Breathing with the Opener: A skeleton key meditation
A meditation based on the Quran's opener, Surah Al-Fatihah. If you know the sura, you'll have a grounding tool when thoughts wander.
Despite where one is at with being Muslim, some awareness of Surah Al-Fātihah (the Opener) connects many of us. It was one of the first things I was encouraged to memorise as a child, even though I didn't understand any Arabic. It's a bit of the Qur'an that sticks even when people raised in Muslim culture opt out; in Southeast Asia at least, you really cannot tell who might recall it in the face of supernatural emergencies.
I wrote this meditation in 2021, when sitting quietly and breathing as a practice was just struggle-town for me. I decided to pair my breathing to the Opener's verses so I could give myself somewhere to return when my thoughts wandered. Now when I pray, I breathe through the al-Fātihah, and when I meditate, I al-Fātihah the way I breathe. The in and out gives me room to meaningfully explore each verse over time.
I offer it here hoping it inspires a deeper relationship with the Opener for you. I'm thankful I got to first put this down in text and shared it with queer and diverse Muslims in my life. I hope it helps at least one of us. After all, the time I shared with them has changed my life.
INHALE: I expand with love, grace, compassion
Reflect on verse 1: We begin in the Name of Everlasting Mercy, Infinite Compassion
EXHALE: I radiate gratitude to the Source
Reflect on verse 2: All praise belongs to the Love of all worlds
INHALE: I expand with love, grace, compassion
Reflect on verse 3: Everlasting Mercy, Infinite Compassion
EXHALE: I exhale awe of True Justice, Accountability
Reflect on verse 4: Who has the Power of the Last Day
INHALE: I breathe and admit I need guidance
Reflect on verse 5: It is You we face, it is You we ask for help
EXHALE: I blow out a broad path ahead
Reflect on verse 6: Guide us, O God, on Your clear and honest path
INHALE: I welcome in Divine blessings
Reflect on verse 7: The path of those You have blessed with Joy
LONG EXHALE: May I dissolve what distracts me from my purpose
Reflect on the rest of verse 7: The path of those not grief-struck with rage or lost along the way.
Amin.
Inhale to repeat as necessary.
