إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Translation · Saheeh International
Tafsir
Ibn Kathīr (abridged)
The Linguistic and Religious Meaning of `Ibadah
Linguistically, `Ibadah means subdued. For instance, a road is described as Mu`abbadah, meaning, `paved'. In religious terminology, `Ibadah implies the utmost love, humility and fear.
The Merit of stating the Object of the Action before the Doer of the Act, and the Merit of these Negations
"You...", means, we worship You alone and none else, and rely on You alone and none else. This is the perfect form of obedience and the entire religion is implied by these two ideas. Some of the Salaf said, Al-Fatihah is the secret of the Qur'an, while these words are the secret of Al-Fatihah,
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
(5 You we worship, and You we ask for help from.)
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