A Conversation Between the Servant and His Lord

The eighth form of worship performed within ṣalāh is itself a communication between servant and Lord — a munājāt, a quiet exchange between two parties. In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) states that anyone standing in prayer is, in truth, in communication with the Lord. In explaining Sūrat al-Fātiḥah — the opening chapter of the Qur'an, recited in every rakʿah of every prayer —

he relates a hadith qudsi in which Allah (swt) says: I have divided the prayer into two halves, between Myself and My servant. When the servant says bismillāhi al-raḥmāni al-raḥīm, Allah says that His servant has made mention of His name. When the servant continues with the praise of Allah — ḥamd, a term of praise reserved for Allah alone, never properly said of any human being, however gratitude toward a person might otherwise be expressed, since one thanks a person with shukran and never with ḥamdak — Allah says that His servant has praised Him: al-ḥamdu, the praise, belongs to whom? To Allah, Rabb al-ʿālamīn, Lord of all the worlds. Reflected upon in this way, with khushūʿ and humility together, the meaning of the Fātiḥah makes a prayer something special indeed. As the servant proceeds through the verses that follow, Allah says that His servant has honoured Him, and then that His servant has exalted Him, acknowledging and confessing His greatness.

When the servant reaches iyyāka naʿbudu — Thee alone do we worship — Allah says that His servant has worshipped Him; for, as He states elsewhere, the very purpose for which jinn and mankind were created is worship:

It has become customary among some of the mashāyikh to close a gathering with Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, said bi-ḥurmati sirri Sūrat al-Fātiḥah — for the honour of the secret contained within it — and one such shaykh, asked directly what that secret was, answered Allāhu aʿlam, Allah knows best, before adding that it was, in his view, iyyāka naʿbudu: the whole of the Fātiḥah turns upon this single act of worship, which is also the purpose for which creation itself was made. The exchange continues: when the servant says wa-iyyāka nastaʿīn, and Thee alone do we ask for help, Allah says that His servant has relied upon Him for every need, entrusting the matter to His will and His decree, so that the servant's wish shall be granted. And when the servant says ihdinā al-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm, guide us upon the straight path, Allah says that this matter lies between Himself and His servant, and that His servant shall be kept upon that straight path — ghayri al-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim wa-lā al-ḍāllīn, the path of those favoured, not of those who incur anger nor of those who go astray.