The Quran has a special and characteristic way of expressing a believer’s inner sentiments in the most appropriate words. The invocation of God in the opening chapter of the Quran, constitute a supplication of this nature. The feelings which are naturally aroused in one after discovering the truth are expressed in these lines. When man looks at the world around him, he cannot fail to notice God’s power and mercy abundantly in evidence everywhere. Wherever he casts his glance, he finds extraordinary order and supervision.
Everything has been extraordinarily and astonishingly adapted to man’s needs. This observation shows that the great cosmic machine cannot be in vain. Therefore, one realizes that there must come a day when the grateful and the ungrateful are rewarded for the way they have lived their lives in this world. One spontaneously entreats God in words to this effect, ‘Lord, You are the Master of the Day of Judgement. I have submitted to You and humbly seek Your help; have mercy on me. Lord, show us the path that is, to You, the true path. Enable us to tread the path of Your chosen servants. Help us to avoid the path of those who have gone astray, and the path of those who have incurred Your wrath due to their obstinacy.’ God requires His servant to live his life with such feelings and emotions.
The opening chapter of the Quran is a miniature portrayal of Islamic belief; the rest of the Quran is an enlargement of this picture.