Fatiha & 786

Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu


Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon Our Master the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam)


Jazak'Allah for your valued question. What some of the Wahhabis put on the internet in relation to the Fatehah recitation for the deceased as being 'biddah', a common term that they are acquainted with, and possibly may not even know the meaning of, what terms it carries, when it is to be used, and what are it's conditions, is so superfluous, unpredictable, and ambiguous, that it shows thier inability to derive correct meaning from the Qur'an al kareem, and from the ahaadith of the Most Beloved Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa(Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam).


They think that if there is not anything in the Qur'an al kareem or Sunnah which specifies an action or practice, that, that action is a 'biddah', is 'shirk', or some other form of slander. If this was the case, then they should not even be driving motor cars, riding bicycles, wearing boots, living in brick houses, being on the internet, or even be answering questions!


Let us now see why it is mostly the Indian and Pakistani's who recite 'Fatehah' on food or water, convey it's reward to the deceased, and eat well.


A hadith related in Bukhari Shareef, in the 'Kitabun fil istiqrazi wa ada'id duyuni', under the bab 'idha qada duna haqqi hi aw halla la hu fa huwa ja'izunn' tells a story about how Hadrat Jabir approached the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) when he found his father had passed away, leaving him indebted.


The words of the hadith state:




This is what 'barakah' means. It is from baaraka, yubaariku, baarakann, which means to make a blessing (obviously in the form of a prayer).


Now the Fatehah is one of the best, if not the best form of prayer, also known as the 'ummul kitab', and also the 'sab'a mathani'. Its virtue is that it carries the reward of a whole Qur'an al kareem, if it is recited. If this is recited upon the food, just as the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) had recited it, in the orchard, and blessed its fruits, then is that not a practice, which is being acted upon by the Sunnis of the Subcontinent, and elsewhere?


Had the supplication of the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), not been the 'Fatehah', nevertheless another part of the Qur'an al kareem, then does the 'Fatehah' not cover the rest of the Qur'an al kareem in terms of reward ?


Tafsir Ruhul Bayan, chapter 7 under the verse:



it states:


It is narrated from Hadrat A'raj (Radi Allahu anhu), that whoever completes the whole Qur'an al kareem, and makes a supplication, then there are four thousand angels who say 'amin' for him, and then they pray for him, and ask for his forgiveness until the evening or morning.


This hadith clearly shows that the person who either recites the Qur'an al kareem or the fatehah, because the 'fatehah' is part of the Qur'an al kareem, if not, the essence of the Qur'an al kareem, even the Angels ask for forgiveness from him. So what of the person for whom it is being prayed for ? Will he not recieve the reward ? Indeed he will, as follows:


Allah the Almighty says:




This verse clearly shows that, any reward that the Muslims create, then it is never wasted, and that the Almighty Allah always makes use of it, by conveying it to some one or other.


Another classical case is that of Hadrat Sa'd bin Ubadah (Radi Allahu anhu), when he asked the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) that what I should do in order to keep my mother happy, who had passed away, the Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) replied that you can give water, and she will be rewarded for it, thus Hadrat Sa'd (Radi Allahu anhu) made a well and called it the 'well of Umm-e-Sa'd.


There are many verses from the Qur'an al kareem, and ahadith of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) in support of the conveying of reward for the deceased. There is also evidence of reciting blessed words upon food, so that hardhips may be erased. I have presented to you, a few.


May Allah the Almighty accept our actions which are solely for His pleasure, and may He keep us firm upon the religion of Islam.



Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab


M. Waseem Ashrafi

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Related Questions/Answers : Wahhabis and Fateha

Other answers : 786 and 786/92 and Bismillah