The last two ayahs of Al-Fatihah, the Amin after it, and Surah Al-Ikhlas, word by word.
In Lesson 6, we reached the middle of Al-Fatihah: "It is You we worship and You we ask for help." Along the way, Allah (SWT) answered what you said.
Today we finish Al-Fatihah, read the last answer from Allah (SWT), and learn one short surah well enough that it becomes your own.
Islamic Studies · Worship class · about 75 minutes · your notebook, your cards, and a pen
Swap decks with your partner. One reads the cue, the other says the Arabic and what it means, then switch. After that, answer each card on the screen together, then tap it to check.
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar
Allah (SWT) is greater than everything.
Lesson 6
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
A'udhu billahi minash-shaytanir-rajim
I seek refuge with Allah (SWT) from Satan, the expelled.
Lesson 6 · Surah An-Nahl 16:98
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil-'alamin
[All] praise is [due] to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds. Allah (SWT) answers: "My servant has praised Me."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
Maliki yawmid-din
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. Allah (SWT) answers: "My servant has glorified Me."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in
It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Allah (SWT) answers: "This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولُهُ
Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa anna Muhammadan 'abdullahi wa rasuluh
I testify that there is no god but Allah (SWT), and that Muhammad (pbuh) is the servant of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger.
Lesson 5
A card that is still shaky goes in your "Still learning" pile. Go through that pile every day this week.
The last lesson ended with this challenge: in one prayer each day, pause for a breath after each ayah of Al-Fatihah from 1:2 to 1:5, and remember what Allah (SWT) answers. You were also going to make the four catch-up cards and study your cards for a minute or two a day.
Write privately, at the back of your notebook or on paper:
Your writing stays with you.
In Lesson 6, we learned that Allah (SWT) answers you as you recite Al-Fatihah. This is the last exchange in that hadith.
سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ... فَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ، صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾ قَالَ: هَذَا لِعَبْدِي، وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ
Abu Hurairah (RA) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) say: "Allah (SWT), the Most High, said: ... So when he says, 'Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray,' He (SWT) says: 'This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for.'"
At 1:5, Allah (SWT) said that ayah is between Him and you. These last two ayahs, He (SWT) says, are for you.
Ask yourself: Allah (SWT) promises that I will have what I asked for. Do I actually know what I am asking for in these two ayahs?
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
"Guide us to the straight path -"
| Arabic | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| اهْدِنَا | Ihdina | Guide us |
| الصِّرَاطَ | as-sirat | to the path |
| الْمُسْتَقِيمَ | al-mustaqim | the straight |
Start a new page: "Lesson 7: Fatihah Completed". Write "Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim" under "The words" and "Guide us to the straight path" beside it under "What they mean".
Scholars explain that guidance, hidayah, in this ayah has two sides, and you ask for both.
You ask to know what is right: what Allah (SWT) loves, and how to reach it.
You ask for the strength to actually do it, and to stay on it. That is why people who already pray still ask for guidance in every prayer.
Notice that the ayah says "guide us", not "guide me". Even when you pray alone, you ask for everyone together.
Ask yourself: Right now, do I need more help knowing what is right, or more help doing what I already know?
Count the rak'ahs of the five fard prayers out loud together.
If Al-Fatihah is recited in every rak'ah, then "Guide us to the straight path" is asked seventeen times a day, in the fard prayers alone.
Whether Al-Fatihah must be recited in every rak'ah, and who recites it when you pray behind an imam, are things the schools of fiqh differ on. Ask your imam.
Ask yourself: Why would Allah (SWT) have us ask for guidance so many times every day, and not just once in a lifetime?
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
"The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray."
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
Siratal-ladhina an'amta 'alayhim
the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor
غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ
Ghayril-maghdubi 'alayhim
not of those who have earned [Your] anger
وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
Wa lad-dallin
or of those who are astray
Write 1:7 as two lines: "Siratal-ladhina an'amta 'alayhim" and "Ghayril-maghdubi 'alayhim wa lad-dallin", each with its meaning beside it.
وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُولَٰئِكَ رَفِيقًا
"And whoever obeys Allah (SWT) and the Messenger (pbuh) - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah (SWT) has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions."
The same words appear in both ayahs: an'amta 'alayhim in Al-Fatihah and an'ama Allahu 'alayhim here. When you ask for their path, you ask to walk the road of the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous.
Ask yourself: Who is one righteous person I know or have read about? What about their path do I want for myself?
The end of 1:7 asks Allah (SWT) to keep you away from two ways of going wrong.
"Those who have earned [Your] anger": scholars explain these as people who knew the truth and chose not to follow it.
"Those who are astray": scholars explain these as people who acted without knowledge, and lost the way even while trying.
For us, the lesson is about our own choices, not about judging other people. Acting on what you already know protects you from the first. Learning protects you from the second, and that is part of why you are in this class.
Ask yourself: Which of the two is the bigger risk for me right now?
إِذَا قَالَ الإِمَامُ: غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ، فَقُولُوا: آمِينَ. فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ وَافَقَ قَوْلُهُ قَوْلَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
The Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) said: "When the imam says, 'Ghayril-maghdubi 'alayhim wa lad-dallin,' say 'Amin.' For whoever's saying matches the saying of the angels, his past sins are forgiven."
The hadith tells us that the angels say Amin too, and that your Amin can match theirs.
Ask yourself: Do I say Amin out of habit, or because I have just asked Allah (SWT) for something?
آمِينَ
Amin
O Allah (SWT), answer our prayer.
Amin is not an ayah of Al-Fatihah. It is said after it. Scholars explain that it means: O Allah (SWT), answer our prayer. So the conversation ends like this: you ask to be guided, Allah (SWT) says you will have what you asked for, and you say Amin.
Whether Amin is said aloud or quietly, and by whom, is something the schools of fiqh differ on. Ask your imam.
Write "Amin" and "O Allah (SWT), answer our prayer."
Many of you already know this surah by heart. Today it becomes yours in English as well. The name Al-Ikhlas means sincerity, or purity.
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ﴿١﴾ اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ ﴿٢﴾ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ ﴿٤﴾
1Say, "He is Allah (SWT), [who is] One, 2Allah (SWT), the Eternal Refuge. 3He neither begets nor is born, 4Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Ask yourself: Before today, could I have explained what any of these lines mean?
| Arabic | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| قُلْ | Qul | Say |
| هُوَ | huwa | He is |
| اللَّهُ | Allahu | Allah (SWT) |
| أَحَدٌ | ahad | One |
| اللَّهُ | Allahu | Allah (SWT) |
| الصَّمَدُ | as-Samad | the Eternal Refuge |
As-Samad is the One everyone turns to with their needs, while He (SWT) needs no one and nothing.
Every person, every animal, and every star depends on Him (SWT). He (SWT) depends on nothing.
Ask yourself: When something goes wrong in my life, who or what do I turn to first?
| Arabic | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| لَمْ يَلِدْ | Lam yalid | He neither begets (has no child) |
| وَلَمْ يُولَدْ | wa lam yulad | nor is born (has no parent) |
| وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ | Wa lam yakun lahu | Nor is there to Him |
| كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ | kufuwan ahad | any equivalent |
In Lesson 2, we put Al-Wadud, the Most Loving, beside Al-Adheem, the Most Great. These two ayahs are about awe: nothing in creation is like Him (SWT). A hadith later in this lesson shows the love.
Write the four ayahs of Al-Ikhlas line by line under "The words", with the meaning of each line beside it.
أَنَّ رَجُلاً سَمِعَ رَجُلاً يَقْرَأُ: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ، يُرَدِّدُهَا، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ جَاءَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ، وَكَأَنَّ الرَّجُلَ يَتَقَالُّهَا، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِنَّهَا لَتَعْدِلُ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) reported that a man (RA) heard another man (RA) reciting "Qul huwa Allahu ahad" over and over. In the morning he came to the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) and told him about it, as if he thought it was too little. The Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, it is equal to a third of the Quran."
Ask yourself: The man thought this short surah was too little. Have I ever thought something in worship was too small to matter?
One common explanation among scholars: the message of the Quran comes in three main kinds.
His names, His attributes, and His oneness.
His commands: worship, and how to live.
The stories of the prophets and the news of the Hereafter.
Al-Ikhlas is entirely about the first. Scholars also explain that the hadith is about its weight and reward: reciting it does not take the place of reading the rest of the Quran.
Ask yourself: If a friend asked me, "Who is Allah (SWT)?", could I answer with these four ayahs?
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعَثَ رَجُلاً عَلَى سَرِيَّةٍ، وَكَانَ يَقْرَأُ لأَصْحَابِهِ فِي صَلاَتِهِ فَيَخْتِمُ بِقُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ، فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوا ذَكَرُوا ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ: سَلُوهُ لأَىِّ شَىْءٍ يَصْنَعُ ذَلِكَ. فَسَأَلُوهُ فَقَالَ: لأَنَّهَا صِفَةُ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَأَنَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ بِهَا. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَخْبِرُوهُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّهُ
Aisha (RA) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) sent a man (RA) at the head of a small army. When he led his companions in prayer, he would end his recitation with "Qul huwa Allahu ahad." When they came back, they told the Prophet (pbuh) about it, and he said: "Ask him why he does that." They asked him, and he said: "Because it is the description of Ar-Rahman, and I love to recite it." The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Tell him that Allah (SWT) loves him."
In Lesson 1, we learned that His (SWT) love comes first. This companion (RA) loved the words that describe Ar-Rahman, the Most Merciful, and the answer that came back was the love of Allah (SWT).
Ask yourself: Do I recite Al-Ikhlas because it is short, or because of what it says about Him (SWT)?
From Allahu Akbar to the end of your surah, every word you say before you bow now has a meaning you know.
The course promise was that you would understand every word you say in salah, in English. Everything you recite before the bow is now done. In the next lesson, you learn every word of the bow and the prostration.
At the bottom of today's page, under "In my own words", write one sentence: what do I ask for at the end of Al-Fatihah, and what does Allah (SWT) say back?
Partner A says one line of Al-Ikhlas in Arabic. Partner B says what it means in English. Go through all four lines, then switch.
Do the same with 1:6 and the two parts of 1:7. Finish with "Amin" and what it means.
Partner A says Al-Fatihah slowly. After 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5 and 1:7, Partner B says what Allah (SWT) answers, beginning with "Allah (SWT) says". Then switch.
Use your Lesson 6 cards and today's notebook page if you get stuck. Nothing is graded.
There are no graded answers here. Saying it in your own words is the point.
Front of the card: the cue, the Arabic, and how to say it. Back: the meaning and the source.
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim
Guide us to the straight path.
Lesson 7 · Al-Fatihah 1:6
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
Siratal-ladhina an'amta 'alayhim
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor.
Lesson 7 · Al-Fatihah 1:7
غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
Ghayril-maghdubi 'alayhim wa lad-dallin
Not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray. Allah (SWT) answers: "This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for."
Lesson 7 · Al-Fatihah 1:7 · Sahih Muslim 395
آمِينَ
Amin
O Allah (SWT), answer our prayer.
Lesson 7
Your cards stay with you. Nobody collects them.
One card for each ayah, so you can learn the meaning line by line.
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Qul huwa Allahu ahad
Say, "He is Allah (SWT), [who is] One,"
Lesson 7 · Al-Ikhlas 112:1
اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ
Allahus-Samad
Allah (SWT), the Eternal Refuge.
Lesson 7 · Al-Ikhlas 112:2
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ
Lam yalid wa lam yulad
He neither begets nor is born,
Lesson 7 · Al-Ikhlas 112:3
وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ
Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad
Nor is there to Him any equivalent.
Lesson 7 · Al-Ikhlas 112:4
Your cards stay with you. Nobody collects them.
Your writing stays with you.
Recite Al-Ikhlas in at least one prayer a day, knowing what each line means, and say Amin after Al-Fatihah knowing what you are asking.
Study your cards one or two minutes a day, for example after a prayer. Today's eight cards start in your "Still learning" pile. If you are not praying every prayer yet, you can still recite Al-Ikhlas once a day and think about what each line means.
The card drill at the start of the next lesson begins with today's eight cards.
Ruku and Sujud: Awe and Nearness. Every word you say when you bow and when you prostrate, and what it means to be near Allah (SWT) in sujud.