Themes as heaven and hell, morality and ethics, forgiving, gratitude and trust, and our ability to cope with adversities and misfortunes, show the timelessness of this prayer. Themes like low self-worth offer the readers tools to work towards more understanding of their inner being and to cope with the strive for earthly perfection from our demanding society.
This book shows how Sura al-Fatiha opens up as a loving, forgiving and practical guide for deepening one’s inner life, for working towards a healthy and realistic self-image and for other forms of application in daily life.
Stories from different traditions enliven the text and some short excursions to other spiritual traditions show the universality and timelessness of the themes Sura al-Fatiha touches upon. A chapter on spiritual practice in relation to the prayer can serve the readers to add one or more lines of Sura al-Fatiha to their own regular spiritual practice.
Working with Sura al-Fatiha is not studying some old prayer, but is studying oneself through timeless wisdom that transcends the culture the prayer was received in. As the author says in his foreword: ‘It is our strong conviction that tolerance and acceptance will grow when we take interest in the prayers of other faiths and traditions. We dedicate this book to this goal.’