Surat al-Fātihah with the concept of Tawhid and the purpose of Man’s life

The 5th verse in Surat al-Fātihah is so close to our life in this mortal world. This is

because the verse is closely related to whatever task we do no matter like parents, employees,

and so on. What is special about the 5th verse in the book that (Qur’an)? This verse is related

to the previous verse. That is, we claim to be slaves. To be a true servant of God is difficult

because we are always deceived by lust and the devil. So, the first thing we need is help from

God because to make us a true servant. We can see the change in the use of pronouns in this

verse. In the first three verses of Surat al-Fātihah before this, we talk about Allah. Now, in this

verse, we are talking directly to God. We talk to God }You (Alone) we worship, and You

(Alone) we ask for help{ . This change of pronouns in the Qur’an is a privilege in the Qur’an

and it is always used in many verses. It is called the ‘Iltifāt’ method1. This is one of the beauties

of the Arabic style. The purpose is to enlighten and engage the reader. It makes reading the

Qur'an more interesting. If we only talk about something in one way, over time it will be boring.

Maybe those who don't know Arabic don't even realize it. So, this is something beautiful in the

Quran that we need to know. If we can know a little bit of Arabic, that will give us more

understanding and wonder. In this verse 5, we can divide it into two verses that carry different

meanings.

1. ‫إياك نعبد‬: You (Alone) we worship.

2. ‫إياك نستعين‬: You (Alone) we ask for help.

Look at the arrangement in Surat al-Fātihah which is very beautiful. Once we express

His attributes, then we talk about worshiping Him. This shows that we should worship God

only after we know Him. Therefore, we must know about worshiping. We must first know our

1
Nouman Ali,et al, (October 11,2019). Tafsir Surah Fatihah Ayat 5, Celik Tafsir.
https://celiktafsir.net/2014/04/19/fatihah-ayat-5-bah-2/
God before we worship him. The fifth verse of Surat al-Fātihah is the most discussed verse by

scholars. They say that Islam hovers between these verses. This is because there are two

elements present in this verse that we will try to parse briefly. If we understand the two concepts

mentioned in this verse, it is a very important understanding. That is why the scholars say this

verse is the most important in this Surah. In this verse, God commands His creatures to worship

Him. This is the real purpose of our life on this earth2. But the fact is, we will not be able to

worship God without God's help and mercy. The way to worship Him is through Him as well.

There is no other way. Therefore, we ask for mercy and help from Him, to worship Him, and

also to pray to Him. Thus, from here, we can conclude that the purpose of our life is to worship

God and the way to worship God is through help from Him. Therefore, this verse mentions

‘purposes’ and ‘ways’ in one verse. This is a very important understanding, that we have no

power and ability except with the help of God, even in performing worship. With this

understanding, it is already counted as an act of worship, because even if we have a desire, but

if without God's help, we can not do it. Do not feel that we are strong in worship because of

our greatness, but know that it is Taufik from Allah for us.

This verse also explains to us the concept of Tauhīd. We can break it down into three parts:

1. Worship is only for God. Prostration and obedience to others is a shirk.

2. Surrender only to Allah and only follow the instructions of Allah.

3. Love only to God. If we love others, such as our parents, our wives, our children, it is

because of God as well. We also have to hate what God hates.

2
Norsiah M, (January 24, 2017), Nota 12 Kuliah Tafsir – Surah Al-Fatihah(Ayat ke 5), UITO.
https://www.uito.org/2017/01/24/nota-12-kuliah-tafsir-surah-al-fatihah-ayat-ke-5/
 This shows the position of Tauhid in Ibadah and Conversely Ibadah in terms of terminology is

all the words, deeds, and thoughts aimed at seeking the pleasure of Allah. As mentioned above, the

meaning of “worship” is surrender and surrender to God, caused by the realization that God created

this world, Who grows, Who develops, Who preserves and preserves, and Who carries it from one

state to another, so that accomplished its perfection. Strictly speaking, the worship arises from the

feeling of monotheism (Tauhīd). Therefore, people who like to think about the state of nature, who

pay attention to the journey of the stars, plant life, animals, and humans, and even who want to pay

attention to themselves, be assured that behind all this there is a God who rules this universe who has

all the attributes of perfection. that is, He is the Almighty, the Most Merciful, the Most Knowing and

so on. Hereby, it will grow in his heart a feeling of gratitude and indebtedness to the Almighty, the

Most Merciful, and the All-Knowing. This feeling moved his lips to utter praise, which drove his soul

and body to worship and humble himself to the Almighty God as a proof of gratitude and reciprocity

to Him.

But some people do not want to think and are further unaware of God's greatness and power and

often forget Him. That is why, every religion requires a variety of worship, the purpose of which is to

remind people of the greatness and power of God. With this information, it is seen that

monotheism(Tauhīd) and worship affect each other, in the sense that monotheism(Tauhīd) cultivates

worship, and worship cultivates monotheism. The influence of Worship on the Human Soul is

enormous. Every worship performed is driven by the feelings mentioned above, it affects the habits and

character of the person performing it. For example, a person who performs prayers because he knows

the greatness and power of God, and is motivated by feelings of gratitude and indebtedness to Him, will

be far from bad deeds. Thus, his prayer will prevent him from committing such bad deeds, following

the words of Allah SWT: "Indeed, the prayer prevents from (deeds) abomination and evil." (al-'Ankabut

/ 29:45). The same goes for fasting. This worship will evoke feelings of love and affection for the poor

and so on with other acts of worship.

In conclusion, Therefore, one should say that it is only to God that we worship, followed by the

statement that only to Him do we ask for help, especially help so that the acts of worship are performed
as He wills. The above verse as already mentioned contains a great element of monotheism because we

find that only worshiping God and asking for special help from Him, is the essence of religion, and the

perfection of monotheism.