You Alone We Worship: Asking for the Right Path

18 August 2021

Are the Words on Our Tongues Present in Our Lives?

Question: When we say, “You alone we worship,” whose words are we really obeying?

We recite Al-Fatihah frequently. We remember Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, and recall the Day of Judgment. Then we say that we worship Him alone and seek help from Him alone.

But a person’s life sometimes moves away from these words. Being successful, earning money, or avoiding the loss of someone’s love may take precedence over all our standards.

That is why Al-Fatihah should be taken beyond habit and reflected upon within life.

Seeking Help from Allah Alone

Our own work and the support we receive from others are valuable. But they do not mean that we hold the entire outcome in our hands.

We do not know what will happen tomorrow. We may work hard, take precautions, and plan properly; even so, we cannot guarantee the outcome.

Question: Where do we place our trust when faced with an outcome we cannot control?

Seeking help from Allah means continuing to do what is right while knowing the limits of our power, rather than abandoning responsibility.

The Right Path Is Not Merely Knowledge

In Al-Fatihah, we ask to be guided to the right path. This request is broader than gathering knowledge.

Not concealing defective goods in a transaction, keeping a promise, and being honest in a relationship are areas where the desire to walk the right path meets life.

How do we behave when a customer points out a fault in a product? Do we conceal the truth because our business may suffer?

The right path means being able to choose what is right even where no one sees.

Blessings, Excessive Desire, and Balance

People may want money, a spouse, a child, or success. But when one of these becomes the heart’s sole goal, balance may be disrupted.

We may become angry when we cannot obtain it. When we obtain it, we may forget its value.

Some disappointments in relationships also arise from this. Instead of seeing the other person as a blessing, people may begin to expect their entire life from them.

That is why every desire must be put in its proper place.

Asking Anew Every Day

At the end of Al-Fatihah, we ask for the right path again. For having chosen what is right once does not mean we will never do wrong again.

Today, too, we need to remain upright toward our spouse, customer, friend, and ourselves.

Question: Which desire draws us furthest from the right path today?

The first step is to see it. Then it is not to allow that desire to govern us.

Asking for the right path means being ready to choose the behavior that path requires.