Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an, “Establish the prayer (šalāt),” and He (swt) said to His Prophet (s) in a Hadith Qudsi:
أَنَا جَلِيْسُ مَنْ ذَكَرَنِي
I sit with the one who remembers Me.34
So, you begin your šalāt, prayer with Dhikrullāh by showing tawħīd, as Īmām Abū Hanifa (rah) mentioned. Then, you recite Sūrat al-Fātiħah, because now you are clean: your tongue, your smell, your breath and your heart is clean to read Sūrat al-Fātiħah. You cannot read the Holy Qur’an unless you are clean, as it is Allah’s Words, especially Sūrat al-Fātiħah, which contains the secret of the Holy Qur’an.
The entire Qur’an was revealed all at once by Sayyīdinā Jibrīl (as), and then in verses, over a period of 23 years, except the Fātiħah, which was revealed twice: first in Makkatu ‘l-Mukarrama, then in Madinatu ‘l-Munawwara. What was the wisdom behind this?
Sūrat al-Fātiħah was revealed in Makkah, for the House of Allah (swt) and to praise Sayyīdinā Muhammad (s) and lift him up. The Fātiħah is the heart of the Holy Qur’an, so when it was revealed in Makkah, all angels came to the Prophet (s) for him to get the blessings of that Sūrah with all the manifestations that it carries. The Fātiħah was revealed a second time in Madinatu ‘l-Munawwara for the blessings of Madinah to be dressed on the Prophet (s). So, anyone who visits Madinah will receive all those blessings with which the Prophet (s) was dressed.
Good tidings for us that Allah (swt) obliged us to recite the Fātiħah in every raka`at of the five daily prayers, without which our prayers would not be accepted. If you don’t read any other Sūrah or ayah after the Fātiħah, your prayer will still be accepted, but you cannot leave out the Fātiħah. Sūrat al-Fātiħah is a secret given to the Prophet (s).
الْفَاتِحَةُ لِمَا قُرِئَتْ لَهُ
For that reason Prophet (s) said, “The Fātiħah is for what it is read.”35
So, in šalāt there is Dhikrullāh, in Hajj there is Dhikrullāh, in visiting the Prophet (s) in Madinah there is Dhikrullāh and in making šalāwāt and praying there is Dhikrullāh. Therefore, all of Islam is built on remembering Allah (swt)!
