Understanding Salat — Page 14
Understanding S al A t 14 F āt iris Sam ā w ā t until two Arabs of the desert came to him disputing respecting the mastery of a well, and one of them said: Ana Fa t artuh ā , i. e. I originated or began it. ( Dictionary of the Holy Quran, pp. 657) The words َ خَلَق ( Khalaqa ) and َ فَطَر ( Fa t ara ) are used in the Holy Quran to refer to creation. The distinction of the word َ فَطَر ( Fa t ara ) is its emphasis on creating from nothing. When we recite the words ‘towards Him Who has cre- ated’ ( َ ذِی ۡ فَطَر َّ لِل ), the thought of something being created from nothing should cause us some disorientation. Our mind can comprehend the concept of creating from something, but the idea of creating from nothing is inherently beyond our comprehension. The more we try to visualize the attribute of creating from nothing, the more frustrating it is. We cannot relate to it. When we recite the attribute of The Merciful ( ۡمُ ي حِ َّ اَلر ), then our mind can immediately relate to how people can be merciful to others. We can easily visualize this attrib- ute. With the attributes of Lord ( ّ رَب ), The Gracious ( ُ حۡمٰن َّ اَلر ), Master of the Day of Judgement ( ِ مٰلِک ِ یَوۡم ِ الدِّیۡن ), each can eas- ily be processed in our mind and visualized. However, when we recite, ‘Him Who has created’ ( َ ذِی ۡ فَطَر َّ اَل ), our mind hits a roadblock. How can anything be created from nothing? It doesn’t seem to make sense, but we cannot dismiss it because, logically, we know that there should be a cause of all causes. We know that in this finite world, the chain of cause and effect has to start somewhere.