Iyyaka Na’budu wa iyyaka nasta’een
إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين
Actually, the first ayah should be enough for us to say that Allah is our master and that we are His slaves. The fact that He is the King and Owner of the day of Judgement, when there will be no king or owner of anything except Him, and that He is the Extremely Merciful who is being merciful to us right now, and that His Mercy is always there for the Believers but can be taken away from us if He wills, are not enough. And this is the believer's way of thinking.
"You Alone we adore and You Alone we beseech for aid," is a common translation of this ayah.
Unsurprisingly, this translation does not accurately capture the full significance of the text. First of all, the translation has to include the element of servitude to Allah that is absent. Slavery () and worship () are both included in the Arabic phrase we worship (). Understanding this is crucial because, although appearing to worship Allah, a person may not actually behave as His slave. Worship and servitude are two different things. This is an example of someone who only borrows from Islam what suits him. A genuine slave, however, simply complies with his master's orders. That is the master-slave arrangement.
This verse therefore declares submission to none other than Allah. Only until we renounce our servitude to Allah can we genuinely liberate ourselves. If not, entertainment, culture, peer pressure, false ideologies, fashion, and other things will have us as their slaves. To be free from everything by serving Allah, the Creator, who is the only one deserving of servitude. Allah is the one person we need to win over.
Iyyaka nastain comes next in this ayah. The term "help" does not adequately convey the meaning of this ayah, even though it is sometimes translated as "You Alone we seek for aid." The term "nastain" is the same as the verb "istiaana" (to seek assistance), and it is derived from the word "aaun," which denotes a specific kind of assistance that is sought while one is already experiencing difficulties. For instance, let's say you have a flat tyre while driving down the highway. You have everything you need to patch the tyre, but you decide to ask for help instead of listening to the radio. This is asking for assistance in a situation that isn't challenging you or where you're having trouble. On the other hand, consider a situation identical to the one described before, but this time you are unable to raise and affix the spare tyre.
This time, you're already having trouble, so the assistance you need is different. This verse instructs us to ask Allah for assistance with tasks we are already devoting a lot of time and energy to and finding it difficult to finish.
In actuality, it could even be acceptable for someone to seek aid if they are not struggling. A typical illustration of it is a person who laments the fact that he is not a good Muslim and laments the fact that Allah is not assisting him in becoming one, but who makes no effort to really be one. Since they are not exerting themselves, they are not officially doing istiaana.
Another way to see it is as a warning from Allah to only request assistance when we are truly in need of it.In the same way that Ibrahim alayhi as-Salam was originally placed in the fire before it was later put out by Allah's command, so too did the outnumbered believers during the Battle of Badr before the angels descended to assist them. Understanding this might alter how we behave and approach people for assistance.
Put this into perspective, and consider how frequently we invoke Allah's assistance in prayer while being dishonest about our intentions.
The fact that Allah did not specify what it is that we request assistance for is another wonderful aspect of this sentence. This would be crucial since you have to let the person you ask for aid know what you are suffering with. There are several ways to interpret this lack of the topic.
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One of the reasons for this might be that Allah, who is All-knowing and All-aware, already knows what we are going through and does not need to be informed of it. Another explanation is that there are so many things on our list of things we need help with that it is simpler to just ask for it without describing everything.There are several ways to interpret this lack of the topic. This is accurate since we face countless difficulties in life and require assistance.
This plea for assistance may also be seen as a scream of desperation, according to a third interpretation of this ayah. Imagine falling over a cliff while in the woods and finding yourself hanging precariously on a tree branch. How would you appeal for assistance in such a situation? Would you say, for instance, "I need assistance right away since I have fallen over the cliff and am hanging on a limb. If I don't obtain rapid assistance, I worry that I may plunge to my death. Instead, the natural reaction would be to yell, "Help!" If we understand the context of the ayah, it would follow that our plea for assistance to Allah is in response to a dreadful circumstance that has left us nearly speechless. We are at a complete loss for words. All of those are actually distinct approaches to comprehending the truth of our predicament and the motivation of our prayer, "Iyyaka nasta'een," to Allah.
Keep in mind that this plea for assistance is also connected to other passages, particularly the verse where we confess our servitude to Allah. Consider it this way: Being a slave to Allah is actually a challenge since shaytaan and his minions will allure and seduce us constantly. Because this enslavement is so challenging, we must beg Allah for assistance. It would be customary to request assistance while accomplishing something that is really tough. Also keep in mind that this assistance is not confined to aiding people in becoming Allah's slaves becway. But once we say to Allah, "Iyyaka na'budu," that You alone are the One we enslave ourselves to and adore, the first thing that we would require assistance with is servitude to Allah, therefore it is the first item addressed. Although we ask for assistance in all issues, we first seek assistance with our enslavement to Allah. Once that issue is resolved, everything else is taken care of.
In the following ayah, Allah answers our request for assistance in being effective slaves of His by outlining what we should look for.ause the phrasing is not in any way constrained.
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