00 – Introduction

Sūrah al-Fātiḥah; The most powerful and comprehensive Du’ā

بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ. ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ. ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ. مَٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ. إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ. ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ. صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ.

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. [All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds – The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. 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.

Bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi. Alḥamdu-lillāhi Rabbi-l-ʿālamīn, ar-Raḥmāni-r-Raḥīm, Māliki yawmi-d-dīn, iyyāka naʿbudu wa iyyāka nastaʿīn, ihdina-ṣ-Ṣirāṭa-l-Mustaqīm, ṣirāṭa-lladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim ghayri-l-maghḍūbi ʿālayhim wa la-ḍ-ḍāllīn.

“It is You we worship identifies the objective, and it is You we seek for help states the means of achieving that objective. Allah is the means of worshipping Allah. The beginning is from Allah and the end is to Allah.” The Straight Path in this context is not just Islam as a whole; it is the path to knowing what is right and following it in every aspect of our lives. Because adherence to the Straight Path is an arduous task, Allah has commanded that we supplicate and ask Him to guide us to it a minimum of 17 times a day. -Ibn Taymiyah and Mukhtasar Minhaaj al-Qasideen.