Can I Intend the Supplication Found in the Fatiha to Be for Me and My Children?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: Assalamu alaykum

Whom does ‘us’ refer to in the verse ‘guide us in the straight path”?

Can I intend it to be me and my children?

Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

Thank you for your question.

Representation.

According Imam Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi, the pronoun for ‘Us’ in refers to the reciter of the verse, but it has been left in the plural for various rhetorical purposes. Amongst them is the idea that the imam or the one reciting this verse is acting as a representative for all the believers whilst standing in the presence of the King whose generosity cannot be fathomed – let alone rivaled.

Therefore, at this point one asks for increasing and continued guidance for oneself, and all the other believers; this is much better than a narrower intention.

Asking through love.

Imam al-Baydawi also mentions that another purpose of the word ‘Us’ in this verse is to ask Allah to grant us the great good of guidance in this world, and success in the afterlife through His beloved servants. He states that amongst the believers are those who are truly beloved to Allah, and any prayer made by them or for them is bound to be answered because of His love for them. (al-Baydawi, Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta’wil).

May Allah the Most Generous make us all of those who He loves and grants perpetual, increasing guidance to. Amin

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.

Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.

In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.

His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.

When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.