October 2002: Page 1, 2, 3

Submitters Perspective

Page 2

The Key (Al-Fatehah)

Cont'd From Page 2

required. God starts the Key with Basmallah then all praise to Him is mentioned within the Key.

The Key does not need the addition of the word “Aameen”.

We should trust in God that He has provided us the complete Key.

Adding or deleting to the Key will not make it work better, but will simply make it useless. Just like the keys to our house, car etc.

If the Key words provided by God worked for Adam (without manipulation), surely they will also work for us. That is His system.

Some people delete the Basmallah in their Salat prayers. Some recite additional verses before the Basmallah and some add the word “Aameen” at the end. Do they know better than God or do the people who added those words (even with good intentions) know better than God? It is our respon-sibility to use our eyes, ears and brain in light of the absolute truth (the Quran).

We know that Prophet Muhammad only followed the Quran. He was not authorized by God to change anything in the message. We are sure he delivered us a per-fect message. The Al-Fatehah he uttered in his salat has to be exactly how he delivered it to us in the Quran. No additions or deletions.

Why is it not appropriate to recite parts of the Quran after Al-Fatehah?

When we recite the Key, we seek His Guidance to the right path. We note that God tells us in 2:2 that this Book (Quran) is “Guidance”. Therefore from 2:2 onwards it is all “Guidance.” It is all the Guidance we need to redeem ourselves straight back to heaven.

We have established that during Salat we are in contact or communication with God. In fact after


completing the recitation of Al-Fatehah we have opened our contact.

At this point, should we start giving “Guidance” to God?

For example should we start ordering God to

[112:1] “Proclaim”, He is the One and only GOD.

If we are submitters, the “guidance” comes from our Lord to us and not in the reverse direction. He does not need guidance from us. That can also imply that we are “acting god” to God.

In addition, other names may also be mentioned in the Salat if we recite parts of the Quran. This violates the Quranic principle to devote the salat to Him alone

[6:162] Say, "My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe.

Altering the combinations of Al-Fatehah in Salat also makes religious practices difficult. This contradicts the Quranic principle that God has made religion easy for us.

There is a clear distinction between reciting the Quran and performing Salat.

[29:45] You shall recite what is revealed to you of the scripture, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), for the Contact Prayers prohibit evil and vice. But the remembrance of GOD (through Salat) is the most im-portant objective. GOD knows everything you do. (See also 35:29)

[17:78] You shall observe the Contact Prayer (Salat) when the sun declines from its highest point at noon, as it moves towards sunset. You shall also observe (the recitation of) the

Quran at dawn. (Reciting) the Quran at dawn is witnessed.

We also note that calling God or proclaiming that he has never begotten a son is distinct from the contact prayers. We are to magnify Him “constantly” and not as a part of the Salat.

[17:110] Say, "Call Him GOD, or call Him the Most Gracious; whichever name you use, to Him belongs the best names." You shall not utter your Contact Prayers (Salat) too loudly, nor secretly; use a moderate tone.

[17:111] And proclaim: "Praise be to GOD, who has never be-gotten a son, nor does He have a partner in His kingship, nor does He need any ally out of weakness," and magnify Him constantly.

Mathematical evidence

Despite the above logical evidence, we now have physical, intangible, mathematical evidence that the Quran is a numerically structured book based on the number 19. The evidence for the 19-related findings in Al-Fatehah can be studied elsewhere. In brief, the Basmallah consists of 19 Arabic letters; every word of the Basmallah occurs in the Quran in multiples of 19; our lips come in contact 19 times when we recite Al-Fatehah and so on.

The Key is that God has provided us the Key (Al-Fatehah) to establish contact with Him. The specific words that God gave Adam to redeem himself worked for him and the Key will work for us.

We thank God for His mercy to provide us with specific words to redeem us.

Mahmood A., MD