Praising God

	Young Enlightened Submitters

This lesson can be given as one long lesson or divided into two short ones.

God is so merciful, He told us about everything that we need to make it all the way to

Heaven to be in everlasting happiness.  One of these ways is to praise God and show appreciation to Him.

Praising God will make us stronger believers and better submitters. Everytime we praise

God and remember Him we grow stronger as believers.

God gave us the chance to praise Him at least 17 times a day when we do our contact prayers, Salat.

We can however  praise God many times a day for everything.  Remember that all the creatures that God

created around us are continuously praising God, even if we do not understand their languages or their praise.

[17:44]

Glorifying Him (GOD) are the seven universes, the earth, and

everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify

Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is

Clement, Forgiver.

     The sun glorifies God day and night.

The moon glorifies God, day and night.

     All the stars glorify God, day and night.

The sky glorifies God, day and night

   The trees glorify God, day and night

The animals glorify God day and night.

 The mountains glorify God, day and night.

But only some people glorify God, day and night, the believers, the submitters.

God gave the submitters a chance to glorify and praise Him day and night and

promised to reward them for remembering to do so.

The first sura in the Quran is called Al-Fateha in Arabic or "The Key" in English.

It is the sura we recite in our prayers-salat, 17 times a day.

This sura has the praise to God and the prayers we say to ask God for guidance.

This is the sura we need to know and recite in Arabic.

We should understand exactly every word  in this sura.

God does not want you to pray to Him with words that you do not know or understand.

Learning this sura in Arabic is easy and fun to learn.

Quran

Sura 1, Al-Fateha - The Key

[1:1]

In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.*

[1:2]

Praise be to GOD, Lord of the universe.

[1:3]

Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

[1:4]

Master of the Day of Judgment.

[1:5]

You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.

[1:6]

Guide us in the right path;

[1:7]

the path of those whom You blessed; not of those who have

deserved wrath, nor of the strayers.

Vocabulary:

Gracious= merciful with compassion, love and care, Pleasing, kind and generous
wrath= strong anger
stray= to go in the wrong direction, away from the right path

To say it in Arabic :

"Bismillah i rrahman i erraheem."

"Al humdo lil-lahi rab-bil al ala-meen."

"Arrahman i rraheem."

"Maliki yaum i eddeen. "

"Iyyaka nabudu wa iyyaka nasta een. "

"Ihdinas sirata almustaqeem."

" Siratal lazhina anamta alaihim,

ghairil maghdubi alaihim, wa la adhdhaal leen."

God, there is no other god beside Him.

[28:70]

He is the one GOD; there is no other god beside Him. To

Him belongs all praise in this first life, and in the

Hereafter. All judgment belongs with Him, and to Him you

will be returned.

God calls on the submitters to praise Him in many suras in the Quran.

In sura 34 :

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

[34:1]

Praise be to GOD - to whom belongs everything in the

heavens and the earth; all praise is also due to Him in

the Hereafter. He is the Most Wise, the Cognizant.

[34:2]

He knows everything that goes into the earth, and

everything that comes out of it, and everything that

comes down from the sky, and everything that climbs into

it. He is the Most Merciful, the Forgiving.

Vocabulary:

cognizant = fully informed, fully aware, knows everything.

In Sura 10, God tells us about the believers and their reward in Heaven.

[10:9]

As for those who believe and lead a righteous life, their

Lord guides them, by virtue of their belief. Rivers will

flow beneath them in the gardens of bliss.

[10:10]

Their prayer therein is: "Be You glorified, our god,"

their greeting therein is, "Peace," and their ultimate

prayer is: "Praise be to GOD, Lord of the universe."

Vocabulary:

by virtue= because of
bliss= Paradise, Heaven, complete happiness

In Sura 17, God is teaching us about praising Him and magnifying Him.

[17:110]

Say, "Call Him GOD, or call Him the Most Gracious;

whichever name you use, to Him belongs the best names."

You shall not utter your Contact Prayers (Salat) too

loudly, nor secretly; use a moderate tone.

[17:111]

And proclaim: "Praise be to GOD, who has never begotten a

son, nor does He have a partner in His kingship, nor does

He need any ally out of weakness," and magnify Him

constantly.

Vocabulary:

utter  = to speak or make some sort of sound from your mouth.
proclaim = praise, declare, openly and in public
ally = helper, associate

In Sura 40, God is reminding us of some of His blessings.

[40:61]

GOD is the One who designed the night so you can rest in

it, and the day lighted. GOD bestows many blessings upon

the people, but most people are not thankful.

[40:62]

Such is GOD your Lord, the Creator of all things. There

is no god except He. How could you deviate?

[40:63]

Deviating are those who disregard GOD's revelations.

[40:64]

GOD is the One who rendered the earth habitable for you,

and the sky a formidable structure, and He designed you,

and designed you well. He is the One who provides you

with good provisions. Such is GOD your Lord; Most

Exalted is GOD, Lord of the universe.

Vocabulary:

bestow = to give as a gift
deviate = to get off the right way
habitable = suitable  (good enough) to be lived in
formidable = awesome , very strong , amazing and beautiful
Exalted = praised, glorified, magnified

In Sura 35, God reminds us again that he is the Only God.

[35:1]

Praise be to GOD, Initiator of the heavens and the earth,

and appointer of the angels to be messengers with wings -

two, three, and four (wings). He increases the creation

as He wills. GOD is Omnipotent.

[35:2]

When GOD showers the people with mercy, no force can stop

it. And if He withholds it, no force, other than He, can

send it. He is the Almighty, Most Wise.

[35:3]

O people, remember GOD's blessings upon you. Is there any

creator other than GOD who provides for you from the

heaven and the earth? There is no other god beside Him.

How could you deviate?

Vocabulary:

initiate = to introduce or start something new.
appoint =  to set, to assign, name officially
Omnipotent = have all the authority and power

The best news from God, is what he told us in sura 14, verse 7;

[14:7]

Your Lord has decreed: "The more you thank Me, the more I

give you." But if you turn unappreciative, then My

retribution is severe.

Vocabulary:

decree =  to order

One of the most important and most repeated commandments in the Quran is :

" O you who believe, you shall remember God frequently; glorify Him day and night." 33:41

To do that we can learn from what the Quran teaches us.

Quran gives us some good ways to remember God and glorify Him all the time.

For Example;

(1) The Contact Prayers (Salat): Doing salat and getting ready to do salat remind us of God.

In salat we praise God, glorify Him and thank Him for His blessings.

(2) Quran teaches us to remember God before eating:

Verse 6:121 enjoins us to mention God's name before we eat: "You shall not eat

from that upon which God's name has not been mentioned."

(3) If you plan to do anything remember to say

God Willing (IN SHAA ALLAH).

"You shall not say, 'I will do this or that tomorrow,' without saying, 'God

willing'(IN SHAA ALLAH). If you forget to do this, then apologize and say,

'May my Lord guide me to do better next time.'"

[18:24]

(4) God's Gift (MAA SHAA ALLAH):

To get God's protection for our beloved objects, for example our family,

our home, our clothes, cars, ...etc.-we enjoined in

18:39 to say "MAA SHAA ALLAH" (This is God's gift.)

(5) Glorify God day and night : When we eat anything,

we must reflect on God's creation

of the food we are eating-the flavor, the colors, the varieties.... etc.-

and glorify Him as we enjoy that.

When we see a beautiful flower, or animal, or sunsets,

we must glorify God. We must seize every possible opportunity to

remember and glorify God, so that God may remember us with His support

and blessings.

(6) When you you wake up every morning, remember God.

Mention His name, say the shahada or recite  Al-Fateha, sura 1, for example.

Make it a habit to mention God's name "In the name of God, Most gracious, Most

Merciful" before starting any chore.

More Quran

"..........and the men who commemorate God frequently, and the

commemorating  women; God has prepared

for them forgiveness and a great recompense." [33:35]

"You shall remember Me, that I may remember you, and

be thankful to Me; do not be unappreciative" [2:152]

"Once you complete your Contact Prayers (Salat), you shall remember

God while standing, sitting, or lying

down............" [4:103]

"Once the prayer (Friday prayer) is completed, you may

spread through the land to seek God's bounties, and continue to

remember God FREQUENTLY, that you may succeed." [63:10]

Vocabulary:

commemorate = to call to remember, to remember to praise and glorify
recompense = to gove in return
bounties = the many generous gifts and blessings God created for us

Quiz

(1) How many times do we read Sura one, The Key, Al-Fatiha,  during Salat?
(2) Can you read Sura 1 in Arabic ?
(3) What does "Master of the Day of Judgment" mean ?
(4) What will God do to you if you remember Him ?
(5) What do you say before eating  any food ?
(6) What do you say  when you want to do a job next day ?
(7) What do you say when you see a beautiful butterfly ?