تفسير ....... الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

تفسير ....... الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

(1:2) Praise *2 be to Allah, the Lord *3 of the entire universe.
*2). As we have already explained, the character of this surah is that of a prayer. The prayer begins with praise of the One
to whom our prayer is addressed. This indicates that whenever one prays
one ought to pray in a dignified manner. It does not become a
cultivated person to blurt out his petition. Refinement demands that our
requests should be preceded by a wholehearted acknowledgement of the
unique position, infinite benevolence and unmatched excellence of the
One to Whom we pray. Whenever we praise someone, we do so for two
reasons. First, because excellence calls for praise, irrespective of
whether that excellence has any direct relevance to us or not. Second,
we praise one who, we consider to be our benefactor; when this is the
case our praise arises from a deep feeling of gratitude. God is worthy
of praise on both counts. It is incumbent on us to praise Him not only
in recognition of His infinite excellence but also because of our
feeling of gratitude to Him, arising from our awareness of the blessings
He has lavished upon us. It is important to note that what is said here
is not merely that praise be to God, but that all praise be to God
alone. Whenever there is any beauty, any excellence, any perfection-in
whatever thing or in whatever shape it may manifest itself- its ultimate
source is none other than God Himself. No human beings, angels,
Demigods, heavenly bodies-in short, no created beings-are possessed of
an innate excellence; where excellence exists, it is a gift from God.
Thus, if there is anyone at all whom we ought to adore and worship, to
whom we ought to feel indebted and grateful, towards whom we should
remain humble and obedient, it is the creator of excellence, rather than
its possessor.
*3). In Arabic the word Rabb has three meanings: (i)
Lord and Master; (ii) Sustainer, Provider, Supporter, Nourisher and
Guardian, and (iii) Sovereign, Ruler, He Who controls and directs. God
is the Rabb of the universe in all three meanings of the term.