سُوْرَةُ الْفَاتِحَةِ
Surah Al-Faatiha (1) — Ayah 5
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴿5﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِيَّاكَ
iyyāka
You Alone
نَعْبُدُ
naʿbudu
we worship
وَإِيَّاكَ
wa-iyyāka
and You Alone
نَسْتَعِينُ
nastaʿīnu
we ask for help
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah5) ➊ At the beginning of the surah, Allah Almighty is praised in the third person, { اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ:}, and in the following verses, Allah Almighty is addressed directly; this is called "iltifat" (change of address). This indicates that when a servant mentions Allah Almighty, he attains closeness to Him and the honor of being present in His court, so now he presents his request directly in the form of address.
➋ In the Arabic language, the order of a verbal sentence is that first comes the verb, then the subject, and then the object. If the latter word is brought forward, it creates specification or exclusivity in the speech. {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} was originally {’’نَعْبُدُكَ‘‘} (we worship You). The object, the "kaaf" pronoun, was brought before {’’ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, so it became {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, which created exclusivity in the speech, meaning we worship You, not anyone else. This meaning is conveyed as "we worship only You" or "You alone we worship." This is exactly the meaning of "La ilaha illallah," that only Allah Almighty is worthy of worship, no one else.
➌ The meaning of worship is to consider someone the owner of unseen powers and, with the utmost love, to show the utmost humility, humiliation, and fear before him. This right belongs only to Allah Almighty. Islam freed the servants from every such slavery and made them the servant and slave of only that Pure Being who created them and nurtures them. Worship is only for Him; it is neither permissible to associate anyone with Him nor to love anyone as He is loved, nor to fear anyone as He is feared. It is unfortunate that some Muslims are not as fearful and trembling when entering or leaving the House of Allah as they are when going to or returning from a grave or a saint. After the pledge and declaration of {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} in every rak'ah of every prayer, servitude to anyone else is the greatest betrayal of Allah Almighty, which He will never forgive. See Surah An-Nisa (116). Allah Almighty has said in the Qur'an in three places that these people did not value Allah as He ought to be valued. See Surah Al-An'am (91), Al-Hajj (74), and Az-Zumar (67).
➍ In {وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ: ’’ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘ ’’عَوْنٌ‘‘}, it is the verb form of the Bab Istif‘al, present tense, first person plural, which was originally {’’نَسْتَعْوِنُ‘‘}. In this too, due to the precedence of {’’ اِيَّاكَ ‘‘}, there is exclusivity, meaning we seek help from You, not from anyone else. From here, the servant’s request begins, which, according to Allah’s command, has already been accepted.
➎ By mentioning {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} first and {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} afterwards, the etiquette of supplication has been taught: before making a request, praise and glorify Allah, then present your servitude and your relationship, that is, make your request through your deeds. This is a valid means, as He said: « رَبَّنَاۤ اِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُّنَادِيْ لِلْاِيْمَانِ اَنْ اٰمِنُوْا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاٰمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوْبَنَا وَ كَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّاٰتِنَا وَ تَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْاَبْرَارِ» [ آل عمران : ۱۹۳ ] “Our Lord! Indeed, we have heard a caller calling to faith, saying, ‘Believe in your Lord,’ so we have believed. Our Lord! So forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.” The story of the three men trapped in the cave in Sahih Bukhari (3465) is also evidence that supplications are accepted through deeds done sincerely for Allah. However, making supplication by mentioning someone’s name, or by their person, or by their sanctity, etc., is not established from the Book and Sunnah, for example, saying: O Allah! Accept my supplication by the means, intercession, or sanctity of so-and-so. For details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah (37) « فَتَلَقّٰۤى اٰدَمُ مِنْ رَّبِّهٖ كَلِمٰتٍ».
➏ The lesson in bringing {’’ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} after { ’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} is also that a person should be convinced that he cannot do any good deed without the help of Allah Almighty and should have the belief of being completely helpless and powerless before Allah, and should also express and acknowledge this. That is, we worship You alone and seek Your help alone in worship and in all our affairs; without Your help, we can neither worship You nor do anything else. In this word, the highest teaching of trust in Allah and entrusting all our affairs to Him is given. Some of the Salaf said, Al-Fatiha is the summary of the Qur’an, and « اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ» is the summary of Al-Fatiha. Because by saying {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, a person becomes free from shirk, and by saying {’’ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘}, he empties himself of his own strength, power, and authority, and expresses and acknowledges trust and reliance only on Allah.
➐ The seeking of help here refers to seeking help in those matters whose authority Allah Almighty has kept only with Himself and has not given to any creature. For example, a doctor can give medicine, but healing is only with Allah. A benefactor can give some money, but making someone rich or poor is in the hands of Allah. A physician can treat, but granting children is only in the hands of Allah. Armies, men, and weapons can help each other, but victory and defeat are in the hands of Allah. In short, in the apparent means and resources of the world that have been granted to humans, seeking help from each other is also permissible, and helping each other is also necessary, as He said: « وَ تَعَاوَنُوْا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوٰى » [ المائدۃ : ۲ ] "Help one another in righteousness and piety." Unfortunately, some people call upon those personalities for help who do not even hear, nor are they present, and seek help in such matters that, even if they were alive or listening, would not be in their power. How unjust it is that in every rak‘ah of prayer, they acknowledge {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} (You alone we ask for help), and then seek help from others besides Allah, for example, {’’يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! اَغِثْنِيْ‘‘} (O Messenger of Allah! Help me), O Mawla Ali, O Lion of God! Take my boat across, al-madad ya Ghaus-e-Azam, madad kun ya Muinuddin Chishti. In short, after the pledge and acknowledgment of seeking help only from Allah Almighty, they make others partners of the Lord Almighty by considering them owners of the powers of the Lord and seek help and assistance from them.
➑ Here is a question: From {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} to the end of Al-Fatiha, the one making supplication uses the plural form, whereas the supplicant is a single person, so the singular form should have been used. If the plural is considered for reverence, it does not suit supplication. The answer is that, due to utmost humility, the servant does not dare to present his request alone in the exalted court of Allah Almighty, but rather presents it together with all the worshipping jinn, humans, and angels, saying: "We all (among whom is this humble servant of Yours as well) worship You alone and seek help only from You."
Some scholars have stated this wisdom: there is a subtle humility in the plural form, in that the singular form expresses some self-importance, which is not present in the plural form. (Ibn Kathir) Some commentators have stated this wisdom: every believer is like a single body with other believers, and every believer represents all believers, so he alone presents the request on behalf of all Muslims, saying: "We all praise You alone and seek help only from You." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: [ اَلْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ تَتَكَافَأُ دِمَاءُ هُمْ وَ يَسْعٰی بِذِمَّتِهِمْ اَدْنَاهُمْ وَ هُمْ يَدٌ عَلٰی مَنْ سِوَاهُمْ ] "The believers, their blood is equal among them, their most humble person strives to fulfill their covenant, and they are as one hand against all others." [ أبوداوٗد، الدیات، باب أیقاد المسلم من الکافر؟ : ۴۵۳۰، وقال الألبانی حسن صحیح ]
➒ {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} also shows that the best form of worship and seeking help is collective worship and seeking help. That is why Allah Almighty has commanded the performance of the comprehensive form of both, prayer, in congregation: « وَ اَقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَ اٰتُوا الزَّكٰوةَ وَ ارْكَعُوْا مَعَ الرّٰكِعِيْنَ» [ البقرۃ : ۴۳ ] "And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow."
➓ In {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘}, it is not mentioned for which task help is being sought, so that it remains general; the purpose is that in every matter we seek Your help.
➋ In the Arabic language, the order of a verbal sentence is that first comes the verb, then the subject, and then the object. If the latter word is brought forward, it creates specification or exclusivity in the speech. {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} was originally {’’نَعْبُدُكَ‘‘} (we worship You). The object, the "kaaf" pronoun, was brought before {’’ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, so it became {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, which created exclusivity in the speech, meaning we worship You, not anyone else. This meaning is conveyed as "we worship only You" or "You alone we worship." This is exactly the meaning of "La ilaha illallah," that only Allah Almighty is worthy of worship, no one else.
➌ The meaning of worship is to consider someone the owner of unseen powers and, with the utmost love, to show the utmost humility, humiliation, and fear before him. This right belongs only to Allah Almighty. Islam freed the servants from every such slavery and made them the servant and slave of only that Pure Being who created them and nurtures them. Worship is only for Him; it is neither permissible to associate anyone with Him nor to love anyone as He is loved, nor to fear anyone as He is feared. It is unfortunate that some Muslims are not as fearful and trembling when entering or leaving the House of Allah as they are when going to or returning from a grave or a saint. After the pledge and declaration of {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} in every rak'ah of every prayer, servitude to anyone else is the greatest betrayal of Allah Almighty, which He will never forgive. See Surah An-Nisa (116). Allah Almighty has said in the Qur'an in three places that these people did not value Allah as He ought to be valued. See Surah Al-An'am (91), Al-Hajj (74), and Az-Zumar (67).
➍ In {وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ: ’’ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘ ’’عَوْنٌ‘‘}, it is the verb form of the Bab Istif‘al, present tense, first person plural, which was originally {’’نَسْتَعْوِنُ‘‘}. In this too, due to the precedence of {’’ اِيَّاكَ ‘‘}, there is exclusivity, meaning we seek help from You, not from anyone else. From here, the servant’s request begins, which, according to Allah’s command, has already been accepted.
➎ By mentioning {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} first and {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} afterwards, the etiquette of supplication has been taught: before making a request, praise and glorify Allah, then present your servitude and your relationship, that is, make your request through your deeds. This is a valid means, as He said: « رَبَّنَاۤ اِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُّنَادِيْ لِلْاِيْمَانِ اَنْ اٰمِنُوْا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاٰمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوْبَنَا وَ كَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّاٰتِنَا وَ تَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْاَبْرَارِ» [ آل عمران : ۱۹۳ ] “Our Lord! Indeed, we have heard a caller calling to faith, saying, ‘Believe in your Lord,’ so we have believed. Our Lord! So forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.” The story of the three men trapped in the cave in Sahih Bukhari (3465) is also evidence that supplications are accepted through deeds done sincerely for Allah. However, making supplication by mentioning someone’s name, or by their person, or by their sanctity, etc., is not established from the Book and Sunnah, for example, saying: O Allah! Accept my supplication by the means, intercession, or sanctity of so-and-so. For details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah (37) « فَتَلَقّٰۤى اٰدَمُ مِنْ رَّبِّهٖ كَلِمٰتٍ».
➏ The lesson in bringing {’’ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} after { ’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} is also that a person should be convinced that he cannot do any good deed without the help of Allah Almighty and should have the belief of being completely helpless and powerless before Allah, and should also express and acknowledge this. That is, we worship You alone and seek Your help alone in worship and in all our affairs; without Your help, we can neither worship You nor do anything else. In this word, the highest teaching of trust in Allah and entrusting all our affairs to Him is given. Some of the Salaf said, Al-Fatiha is the summary of the Qur’an, and « اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ» is the summary of Al-Fatiha. Because by saying {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, a person becomes free from shirk, and by saying {’’ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘}, he empties himself of his own strength, power, and authority, and expresses and acknowledges trust and reliance only on Allah.
➐ The seeking of help here refers to seeking help in those matters whose authority Allah Almighty has kept only with Himself and has not given to any creature. For example, a doctor can give medicine, but healing is only with Allah. A benefactor can give some money, but making someone rich or poor is in the hands of Allah. A physician can treat, but granting children is only in the hands of Allah. Armies, men, and weapons can help each other, but victory and defeat are in the hands of Allah. In short, in the apparent means and resources of the world that have been granted to humans, seeking help from each other is also permissible, and helping each other is also necessary, as He said: « وَ تَعَاوَنُوْا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَ التَّقْوٰى » [ المائدۃ : ۲ ] "Help one another in righteousness and piety." Unfortunately, some people call upon those personalities for help who do not even hear, nor are they present, and seek help in such matters that, even if they were alive or listening, would not be in their power. How unjust it is that in every rak‘ah of prayer, they acknowledge {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} (You alone we ask for help), and then seek help from others besides Allah, for example, {’’يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! اَغِثْنِيْ‘‘} (O Messenger of Allah! Help me), O Mawla Ali, O Lion of God! Take my boat across, al-madad ya Ghaus-e-Azam, madad kun ya Muinuddin Chishti. In short, after the pledge and acknowledgment of seeking help only from Allah Almighty, they make others partners of the Lord Almighty by considering them owners of the powers of the Lord and seek help and assistance from them.
➑ Here is a question: From {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ ‘‘} to the end of Al-Fatiha, the one making supplication uses the plural form, whereas the supplicant is a single person, so the singular form should have been used. If the plural is considered for reverence, it does not suit supplication. The answer is that, due to utmost humility, the servant does not dare to present his request alone in the exalted court of Allah Almighty, but rather presents it together with all the worshipping jinn, humans, and angels, saying: "We all (among whom is this humble servant of Yours as well) worship You alone and seek help only from You."
Some scholars have stated this wisdom: there is a subtle humility in the plural form, in that the singular form expresses some self-importance, which is not present in the plural form. (Ibn Kathir) Some commentators have stated this wisdom: every believer is like a single body with other believers, and every believer represents all believers, so he alone presents the request on behalf of all Muslims, saying: "We all praise You alone and seek help only from You." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: [ اَلْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ تَتَكَافَأُ دِمَاءُ هُمْ وَ يَسْعٰی بِذِمَّتِهِمْ اَدْنَاهُمْ وَ هُمْ يَدٌ عَلٰی مَنْ سِوَاهُمْ ] "The believers, their blood is equal among them, their most humble person strives to fulfill their covenant, and they are as one hand against all others." [ أبوداوٗد، الدیات، باب أیقاد المسلم من الکافر؟ : ۴۵۳۰، وقال الألبانی حسن صحیح ]
➒ {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘} also shows that the best form of worship and seeking help is collective worship and seeking help. That is why Allah Almighty has commanded the performance of the comprehensive form of both, prayer, in congregation: « وَ اَقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَ اٰتُوا الزَّكٰوةَ وَ ارْكَعُوْا مَعَ الرّٰكِعِيْنَ» [ البقرۃ : ۴۳ ] "And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow."
➓ In {’’ اِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ ‘‘}, it is not mentioned for which task help is being sought, so that it remains general; the purpose is that in every matter we seek Your help.
