The Significance of Surah Fatiha

Question:
Al-Fatiha is said to be the dua of persons before the Prophet Muhammad (sws), and the Prophet and the Qur’an are supposed to be the rewards of this dua. Now that we have both these blessings, why the need to say the dua anymore? Shouldn't there be another prayer - a revised version for us - which should indicate that the guidance has been given in the form of the Prophet and the Qur’an?

Response:
Indeed, Surah Al-Fatiha is a prayer which seems to be describing the very spirit of an individual’s circumstances, who was present at the time immediately before the Prophet (sws), and who was asking God Almighty with all his sincerity, to let him get another guidance from Him, to bring him out of the darkness, confusion and wilderness that he found himself in, at the time, towards a more enlightened and clear path that would lead him to God’s mercy and His pleasure. Now, it is important that when we know that the prayer – i.e. Surah Al-Fatiha – is actually worded in that spirit, we recite the Surah in the very same words when we are reading it - for instance, during our prayers, because it was after this prayer was mentioned through the minds of many people, eagerly looking for guidance from the Almighty, that the Almighty ultimately responded by revealing the Qur’an. Both the Book and the Prophet (sws) together constitute that response.When we recite al-Fatiha in our salah, followed by a part of the Qur’an, we are, in fact, expressing our yearning for the truth, and thereafter, reciting a part of the message that came in response to that yearning. So, it establishes a very effective relationship between the need for guidance and the actual guidance that was ultimately revealed. And when we do it in the same spirit as it was done in the very first place, when the Qur’an was revealed or was about to be revealed, I think that is the best spirit and the best manner in which it could be done. If it were done in a revised manner, it would not carry the same spirit. We find ourselves fully involved in our prayers in reciting Surah al-Fatiha, especially because we are absolutely sure and certain that it is the very word of God that we are reciting, and it is through the recitation of those words that we are establishing contact with our God. So any changes in this process would most certainly make our prayer less effective and would not carry the same spirit, as indeed it does, when we are reciting Surah al-Fatiha, followed by a portion of the Qur’an. I would also like to clarify that we should always bear in mind that the Qur’an – the way we find it with us today – is first and foremost, the message that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sws), for him to be guided along with his companions so that this message gets communicated to the people around him, so that they get converted and as a result, a community and society is formed, which is believing in the message, following it, and as a result of this process, this message came to be communicated to the rest of the world and to the later generations. The way the Qur’an communicates the message to the Prophet Muhammad (sws), is the way it really needs to be repeated even now. Even though in some cases, we may find that some of the passages of the Qur’an are not quite as directly relevant to us as they were at the time that they were being revealed. Yet because we are aware of the background, and because we are emotionally and spiritually attached to it, that seems to be the most effective way of repeating all the verses, including those that contain within them, wordings of dua and supplication. Anything different would be controversial; any other wordings save the wordings of the Qur’an, would not be agreed upon by all the people in the same manner. We know for sure that the Qur’an is a fully preserved, word by word text, which the Almighty had revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sws). That counts for a lot.

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