بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Preface

Hello! This blog post and all other Qu’ranic related blog posts will be taking a different approach and layout than my usual blog posts. As of right now, it’s the month of Ramadan. I decided to look through my family’s study room and see what all those books we had laying around were. To my surprise, we had many copies of translations of the Qu’ran. Some by different scholars, some with comentary, and some color-coded. Having grown up and raised as a Muslim, reading Qu’ran was one of the integral parts of my life. However, I never understood what I was reading or what it meant. I don’t know Arabic, only how to read it aloud in the Qu’ranic form. It got me thinking, why have I just been staring at words with no meaning to me for years? Why have I been memorizing these words, yet never knowing what I was reciting? As such, I dusted off an English translation of the Qu’ran, and here so begins my journey. For every surah that I complete, I will be writing a summary of the surah, the historical context of it, what it has taught me, and some additional context that I get from researching the surah. For those of you who have made it this far, thank you. May Allah bless you.

Recap of Islam

For those of my readers who aren’t familiar with the beliefs of Islam, let me give you a quick run down. The idea of Islam boils down to the following: There is only one God, Allah, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is his messenger. Some conflict and differing of viewpoint occurs as the Sunni believe that Muhammad ﷺ is that final messenger of God, while the Shia’s believe otherwise. I will be writing from the Sunni perspective. The God being referred to, Allah, is the same God that is present in Judaism and Christianity. Some key differences however, is that unlike Christians, Muslims do not believe God manifested himself as Jesus and rather that Jesus was a messenger of God, just like the others. There are 25 prophets mentioned by name in Islam, however there are many, many more unwritten ones.

Islam is built upon five main pillars that muslims follow:

• Shahada, accepting only one God, and Muhammad ﷺ as his messenger
• Salah, 5 daily prayers at perscribed times.
• Zakat, mandatory charity to the poor and needy.
• Sawm, fasting during the month of Ramadan.
• Hajj, a pilgrimage to Makkah that all Muslims must attempt to complete at least once in their lifetime.

Recap of Muhammad ﷺ

Muhammad ﷺ had grown up an orphan, raised by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and his Uncle Abu Talib in Makkah. He had lived his life as a merchant up until the age of 40, where on one of his spiritual seclusions in a cave, he was visited by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel, as the Christians know him). Angel Jibreel had evoked Muhammad ﷺ to recite a surah of the Qu’ran, despite him Muhammad ﷺ not knowing it, or even what was going on. This terrified Muhammad ﷺ, who went home shaken and distraught. However, soon, after God sent more revelations, he realized that he was a Prophet of God, and that it was his duty to lead the Muslims. He soon started preaching his beliefs, garnering many followers. In the area that Muhammad ﷺ lived in, they worshipped idols and were polytheistic. The idols grew such attention that there were many that came to see them, generating tourism income. As Muhammad ﷺ preached the word of Islam over time and grew in followers, his beliefs threathening the economic status of the rich in his area, who in turn abused, harassed, and starved the man and his followers out of his home in Makkah. He and his followers migrated to Medina, where he brought about peace between the two warring tribes there. After some conflict between the Makkans and Madanis, Muhammad ﷺ returned to his homeland and reclaimed it with mercy, sparing the lives of those who once wronged him. After many years, the majority of Makkah was now monotheistic and Muslim. In 632 CE, he perished due to sickness.

Recap of the Qu’ran

The Qu’ran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through Angel Jibreel. Muhammad ﷺ himself was illiterate and could not write. As such, he had his followers transcribe his words down. Some immediately, and some memorized his words for later transcription. A key goal of this transcription was that the wording and meaning was never changed. The Qu’ran is the word of God himself, meant for no man to tamper with. As such, Muslims memorize the words of the Qu’ran (some people take many years to do so, some dedicate their life to it) to ensure it stays in rememberance and can never be changed. There 114 surahs (chapters) in the Qu’ran. They are of two types, ones that were revealed to the Prophet ﷺ in his time in Makkah, and the other of his time in Madina.

The History

Surah Al-Fatiha (translation: The Opener) was believed to have been revealed twice to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Once in Medina and once in Makkah. This is debated, as some believe it was only revealed in Makkah. Regardless, this is the first full surah to be revealed to the Prophet ﷺ. This surah is said in the beginning of every prayer that Muslims perform. It is broken up into two parts, the first being dedicated to explaining God as the most merciful and gracious, ruler of all. The second part is dedicated to explaining the reliance humans have on God, asking that he keep them on the Straight Path and that they never earn his anger.

Direct Translation

بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِیمِ ۝١ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِینَ ۝٢ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِیمِ ۝٣ مَـٰلِكِ یَوۡمِ ٱلدِّینِ ۝٤ إِیَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِیَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِینُ ۝٥ ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَ ٰ⁠طَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِیمَ ۝٦ صِرَ ٰ⁠طَ ٱلَّذِینَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ غَیۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَیۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّاۤلِّینَ ۝٧

In the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. You ˹alone˺ we worship and You ˹alone˺ we ask for help. Guide us along the Straight Path, the Path of those You have blessed—not those You are displeased with, or those who are astray.