Short answer
The Gayatri Mantra prays to Savitar, a god of the Rig Veda. Griffith's English reads: "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God: So may he stimulate our prayers" (Rig Veda 3.62.10). Its old name, the Savitri, means Savitar's verse. Many Hindus say Savitar is here a name of the one Supreme Being, and classical teachers support that reading. But their own teachers also say that Savitar is the sun, and the hymns set him among other gods. So the verse names one god, and its readers have not settled who he is. Its request for guidance is a good one. The Qur'an sends that request to the Maker of the sun. It says: "Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them" (41:37). Al-Fatiha, the Muslim's daily prayer, asks for guidance from Allah (﷾) alone.
Full explanation
The verse itself
The Gayatri Mantra is one verse of the Rig Veda: Book 3, Hymn 62, verse 10. The Rig Veda belongs to the shruti, the writings Hindus hold to be revealed. Gayatri is the name of the verse's metre, usually three lines of eight syllables. Its other old name is the Savitri, because it belongs to Savitar. The translator Griffith calls it "the Sâvitrî, the Gâyatrî par excellence", and notes that it is part of the daily devotions of Brahmans. Translators differ on one word. Griffith has "May we attain" that glory. Wilson, who follows the commentator Sayana, has "We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitri". The Maitri Upanishad reads it the same way: "the splendour of the god we meditate on". It adds that "the god is Savitri", which is these translators' spelling of Savitar. The Manusmriti, the Hindu law book, calls the verse sacred to Savitar. So the translators differ on one verb and agree on whose glory it is. The tradition's own name for the verse already answers the question: it is Savitar's verse.
“May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God: So may he stimulate our prayers.”
Griffith notes that the hymn is made of six groups of three verses, addressed in turn to Indra and Varuna, Brihaspati, Pushan, Savitar, Soma, and Mitra and Varuna. On verse 10 he writes that the stanza is "the Sâvitrî, the Gâyatrî par excellence". He then quotes Wilson, who calls it the celebrated verse of the Vedas that forms part of the daily devotions of the Brahmans.
“We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitri, who influences our pious rites.”
“Bhargo devasya dhîmahi, i.e. 'the splendour of the god we meditate on.' Here the god is Savitri, and therefore he who is called his splendour, him I meditate on, thus say the Brahma-teachers.”
“Moreover from the three Vedas Pragâpati, who dwells in the highest heaven (Parameshthin), milked out (as it were) that Rik-verse, sacred to Savitri (Sâvitrî), which begins with the word tad, one foot from each.”
| Sanskrit | The Maitri Upanishad's meaning |
|---|---|
| Tat savitur varenyam | this of Savitar, to be chosen |
| Bhargo devasya dhimahi | the splendour of the god we meditate on |
| Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat | who should stir up our thoughts |
The Hindu case: the one Supreme Being
Many Hindus answer that this is no prayer to a god of the sky. They say Savitar is here a name of the one Supreme Being, and they have real teachers behind them. The Rig Veda itself says that sages give many titles to what is One. Yaska, the ancient explainer of Vedic words, says that "a single soul is praised in various ways", and that the other gods are its limbs. The hymns give Savitar the highest praise: "Over all generation thou art Lord alone". In his lap "all men, all beings have their place for ever". Sayana, the fourteenth-century commentator on the Vedas, puts this reading first. For him the light is one with Brahman, the ultimate reality of the Upanishads. It belongs to the supreme being, the creator of the world. Wilson reports that the commentators agree in taking Savitar as the soul that is one with the soul of the world. The Chandogya Upanishad says the Gayatri is everything that exists. Shankara, the teacher of Advaita, explains that through this metre the mind is directed on Brahman. Telang reports him calling it the means to a knowledge of Brahman. The Manusmriti calls the verse, with Om and three sacred words, "the gate leading (to union with) Brahman". In the nineteenth century, the reformers Rammohun Roy and Dayananda Saraswati both read it as worship of the One. This reading deserves respect, because it reaches for the right thing: the One behind all things.
“They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmân. To what is One, sages give many a title: they call it Agni, Yama, Mâtariṣvan.”
“On account of the supereminence of the deity, a single soul is praised in various ways. Other gods are the individual limbs of a single soul.”
“Over all generation thou art Lord alone: Pûshan art thou, O God, in all thy goings-forth. Yea, thou hast domination over all this world.”
“His chariot decked with pearl, of various colours, lofty, with golden pole, the God hath mounted, The many-rayed One, Savitar the holy, bound, bearing power and might, for darksome regions. Drawing the gold-yoked car his Bays, white-footed, have manifested light to all the peoples. Held in the lap of Savitar, divine One, all men, all beings have their place for ever.”
Wilson's note on the verse says that the commentators agree in taking Savitri as the soul that is one with the soul of the world, Brahma (Brahman), "but various meanings are also given". He then reports Sayana's readings. In the first, the light is one with Brahma and belongs to the supreme being (parameswara), the creator of the world, who moves all creatures through the spirit within them. In another, devasya savituh means the bright sun, the progenitor of all, and bhargas is its orb of light. In another, bhargas means food, and the prayer only asks the sun for sustenance. Wilson adds that Mahidhara, commenting on the same verse in the Yajur Veda, notes similar varieties of meaning, and that "the text has merely" the words of the verse.
“The Gâyatrî (verse) is everything whatsoever here exists.”
“'Because thus direction of the mind is declared,' i.e. because the Brâhmana passage, 'Gâyatrî indeed is all this,' intimates that by means of the metre Gâyatrî the mind is to be directed on Brahman which is connected with that metre.”
Telang, a Hindu judge who translated the Gita, notes that Shankara says the Gayatri "is the chief metre, because it is the means to a knowledge of the Brahman". He adds that it is the metre of the celebrated verse he writes as "Om Tat-savitur".
“Know that the three imperishable Mahâvyâhritis, preceded by the syllable Om, and (followed) by the three-footed Sâvitrî are the portal of the Veda and the gate leading (to union with) Brahman.”
Rammohun Roy, a Hindu reformer, gives the meaning of the verse as: "We meditate on that indescribable spirit inwardly ruling the splendid Sun". He says the same spirit rules all living beings within and directs the mind, and he calls Him the Supreme Spirit and the most High God. He also quotes a Tantra which says that anyone, "whether a Brahmun or not", has an equal right to use these texts.
Dayananda prints the verse beginning with Aum and the words Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah. He explains these words as names of God and reads the verse as a prayer to the Supreme Being. This is reported here as his own reading.
What the Rig Veda says of Savitar
The hymns describe Savitar closely. He has golden hands and golden eyes. He mounts a chariot with a golden pole, drawn by white-footed horses. He goes on his way between the earth and heaven, and he "bids the Sun approach us". Hindu teachers say who he is. Yaska says the name means "the stimulator of all", and adds that the sun is also called Savitar. He places Savitar's time when the sun's rays spread over the sky. Sayana, as Griffith reports him, says Savitar is especially the sun before it rises. Macdonell, a scholar of the Vedas, says Savitar sometimes seems to be the sun and is sometimes distinct from it. The Manusmriti has the verse recited at dawn "until the sun appears", and again at dusk. The verse also stands among other gods. Hymn 3.62 has eighteen verses in six groups of three, and each group turns to different gods. The verse before the Gayatri looks to Pushan. The two after it crave prosperity from Savitar and worship him with rites. Then the hymn moves on to Soma. So the verse stands in a world of dawn, sunlight and many gods. Nothing in its own words names one Supreme Being. That reading comes from the teachers who explained the hymn.
“His chariot decked with pearl, of various colours, lofty, with golden pole, the God hath mounted, The many-rayed One, Savitar the holy, bound, bearing power and might, for darksome regions. Drawing the gold-yoked car his Bays, white-footed, have manifested light to all the peoples. Held in the lap of Savitar, divine One, all men, all beings have their place for ever.”
“The earth's eight points his brightness hath illumined, three desert regions and the Seven Rivers. God Savitar the gold-eyed hath come hither, giving choice treasures unto him who worships. The golden-handed Savitar, far-seeing, goes on his way between the earth and heaven, Drives away sickness, bids the Sun approach us, and spreads the bright sky through the darksome region.”
“Savitṛ (is so called because) he is the stimulator of all.”
“His time is that when the sky, with its darkness dispelled, is overspread by the rays of the sun.”
Griffith's notes report Sayana twice on who Savitar is. On Rig Veda 1.35.9, Sayana observes that Savitar and the Sun are the same as regards their divinity, yet are two different forms, so one may be said to go to the other. On Rig Veda 5.81.4, he says that Savitar is especially the Sun before rising, and Surya is the Sun in general.
Macdonell says Savitar is celebrated in eleven whole hymns of the Rig Veda and is pre-eminently a golden deity, with golden eyes, hands and arms and a golden car. In several passages Savitar and Surya, the sun, seem to be the same god; in others Savitar is distinguished from Surya, as when he impels the sun. He also calls the Gayatri verse the celebrated Savitri, with which Savitar was in later times invoked at the beginning of Vedic study.
“Let him stand during the morning twilight, muttering the Sâvitrî until the sun appears, but (let him recite it), seated, in the evening until the constellations can be seen distinctly.”
Griffith notes that the hymn is made of six groups of three verses, addressed in turn to Indra and Varuna, Brihaspati, Pushan, Savitar, Soma, and Mitra and Varuna. On verse 10 he writes that the stanza is "the Sâvitrî, the Gâyatrî par excellence". He then quotes Wilson, who calls it the celebrated verse of the Vedas that forms part of the daily devotions of the Brahmans.
“With understanding, earnestly, of Savitar the God we crave Our portion of prosperity. Men, singers worship Savitar the God with hymn and holy rites, Urged by the impulse of their thoughts.”
Verses 1-3
Indra and Varuna
Verses 4-6
Brihaspati
Verses 7-9
Pushan
Verses 10-12
Savitar. The Gayatri is verse 10.
Verses 13-15
Soma
Verses 16-18
Mitra and Varuna
Is Savitar a name of the one God (﷾)?
This is the strongest Hindu reply, so it should be weighed with care. Muslims call on Allah (﷾) as the Creator and the Most Merciful. If Savitar is a name of the One in the same way, the Gayatri already prays to the Creator. Three things stand in the way. First, the Rig Veda gives the same rank to other gods in their own hymns. Macdonell notes the poets' habit of calling on each god as if he were supreme, and calls it a singer's natural exaggeration. Even the hymn that calls Savitar "Lord alone" speaks, two verses earlier, of "the other Deities" who follow him. And hymn 3.62 asks Pushan, Savitar and Soma each for something. Second, Yaska does not leave it at one soul. In his next words he reports the view that there are three deities, with the sun as the deity of heaven. He adds that the gods "may be distinct". Third, the name itself points at the sun. Yaska and Sayana both say that the sun is called Savitar, and the hymns give him a chariot and a path through the sky. The Rig Veda also says that the sun had a birth. A name of the Creator cannot also be the name of something that was born. This matters, because a name fixes whom a prayer reaches for. If a Hindu truly means the One, Islam honours that aim. It asks him to call on the One by the names He has given, with nothing of the sun in them. The Qur'an says: "The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on him by them". The page "Do the Hindu scriptures teach that God is one?" takes this further.
“Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
Says the tenth book of the Rig Veda represents a definitely later layer of the collection, that more than a quarter of the Rig Veda is devoted to the praise of Indra, and that hardly more than thirty of its hymns are not addressed to the gods or deified objects. The idea that the various gods are forms of one divine being, he writes, is found in the later hymns, such as the recent hymn 1.164; such utterances show that by the end of the Rigvedic period the polytheism of the seers had taken on a monotheistic tinge. Occasionally the hymns even shadow forth a deity who is all the gods and nature as well; this germ of pantheism grew through the later Vedic literature into the Vedanta. Max Müller's theory of henotheism arose from the poets' habit of invoking each god as if he were supreme. In Macdonell's view the habit hardly amounts to more than a singer's natural exaggeration of the god he is invoking, since the seers knew each god's exact place in the Soma ritual. The Vedic poets, he adds, held that the gods had a beginning.
“Over all generation thou art Lord alone: Pûshan art thou, O God, in all thy goings-forth. Yea, thou hast domination over all this world.”
“Even he, the God whose going-forth and majesty the other Deities have followed with their might, He who hath measured the terrestrial regions out by his great power, he is the Courser Savitar.”
Griffith notes that the hymn is made of six groups of three verses, addressed in turn to Indra and Varuna, Brihaspati, Pushan, Savitar, Soma, and Mitra and Varuna. On verse 10 he writes that the stanza is "the Sâvitrî, the Gâyatrî par excellence". He then quotes Wilson, who calls it the celebrated verse of the Vedas that forms part of the daily devotions of the Brahmans.
“On account of the supereminence of the deity, a single soul is praised in various ways. Other gods are the individual limbs of a single soul.”
“'There are three deities only,' say the etymologists: (1) Agni, whose sphere is earth; (2) Vāyu or Indra, whose sphere is atmosphere; (3) the sun, whose sphere is heaven. Of these, each receives many appellations on account of his supereminence, or the diversity of his function”
“Savitṛ (is so called because) he is the stimulator of all.”
Griffith's notes report Sayana twice on who Savitar is. On Rig Veda 1.35.9, Sayana observes that Savitar and the Sun are the same as regards their divinity, yet are two different forms, so one may be said to go to the other. On Rig Veda 5.81.4, he says that Savitar is especially the Sun before rising, and Surya is the Sun in general.
“His chariot decked with pearl, of various colours, lofty, with golden pole, the God hath mounted, The many-rayed One, Savitar the holy, bound, bearing power and might, for darksome regions. Drawing the gold-yoked car his Bays, white-footed, have manifested light to all the peoples. Held in the lap of Savitar, divine One, all men, all beings have their place for ever.”
“The earth's eight points his brightness hath illumined, three desert regions and the Seven Rivers. God Savitar the gold-eyed hath come hither, giving choice treasures unto him who worships. The golden-handed Savitar, far-seeing, goes on his way between the earth and heaven, Drives away sickness, bids the Sun approach us, and spreads the bright sky through the darksome region.”
“The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vâyu from his breath.”
“The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on him by them; but shun such men as use profanity in his names: for what they do, they will soon be requited.”
| Check | What the texts show |
|---|---|
| Is he the only one given the highest rank? | No. Each god is praised as supreme in his own hymn, and the Savitar hymn speaks of other deities. |
| Does Yaska say it is only a name? | Not only. He also reports three deities, with the sun in heaven, and says the gods may be distinct. |
| Is it a name of the Creator only? | No. Yaska and Sayana say the sun is called Savitar, and the hymns give him a chariot and a path through the sky. |
One verse, many answers
Hindu teachers have not given one answer to who Savitar is here. The Maitri Upanishad is itself shruti. It says that here the sun is Savitar, and it treats the sun as a form of the Self. On the word bhargas (splendour) it offers more. Bhargas is he who is placed in the sun, or the pupil of the eye, or Rudra, the god Shaivas worship as Shiva. Sayana puts the supreme being first. But he also allows the bright sun, and a reading in which the prayer asks the sun for food. Rammohun Roy and Dayananda read the verse as worship of the Supreme Being. Roy describes Him as the spirit that rules the sun from within. Later tradition personified the verse itself as a goddess, the wife of Brahma. These readers were sincere, and some of them agree. But the answers still include the sun, the Self, Rudra, the Supreme Being and a goddess. This matters because a prayer is speech to someone. The verse's words name Savitar, and its readers differ on who Savitar is.
“Tat Savitur varenyam, i.e. 'this of Savitri, to be chosen.' Here the Âditya (sun) is Savitri, and the same is to be chosen by the love(r) of Self, thus say the Brahma-teachers.”
“Now he who is called bhargas is he who is placed in yonder Âditya (sun), or he who is the pupil in the eye.”
Wilson's note on the verse says that the commentators agree in taking Savitri as the soul that is one with the soul of the world, Brahma (Brahman), "but various meanings are also given". He then reports Sayana's readings. In the first, the light is one with Brahma and belongs to the supreme being (parameswara), the creator of the world, who moves all creatures through the spirit within them. In another, devasya savituh means the bright sun, the progenitor of all, and bhargas is its orb of light. In another, bhargas means food, and the prayer only asks the sun for sustenance. Wilson adds that Mahidhara, commenting on the same verse in the Yajur Veda, notes similar varieties of meaning, and that "the text has merely" the words of the verse.
Rammohun Roy, a Hindu reformer, gives the meaning of the verse as: "We meditate on that indescribable spirit inwardly ruling the splendid Sun". He says the same spirit rules all living beings within and directs the mind, and he calls Him the Supreme Spirit and the most High God. He also quotes a Tantra which says that anyone, "whether a Brahmun or not", has an equal right to use these texts.
Dayananda prints the verse beginning with Aum and the words Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah. He explains these words as names of God and reads the verse as a prayer to the Supreme Being. This is reported here as his own reading.
Dowson says the verse is addressed to the sun as Savitri, the generator, and so it is also called Savitri. He adds that it is personified as a goddess, the wife of Brahma and mother of the four Vedas.
| Reader | Answer |
|---|---|
| The verse's own words | Savitar the god |
| Yaska | The stimulator of all. The sun is also called Savitar. |
| Maitri Upanishad | The sun, as a form of the Self. Its splendour is he who is in the sun, the pupil of the eye, or Rudra. |
| Sayana | The supreme being first. Also the bright sun, or the sun as giver of food. |
| Rammohun Roy | The Supreme Spirit, ruling the sun from within |
| Dayananda Saraswati | The Supreme Being |
| Later tradition | The verse itself as a goddess, the wife of Brahma |
Where Om fits
Om is not part of Rig Veda 3.62.10. As Wilson says, the text has only the words of the verse. Two openings are recited before it. The White Yajur Veda places three words first: "Earth! Ether! Heaven!", in Sanskrit bhur, bhuvah, svah. The Manusmriti places Om before those three, and says Om "is the highest Brahman" and is imperishable. Telang and Dayananda both write the verse with Om in front, as people chant it today. So Om is the best support the Hindu case has, because it sets Brahman at the head of the recitation. But Om is a frame around the verse. The verse inside it still says Savitar. So Om shows where the tradition wants the recitation to lead, not whom the verse names.
Wilson's note on the verse says that the commentators agree in taking Savitri as the soul that is one with the soul of the world, Brahma (Brahman), "but various meanings are also given". He then reports Sayana's readings. In the first, the light is one with Brahma and belongs to the supreme being (parameswara), the creator of the world, who moves all creatures through the spirit within them. In another, devasya savituh means the bright sun, the progenitor of all, and bhargas is its orb of light. In another, bhargas means food, and the prayer only asks the sun for sustenance. Wilson adds that Mahidhara, commenting on the same verse in the Yajur Veda, notes similar varieties of meaning, and that "the text has merely" the words of the verse.
“Earth! Ether! Heaven! May we attain that excellent, etc., as in III. 35.”
“Know that the three imperishable Mahâvyâhritis, preceded by the syllable Om, and (followed) by the three-footed Sâvitrî are the portal of the Veda and the gate leading (to union with) Brahman.”
“The monosyllable (Om) is the highest Brahman, (three) suppressions of the breath are the best (form of) austerity, but nothing surpasses the Sâvitrî; truthfulness is better than silence. All rites ordained in the Veda, burnt oblations and (other) sacrifices, pass away; but know that the syllable (Om) is imperishable, and (it is) Brahman, (and) the Lord of creatures (Pragâpati).”
Telang, a Hindu judge who translated the Gita, notes that Shankara says the Gayatri "is the chief metre, because it is the means to a knowledge of the Brahman". He adds that it is the metre of the celebrated verse he writes as "Om Tat-savitur".
Dayananda prints the verse beginning with Aum and the words Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah. He explains these words as names of God and reads the verse as a prayer to the Supreme Being. This is reported here as his own reading.
Om
Placed first in the Manusmriti
Bhur, bhuvah, svah
Placed before the verse in the White Yajur Veda: Earth, Ether, Heaven
Tat savitur varenyam
The verse itself, Rig Veda 3.62.10
A request worth making
Islam does not mock this verse. The Qur'an forbids insulting what others call on (6:108). The verse's request is also a good one. It asks that "our thoughts" be stirred, as the Upanishad explains it. That admits something true: the human mind needs help from above. The Qur'an agrees. When Abraham watched the moon set, he said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray". So a Muslim can honour the need behind the Gayatri. No one finds the way alone. The only question is where the request is sent.
“Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did.”
“Dhiyo yo nah prakodayât, i.e. 'who should stir up our thoughts.' Here the dhiyah are thoughts, and he should stir these up for us, thus say the Brahma-teachers.”
“When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set." When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray." When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."”
The sun is a Sign, and worship goes to its Maker
The Qur'an gives a rule and a reason. The night, the day, the sun and the moon are His Signs. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but to Allah (﷾), who created them. The reason answers more than one reading of the verse. If Savitar is the sun, the sun was created. If he is a god who drives a chariot between the earth and heaven, the hymns place him inside the world. The Qur'an says nothing is like its Maker. Abraham saw that whatever rises and sets cannot be the Lord, and he turned to the One who created the heavens and the earth. The sun itself bows to Allah (﷾), and no one is to be called on besides Him. Muslims use the sun to tell the time of prayer, but the Prophet (ﷺ) told them not to try to pray at sunrise or sunset. So the sun tells the time, and no prayer is aimed at it. The page "Should we bow to the sun, or to the One who made it?" takes this further.
“Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve.”
“(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).”
“When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set." When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray." When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."”
“Seest thou not that to Allah bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth,- the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for Punishment: and such as Allah shall disgrace,- None can raise to honour: for Allah carries out all that He wills.”
“"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah;”
Ibn Umar reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: none of you should try to pray at sunrise or sunset.
Al-Fatiha: the same request, with one address
Al-Fatiha is the opening chapter of the Qur'an. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that a prayer without it is not valid, so Muslims recite it many times each day. Like the Gayatri, it asks for guidance. But no one needs a commentary to learn who it speaks to. It begins with Allah (﷾), "the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds". It says: "Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek". Ibn Kathir explains that this means You alone, and none else. Only then does it ask: "Show us the straight way". In a hadith, Allah (﷾) answers the reciter verse by verse. Of this last request He says that His servant shall have what he asks. The very next chapter of the Qur'an says: "This is the Book; in it is guidance". So the request has an address and a reply. It is also open to all. The Manusmriti sets the Gayatri behind an initiation for three classes, though Rammohun Roy quotes a Tantra that gives everyone an equal right to it. Al-Fatiha belongs to anyone who turns to the Lord of the worlds.
“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek. Show us the straight way, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.”
Ubada ibn al-Samit reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that a prayer in which al-Fatiha is not recited is not valid.
Under the heading on stating the object before the verb, Ibn Kathir explains "You we worship, and You we ask for help" as: we worship You alone and none else, and rely on You alone and none else. He calls the first half a declaration of innocence from shirk, and the second a recognition that all affairs are in Allah's hands alone.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said a prayer without Umm al-Qur'an (al-Fatiha) is incomplete, and that he heard him say that Allah the Exalted said: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant in two halves, and My servant shall have what he asks. Allah then answers each verse of al-Fatiha as the servant says it: to the praise He says that His servant has praised Him, to the verse of mercy that he has extolled Him, and to the verse of the Day of Judgement that he has glorified Him; of "Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek" He says that it is between Him and His servant, and of the closing prayer for guidance that it is for His servant, who shall have what he asks.
“This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah;”
“After those (periods men of) these three (castes) who have not received the sacrament at the proper time, become Vrâtyas (outcasts), excluded from the Sâvitrî (initiation) and despised by the Âryans.”
Rammohun Roy, a Hindu reformer, gives the meaning of the verse as: "We meditate on that indescribable spirit inwardly ruling the splendid Sun". He says the same spirit rules all living beings within and directs the mind, and he calls Him the Supreme Spirit and the most High God. He also quotes a Tantra which says that anyone, "whether a Brahmun or not", has an equal right to use these texts.
| Question | The Gayatri Mantra | Al-Fatiha |
|---|---|---|
| Who is named | Savitar the god | Allah (﷾), Lord of the worlds |
| What it asks | That he stir up our thoughts | To be shown the straight way |
| Is the address in doubt? | Readers differ on who Savitar is | No: Him alone, and none else |
| Who may say it | In the Manusmriti, those initiated from three classes | Anyone who turns to the Lord of the worlds |
An invitation
If you have said the Gayatri sincerely, you already know that you need guidance. Islam says the One who made the sun is near, and hears whoever calls on Him. No initiation or special class is needed. The Qur'an asks to be read with care. It was brought by Muhammad (ﷺ), the last of the Prophets. Muslims invite you to read al-Fatiha and the chapters after it, and to see whether this is the guidance you have been asking for.
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
“Show us the straight way, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.”
Nine replies answered
Maitri Upanishad 6.7 — chapter 6, section 7 (the second line of the verse)
“Bhargo devasya dhîmahi, i.e. 'the splendour of the god we meditate on.' Here the god is Savitri, and therefore he who is called his splendour, him I meditate on, thus say the Brahma-teachers.”
Cited for
Dhimahi means "we meditate". The Gayatri is a meditation, not a prayer to anyone.
The response
The first half may be read as meditation. But the Upanishad gives the last line as "who should stir up our thoughts", and it says "he should stir these up for us". That is a request, and a request is made to someone. Even the meditation has an object: "the splendour of the god".
Where it lands — Whether it is called prayer or meditation, the verse looks to Savitar and asks something of him.
Rig Veda 1.164.46 — Mandala 1, Hymn 164, verse 46
“They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmân. To what is One, sages give many a title: they call it Agni, Yama, Mâtariṣvan.”
Cited for
Savitar is not a separate god. The Rig Veda says the sages give many names to what is One, and Yaska says a single soul is praised in various ways. Savitar is the one God (﷾) under one of His names.
The response
This is a serious reply, and Islam agrees with its aim: there is only One to pray to. But the verse of many names lists Indra and Agni, and the same Veda says they were born, as the sun was. Yaska goes on to say the gods may be distinct. Hymn 3.62 asks Pushan, Savitar and Soma each for something. And Sayana says Savitar is the sun before it rises. A name of the Creator cannot also be the name of a created thing.
Where it lands — If the One is meant, the surest prayer names Him alone. Al-Fatiha does.
Rig Veda 5.81.5 — Mandala 5, Hymn 81, verse 5
“Over all generation thou art Lord alone: Pûshan art thou, O God, in all thy goings-forth. Yea, thou hast domination over all this world.”
Cited for
The Rig Veda calls Savitar "Lord alone", with "domination over all this world". That is the language of one God (﷾).
The response
It is high praise. But the same hymn says "the other Deities" follow him, and other hymns give the same rank to other gods. Macdonell calls this a singer's natural exaggeration of the god he is praising. In the Qur'an, "alone" means that no one else is called on at all.
Where it lands — In the hymns, "alone" is praise given to each god in turn. In Islam it is a rule with no exception.
Qur'an 17:110 — Surat al-Isra (The Night Journey), verse 110
“Say: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between."”
Cited for
Your Qur'an says to call on God (﷾) by any name. So calling Him Savitar is fine.
The response
The verse names Allah and Rahman, and says the most beautiful names are His. They describe Him. Savitar is the name of a figure with a chariot and horses, who has a road between the earth and heaven. The Qur'an says of names people gave to others: "Allah has sent down no authority" for them. And of Allah (﷾) it says nothing is like Him.
Where it lands — The Qur'an's names describe the Creator. They do not include a traveller with a chariot and a road in the sky.
Rig Veda 1.35.4-5 — Mandala 1, Hymn 35, verses 4-5
“His chariot decked with pearl, of various colours, lofty, with golden pole, the God hath mounted, The many-rayed One, Savitar the holy, bound, bearing power and might, for darksome regions. Drawing the gold-yoked car his Bays, white-footed, have manifested light to all the peoples. Held in the lap of Savitar, divine One, all men, all beings have their place for ever.”
Cited for
The golden hands and the chariot are poetry. They are pictures of the divine light.
The response
That may be how a later reader takes them. But then the poetry is all the hymn gives, and the reader must supply the rest. Al-Fatiha asks for no such step. It names "the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds", the Lord of all creation, not a traveller within it.
Where it lands — If the picture must be explained away, a prayer that needs no picture is the plainer one.
Maitri Upanishad 6.7 — chapter 6, section 7
“Tat Savitur varenyam, i.e. 'this of Savitri, to be chosen.' Here the Âditya (sun) is Savitri, and the same is to be chosen by the love(r) of Self, thus say the Brahma-teachers.”
Cited for
There is no disagreement. The sun, Rudra and the Self are all forms of the one Brahman.
The response
That is the teaching of some Hindu schools, and others deny it. It also takes away the request. The verse asks that he should stir our thoughts, so the one asked is not the one asking. The Qur'an keeps that line clear. The sun is a created Sign, and every being comes to Allah (﷾) as a servant. The page "Is the soul the same as God?" takes this further.
Where it lands — A prayer for guidance needs One above you who answers. In Islam, He is the Creator, and He is not His creation.
Qur'an 24:35 — Surat al-Nur (The Light), verse 35
“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.”
Cited for
The Qur'an also says Allah (﷾) is Light. The Gayatri's splendour is the same divine light.
The response
The verse says He is the Light "of the heavens and the earth", and calls what follows a parable. Ibn Kathir opens with Ibn Abbas's explanation: He is the Guide of those in the heavens and the earth. The same verse ends with Allah (﷾) guiding whom He will to His Light. It is no sun, and the Qur'an calls the sun a thing created.
Where it lands — The Qur'an's Light is the Creator's guidance. The Gayatri's splendour is that of Savitar.
Qur'an 21:26-28 — Surat al-Anbiya (The Prophets), verses 26-28
“And they say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten offspring." Glory to Him! they are (but) servants raised to honour. They speak not before He speaks, and they act (in all things) by His Command. He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they offer no intercession except for those who are acceptable, and they stand in awe and reverence of His (Glory).”
Cited for
Savitar is like your angels. He is a power of the One, not a rival to Him.
The response
Then the comparison settles the matter. In the Qur'an, angels are honoured servants and take no worship. No one recites a prayer to them for guidance. The Qur'an says the angels themselves will disown that worship.
Where it lands — A servant of the One is not the one to ask. The request goes to the Master.
Qur'an 39:53 — Surat al-Zumar (The Groups), verse 53
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Cited for
I have said this prayer since childhood. Are you telling me it was wasted?
The response
This page judges no one's heart. Your wish for guidance was a good wish, and Islam keeps it. It asks only that it go to the One who made the sun. The Qur'an tells those who have wronged themselves not to despair of the mercy of Allah (﷾). He forgives all sins to those who turn back to Him, and the next verse calls them to turn to their Lord. The page "If I become Muslim, what happens to my family's customs?" explains what stays.
Where it lands — The longing is kept, and the door is open.
Perspectives
Hindu: the verse speaks to the one Supreme Being
Many Hindus hold that Savitar here is a name for the one Supreme Being. They point to the Rig Veda's verse of many titles, Yaska, Sayana, Shankara, the Manusmriti, Om and the reformers of the nineteenth century.
Vedanta teachers and modern Hindu reformers
Savitar is a name of the one God (﷾). The Rig Veda says sages give many titles to what is One, and Yaska says a single soul is praised in various ways.
Rebuttal
The verse of many titles lists Indra and Agni, whom the same Veda says were born. Yaska goes on to report three deities, with the sun in heaven, and says the gods may be distinct. A name that carries the sun with it does not name the sun's Maker.
Sayana reads the light as one with Brahman, belonging to the supreme being, the creator of the world.
Rebuttal
Sayana puts this reading first, but his own note also allows the bright sun, and a request for food. Elsewhere he says Savitar is the sun before it rises. The Upanishad says that here the sun is Savitar.
Shankara teaches that the Gayatri is a means to the knowledge of Brahman.
Rebuttal
Shankara is speaking of a metre as a way to direct the mind. That is a method, and it does not change whom the verse names. The Qur'an needs no such step: "I am indeed close".
The Manusmriti sets Om before the verse and calls Om the highest Brahman, so the whole recitation is directed to Brahman.
Rebuttal
The same law book calls the verse sacred to Savitar. Om stands before the verse and is not part of it, so the verse still names Savitar.
Rammohun Roy reads the verse as meditation on the Supreme Spirit that inwardly rules the sun.
Rebuttal
If the sun is ruled by One above it, the sun is a Sign, as the Qur'an teaches. Then the prayer should go to that One by His own name. Al-Fatiha does so directly.
Hindu: the verse as a goddess, or as Krishna
Devotional readers give the verse a personal face. Later tradition honours it as a goddess, and in the Gita, Krishna says that among metres he is the Gayatri.
Devotional traditions
Later tradition personifies the verse as a goddess, the mother of the Vedas.
Rebuttal
The verse itself names no goddess. It names Savitar and says "he". The goddess comes from later tradition, so the verse gives no ground for calling on her. The Qur'an says that those called on besides Allah (﷾) create nothing.
In the Gita, Krishna says that among metres he is the Gayatri.
Rebuttal
This line is about a metre, in a list that also names the sun and the moon. The Qur'an calls the sun and the moon Signs of Allah (﷾), not Allah (﷾) Himself.
The Islamic perspective
Asking for guidance is right, and Islam sends that request to the Creator alone. Al-Fatiha makes it plainly, and all who pray it know who they are speaking to.
The Qur'an forbids prostrating to the sun and the moon, and gives the reason: Allah (﷾) created them.
Al-Fatiha says whom it worships and asks before it asks for guidance.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that a prayer without al-Fatiha is not valid, so Muslims recite it in every prayer.
Abraham said that without his Lord's guidance he would go astray. He turned to the One who created the heavens and the earth.
Allah (﷾) says that He is close and answers whoever calls on Him.