upon others and reject the truth when it is presented to them. This has been warned in a Hadith found in Sahih Muslim, number 265. Pride will only take one away from the straight path and cause them to enter Hell and it must therefore be avoided.
The main verse also indicates that the real favour from Allah, the Exalted, is guidance to the straight path. This is only obtained through His obedience, which involves using the blessings one has been granted in ways pleasing to Him. A person should not be fooled into believing worldly things, such as wealth and family, are a blessing if they fail to use them correctly. Chapter 23 Al Mu’minun, verses 55-56:
“Do they think that what We extend to them of wealth and children. Is [because] We hasten for them good things? Rather, they do not perceive.”
The one who misuses the blessings they have been granted will find that they become a source of stress and misery for them in both worlds. Chapter 20 Taha, verse 124:
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life, and We will gather [i.e., raise] him on the Day of Resurrection blind.”
It is important to understand the difference between good and bad worldly things so that one can ensure they correctly use the blessings they have been granted so that they find peace of mind and body in both worlds. Chapter 16 An Nahl, verse 97:
“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”
Chapter 1 Al Fatihah, verse 7:
“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger…”
Those who earned divine anger include those who misused the divine knowledge they were granted in order to obtain worldly things, such as wealth and authority. They adopted corrupt intentions and as a result they gained no reward from Allah, the Exalted, for the good deeds they performed. In fact, a Hadith found in Jami At Tirmidhi, number 3154, warns that those who perform righteous deeds for the sake of others will be commanded to collect their reward on Judgment Day from the people they acted for, which in reality is not possible to do. A muslim must therefore avoid this outcome by ensuring their intentions, when doing good deeds, is to please Allah, the Exalted. A sign of this is that they should never expect nor hope for gratitude from people. In addition, a muslim must strive to gain and act on Islamic knowledge so that they increase their obedience to Allah, the Exalted, which involves using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Him. Claiming Islam with the tongue and failing to support it with actions leads to divine anger. Chapter 61 As Saf, verse 3:
“Greatly hateful in the sight of Allāh is that you say what you do not do.”
Chapter 1 Al Fatihah, verse 7:
“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of…those who are astray.”
This includes those who avoid searching and fulfilling the purpose of their creation and instead live an aimless life in this world whereby they only strive to fulfill their desires, one after the other. As a result, they carve their own path in life thereby misusing the blessings they have been granted, which leads to further stress and problems for them in both worlds. Chapter 20 Taha, verses 124-126:
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life, and We will gather [i.e., raise] him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” He will say, “My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?” [Allāh] will say, “Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot [i.e., disregarded] them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten.””
Muslims avoid this attitude and outcome by sincerely striving to gain and act on Islamic knowledge so that they recognize and fulfill their purpose. Chapter 51 Adh Dhariyat, verse 56:
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
This purpose is only fulfilled when one sincerely obeys Allah, the Exalted, by using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Him, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. This purpose therefore, extends beyond the basic obligatory duties of Islam. Fulfilling one’s purpose of creation leads to peace of mind and body in both worlds. Chapter 16 An Nahl, verse 97:
“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”
Chapter 1 Al Fatihah, verse 7:
“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”
One’s path in life is determined by the company they keep. Every person is influenced positively or negatively and apparently or subtlety by their companions. This has been warned in a Hadith found in Sahih Bukhari, number 5534. Therefore one must ensure they choose the companions who encourage them to use the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. A bitter truth all must accept is that just because someone has not adopted an evil character, it does not mean they are fit for companionship.
In addition, a Hadith found in Sunan Abu Dawud, number 4031, warns that a person who imitates a group of people is counted as one of them. Therefore, one must practically support their verbal claim of loving those who Allah, the Exalted, has bestowed His favour upon, such as the Holy Prophets, peace be upon them, and the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, by following them. If they imitate the other two groups mentioned in the main verse under discussion, then they will be counted as one of them, irrespective of their verbal claims.
The main verse creates both fear and hope in a muslim. Hope lies in the fact that when one sincerely obeys Allah, the Exalted, by using the blessings they have been granted in ways pleasing to Him, as outlined in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, they will be protected from misguidance and granted favour in both worlds. Whereas, fear lies in the fact that if one fails to sincerely obey Allah, the Exalted, they will encounter divine anger and they will not be protected from misguidance. The balance between fear and hope is important, as hope encourages one to sincerely obey Allah, the Exalted, whereas, fear encourages one to abstain from sins.
Chapter 1 Al Fatihah, verse 7:
“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”
One of the main differences between these two groups: the rightly guided and the misguided, is how they each used the blessings they were granted. The rightly guided used the blessings they were granted in ways pleasing to Allah, the Exalted, and as a result they were granted peace of mind and body in both worlds, even if they faced difficulties. Chapter 16 An Nahl, verse 97:
“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”
Whereas the misguided group, misused the blessings they were granted and as a result they never obtained peace of mind and body in either this world or the next, irrespective of how much worldly things they managed to obtain. Chapter 20 Taha, verses 124-126:
“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life, and We will gather [i.e., raise] him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” He will say, “My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?” [Allāh] will say, “Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot [i.e., disregarded] them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten.””
Understanding this difference is one of the main teachings of chapter 1 Al Fatihah, which in turn summarizes the Holy Quran. So the one who understands and acts on this lesson, is acting upon the Holy Quran.
Finally, one should complete the recitation of chapter 1 Al Fatihah with the word “ameen”. This word is a request to Allah, the Exalted, to accept the supplications mentioned in this chapter. When one’s final word of ameen corresponds with the final word of the Angels during the prayer, their minor sins will be forgiven. This has been advised in a Hadith found in Sahih Bukhari number 782.
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