Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah Almighty said: 'I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.' When the servant says, '{All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds}', Allah Almighty says: 'My servant has praised Me.' And when he says, '{The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful}', Allah Almighty says: 'My servant has extolled Me.' And when he says, '{Master of the Day of Judgment}', Allah Almighty says: 'My servant has glorified Me' - And He also says: 'My servant entrusted his affairs to Me' - And when he says, '{You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help}', He says: 'This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.' And when he says, '{Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed; not of those who incurred Your Wrath, or of those who went astray}', He says: 'This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.'"
Authentic hadith - Narrated by Muslim

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that Allah Almighty, in a Qudsi Hadīth, said: I have divided Surat al-Fātihah in prayer between Myself and My servant in two halves; a half for Myself and a half for him. In the first half: praise, exaltation, and glorification of Allah, for which I give him the best reward. And in the second half: entreaty and supplication, to which I respond and give him what he has asked for. When the praying person says, {All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds}, Allah says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says, {The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful}, Allah says: My servant has extolled Me, praised Me, and acknowledged My general favor upon My servants. And when he says, {Master of the Day of Judgment}, Allah says: My servant has glorified Me - and that is a great honor. And when he says, {You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help}', Allah says: This is between Me and My servant. The first part of this verse, namely {You alone we worship), is an acknowledgment of the divinity of Allah and responding to Him with worship, and with it the half which is for Allah comes to an end. The second part of the verse, namely {and You alone we ask for help}, contains the quest for help from Allah and His promise of help. And when he says, {Guide us to the straight path*, the path of those whom You have blessed; not of those who incurred Your Wrath, or of those who went astray}, Allah says: This is entreaty and supplication from My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for, and I have answered his supplication.

  1. It shows how Surat al-Fātihah is so important that Allah Almighty called it 'prayer'.
  2. Allah Almighty is kind to His servant, as He commends him for praising, extolling, and glorifying Him and promises that He will give him what he asks for.
  3. This noble Surah contains praise of Allah, mention of the Day of Judgment, supplication to Allah, sincere devotion of worship to Him, asking for guidance to the straight path, and warning of the wrong paths.
  4. If a praying person recalls this Hadīth - when he recites Al-Fātihah - his humility and focus will increase in prayer.

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