Faith Break

Journey Through Surah Fatihah: Tafseer Class for Children

Some of the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) went on a journey till they reached some of the 'Arab tribes (at night). They asked the latter to treat them as their guests but they refused. The chief of that tribe was then bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion) and they tried their best to cure him but in vain. Some of them said (to the others), "Nothing has benefited him, will you go to the people who resided here at night, it may be that some of them might possess something (as treatment)," They went to the group of the companions (of the Prophet (ﷺ) ) and said, "Our chief has been bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion) and we have tried everything but he has not benefited. Have you got anything (useful)?" One of them replied, "Yes, by Allah! I can recite a Ruqya, but as you have refused to accept us as your guests, I will not recite the Ruqya for you unless you fix for us some wages for it." They agreed to pay them a flock of sheep. One of them then went and recited (Surat-ul-Fatiha): 'All the praises are for the Lord of the Worlds' and puffed over the chief who became all right as if he was released from a chain, and got up and started walking, showing no signs of sickness. They paid them what they agreed to pay. Some of them (i.e. the companions) then suggested to divide their earnings among themselves, but the one who performed the recitation said, "Do not divide them till we go to the Prophet (ﷺ) and narrate the whole story to him, and wait for his order." So, they went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and narrated the story. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) asked, "How did you come to know that Suratul- Fatiha was recited as Ruqya?" Then he added, "You have done the right thing. Divide (what you have earned) and assign a share for me as well." The Prophet (ﷺ) smiled thereupon.

Unprecedented changes hit every one of us in our work spaces, our places of leisure, our homes, and our hearts across multiple levels that span physical and emotional restrictions. While we make our best efforts to exercise appropriate medical precautions in order to do our part to slow the spread of this virus to our most vulnerable and susceptible in society, we still see that there exists a great deal of uncertainty with how the disease is spreading and it’s impact across our social, economic, and political spheres of life.

While continuing and striving our utmost with proper sterile precautions is absolutely essential, it is also equally essential, at the very leas,  that we review our effort and energy in taking the proper spiritual precautions. Each and every one of us, even the younger ones amongst us, can intellectually comprehend that. “there is no might nor power except with God”. However, in our own private review, each of us truly know the depth to which that statement informs our decision making and holds true, and God knows even better. This is what we find in the aforementioned hadith. We find a companion of the Prophet (ﷺ) who delved into a spiritual remedy in order to solve a physical illness. Without consult or reference back to the Prophet (ﷺ) prior to administering the spiritual treatment, the companion had a relationship with Surah Al-Fatihah in such a manner that he realized the truth in the spiritual’s healing properties to combat the physical. In other words, he knew he wasn’t a physician, but he still exercised his conviction that nothing has its own inherent power except as God Wills in its utmost in order to effect a positive change for those around him. The entirety of humanity is in need of such a relationship with our spiritual selves, it’s the beginning stages of the kind of relationship we want our children to have as they begin their own journeys of exploring this aspect of the self.

Sakinah Institute invites your young ones who are 10 years old and above, and you by extension, to travel through the sacred chapter of Al-Fatihah in order to discover and inculcate the same wondrous depths that this companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had in order to properly administer this treatment of Al-Fatihah. A capsule is no good to ingest for treatment without the proper dosage of medication inside. Similarly, our administration of the real healing of Surah Al-Fatihah to combat the physical and spiritual diseases that currently plague us will remain a shell unless we inject the proper dosage of actualized belief in Allah that is required. While this course holds no promises of an end result being our children become practitioners in utilizing this Surah as prophetic medicine, the goal is to uncover the beauty within this surah that creates meaning within each child that they are able to apply to relevant afflictions in their lives. InshaAllah, these 45 minute sessions will be held twice per week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays, while the current Coronavirus outbreak keeps us in our homes. We welcome your young ones 10 years old and above on a collective exploration through the sacred towards The Sacred.