Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 145
145 Mention of the Blessed in Surah Fatihah Allah the Exalted has spoken of this subject in many chapters of the Holy Quran. There is the chapter I have just mentioned—Surah Nur. Then, there is Surah Fatihah, which we recite in every cycle of the formal Prayer. In this chapter, three previous classes of people have been mentioned. Firstly, there are those upon whom Allah has bestowed His blessings (an’amta alayhim); secondly, there are those who have incurred divine displeasure (maghdub); and thirdly, there are those who have gone astray (dalleen). The Arabic term maghdub does not imply that God’s displeasure is reserved specifically for the hereafter. In fact, anyone who forsakes the Book of Allah and violates divine injunctions will be subject to divine displeasure. The expression, ‘those who have incurred divine displeasure’ (maghdub) refers clearly to the Jews, and those who have gone astray (ad-dalleen) alludes to the Christians. Now, this prayer is a supplication so that we are able to join the class of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, and so that we may be saved from joining the other two groups referred to in this context. The custom that we observe—since the inception of prophethood—in the law of God Almighty is that whenever God issues a commandment to either perform a certain action, or refrain from something, it is inevitable that some will follow the instruction while others will transgress. Therefore, in view of this prayer, it is obvious that there will be some from among the people who will receive the blessings of Allah; some will incur His displeasure, and others will be led astray. Now the present era loudly proclaims, as it were, that the sequence in which the three classes mentioned in this noble chapter have begun to manifest them- selves at present, is in reverse order to how they appear in the actual text. The party known as the Christians have been mentioned at the very end. However, one may observe the great extent to which people have entered this religion. A certain bishop mentioned in a speech that two million Muslims have left Islam. The strength and vigour with which this nation has spread, and the devices that it has employed to mislead the people, moves one to realise that this is the greatest of all trials. Now, a person can observe how one aspect of the three parts men- tioned in this prayer has become manifest. The second class of people mentioned in this supplication are those who have incurred divine wrath. I perceive that the time for this aspect of the prayer and its fulfilment has also arrived. The wrath of God surged forth against the Jews in this world as well and they were destroyed p. 130