of the attainment of an object, for even if outward means have failed, there is God, the Controller of all means, Whose help will not fail the man who depends on Him.
The ninth idea is contained in the words ihdi-nā. This signifies the soul’s inner desire—prayer being nothing but the expression of the soul’s inmost desire—of being led on and on to the goal, such being the significance of hidāyah. These words also show that the mentality of being content to live in perfect peace with one’s environment is not a negation of action. The Muslim attitude towards the world is not one of inaction or listlessness; on the contrary, it comprises both the desire to remain in peace with his environment, and the desire to move on and on so as to reach the great goal. He gives praise to God at every step, yet his is not a stationary condition; he is not the slave of his environment, but forever struggling and striving to master it; he does not stand for peace without progress, nor yet for progress without peace, but for peace and progress combined.
The tenth idea ruling the Muslim mentality, as disclosed in the Fātiḥah is the longing to walk in the footsteps of those who have received Divine blessings of any kind, temporal or spiritual, and the desire to be able to avoid the errors of those who have been the object of Divine displeasure or those who have gone astray. The latter are the followers of the two extremes, while those who have received the Divine favours are those who keep to the middle path—which is the straight path.
With these ten ideas ruling man’s mind (and this is what is aimed at by the frequent repetition of the Opening Chapter in prayer), a man is armed with the best weapons both for happiness and success.
It is sometimes said that prayer leads to idleness and indolence, because it causes a man to depend on his supplications for what he wants instead of working for it. The objection is, of course, due to a complete misconception as to the nature of prayer. Prayer to God does not mean that a man has simply to entreat the Divine Being to grant him this or that favour and do nothing himself towards attaining it. Prayer is, in fact, a search for means and is thus an incentive to action. The Fātiḥah is the most important Muslim prayer, yet as already shown, its central idea is one of action or being led on to action, for here the supplicator does not ask for certain favours but