Surah Al-Fatiha

1. BISMIL LAAHIR RAHMAANIR RAHEEM.
In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

2. AL HAMDU LILLAHI RABBIL `AALAMEEN.
Praise be to GOD, Lord of the universe

3. AR RAHMAANIR RAHEEM.
Most Gracious, Most Merciful

4. MAALIKI YAWMID DEEN.
Master of the Day of Judgment

5. EYYAAKA NA`BUDU, WA EYYAAKA NASTA`EEN.
You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help

6. EH'DENAS SIRAATAL MUSTAQEEM.
Guide us in the right path

7. SIRAATAL LAZINA AN`AMTA `ALAYHIM; GHAYRIL
MAGHDOOBI `ALAYHIM WALADDAALEEN.
the path of those whom You blessed; not of those who have deserved wrath, nor of the strayers.

Name

Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, "The Opener", also called “The Exordium”, has many names. This Surah is named Al-Fatihah because of its subject-matter. Fatihah is that which opens a subject or a book or any other thing. In other words, Al-Fatihah is a sort of preface. It is also called, Umm Al-Kitab (the Mother of the Book), and Sab'a al Mathani (Seven repeated verses) according to the majority of the scholars, who refer it to a hadith and an ayah. It is also called Al-Hamd and As-Salah, as referred to in a hadith as referred below. Al-Fatihah was also called Ash-Shifa' (the Cure). It is also called Ar-Ruqyah (remedy), as referred to in a hadith as referred below.

Timing and contextual background of revelation

Islamic scholarly tradition is concerned, amongst other things, with when and where verses and chapters of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad —for example, whether a verse was revealed while Muhammad was in Mecca or Medina.^{[citation needed]} According to `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas and others, sura Al-Fatiha is a Meccan sura; while according to others it is a Medinan sura. The former view is more widely accepted, although some believe that it was revealed in both Mecca and Medina.

The first few revelations to Muhammad were only first few Ayats (verses) of Surahs Alaq, Muzzammil, Al-Muddathir, etc. Most narrators recorded that Al-Fatihah was the first complete Surah (chapter) revealed to Muhammad.^[1]

Theme and subject matter

Al-Fatihah in itself is a prayer at the very beginning of the Quran, which acts as a preface of the Quran and implies that the book is for a person who is a seeker of truth — a reader who is asking the only deity who is worthy of all praise (and is the creator, owner, sustainer of the worlds etc.) to guide him to the straight path.

Commentary

The philosophy of the flow of Al-Fatihah

Under this view, if the soul has not been perverted (e.g. by repeatedly ignoring its calls - or the calls of the conscience), it is a pure soul. When a person gets to age of maturity and begets a sound mind, then the combination of a pure soul, a pure heart and sound mind result in Wisdom (Hikmah) which discovers certain facts about the existence of the universe. It is this wisdom which determines that "All praise and thankfulness is to Allah, [The] Creator, Owner, Sustainer of the Worlds", who must be " the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful" and also must have "no equal", who must be "almighty", "all-knowing", "free of flaws", "just", etc. (most of Allah's names are his qualities as well). Some Muslims believe that these qualities of Allah were recognized by people such as Confucius and Luqman who were not Prophets (i.e. did not receive revelations from Allah), but who acquired this knowledge by reason and wisdom.As per the Quran, human beings are born with a combination of two things: soul and body. According to this view, a soul is a command of Allah, and therefore naturally recognizes the existence of its Lord and also has the love of its creator. It is the nature on which every child is born as Allah says: "and be steadfast on the Nature whereupon Allah has created mankind" (30:30).

Islam also holds that that wisdom demands to be true is that there must be an after-life, where actions of human beings are rewarded or punished for (which is a corollary of the quality of Allah being "Just"). Thus the next ayah calls Allah "Owner of the Day of Recompense."

Once the wisdom of a man brings him to these conclusions, he is then left with no choice but to ask this deity, who possesses all the above qualities (i.e. Allah), that "You alone do we worship and You alone we seek for help." The helprequired in this case is the guidance regarding the purpose of this life (i.e. how should the life be spent). To look for these answers, the wise person, who has already recognized the qualities of his Lord, turns to the Lord and asks Him to "Guide us to the Straight Path. The path of those whom Your blessings are upon, not of those who You have cursed nor of those who have gone astray."

Summary of the Surah

The first four verses praise God and use God's personal name, AR-Rahman.

The fifth verse affirms the oneness of God in Islam and asks for his aid.^[7]

There are differing interpretations for verses 6 and 7. The phrase "the Path journeyed by those upon whom You showered blessings" is usually seen as referring to Muslims. The phrase "those who made themselves liable to criminal cognizance/arrest" (more clearly translated as "those who have incurred Your wrath") is usually seen as referring to theJews and the phrase "those who are the neglectful wanderers" (more clearly translated as "those who have gone astray") is seen as referring to the Christians. The Quran: An Encyclopedia, authored by 43 Muslim and non-Muslim academics says, "The Prophet interpreted those who incurred God’s wrath as the Jews and the misguided as the Christians".  Other commentators suggest that these verses do not refer to any particular religious community.

Relevant ahadith

Ahadith mentioning Tafsir or other details of the Surah

A hadith mentions Al Fatihah to be the prayers itself, because Muhammad said that his lord said:

قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين فإذا قال العبد الحمد لله رب العالمين قال الله تعالى حمدني عبدي
("The prayer (i.e., Al-Fatihah) is divided into two halves between Me and My servants. When the servant says, `All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of existence,' Allah says, 'My servant has praised Me'.")

Another hadith mentions it to be a remedy, as per the story of the Companion who used Al-Fatihah as a remedy for the tribal chief who was poisoned. Later, the Messenger of Allah said to a Companion, How did you know that it is a Ruqyah? (i.e. Muhammad confirmed that it is a Ruqyah).

Ahadith mentioning the benefits of the Surah

Some suras are assigned special significance by adherents of Islam, because of their virtues and benefits (Arabic: فضائل‎faḍāʾil) described in the hadiths. Acceptance of the different hadith stories varies between Sunni and Shia Muslims and there is a variety of terms to classify the different levels of confirmed authenticity of a hadith.

A 14th- or 15th-century manuscript of the chapter

One of the greatest suras

Ahmad ibn Hanbal recorded in his Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal (hadith collection) that Abu Sa`id bin Al-Mu`alla had said:

"I was praying when the Prophet called me, so I did not answer him until I finished the prayer. I then went to him and he said, What prevented you from coming?
I said, 'O Messenger of Allah! I was praying.'
He said, Didn't Allah say,
O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.
He then said,
"I will teach you the greatest Surah in the Qur'an before you leave the Masjid (Mosque)."
He held my hand and when he was about to leave the Masjid, I said, `O Messenger of Allah! You said: I will teach you the greatest Surah in the Qur'an.'
He said, Yes.
Al-Hamdu lillahi Rabbil-`Alamin,
It is the seven repeated (verses) and the Glorious Qur'an that I was given.

—Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Muhammad al-Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Al-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah also recorded this hadith.

Al-fatiha used for cure

Muhammad al-Bukhari recorded in his collection:

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
While we were on one of our journeys, we dismounted at a place where a slave girl came and said, "The chief of this tribe has been stung by a scorpion and our men are not present; is there anybody among you who can treat him (by reciting something)?" Then one of our men went along with her though we did not think that he knew any such treatment. But he treated the chief by reciting something, and the sick man recovered whereupon he gave him thirty sheep and gave us milk to drink (as a reward). When he returned, we asked our friend, "Did you know how to treat with the recitation of something?" He said, "No, but I treated him only with the recitation of the Mother of the Book (i.e., Al-Fatiha)." We said, "Do not say anything (about it) till we reach or ask the Prophet. So when we reached Medina, we mentioned that to the Prophet (in order to know whether the sheep which we had taken were lawful to take or not). The Prophet said, "How did he come to know that it (Al-Fatiha) could be used for treatment? Distribute your reward and assign for me one share thereof as well."

—Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari

Similar versions are found in: Al-Bukhari: 007.071.645^[17]—medicine; Al-Bukhari: 007.071.633—medicine; Al-Bukhari: 007.071.632—medicine

Necessity in salat

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj recorded that Abu Hurairah had told that Muhammad had said:

If anyone observes prayer in which he does not recite Umm al-Qur'an,^[20] it is deficient [he said this three times] and not complete.

—Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Sahih Muslim

A similar story is found in Al-Bukhari: 001.012.723^[22]—characteristics of prayer

One of the two lights

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri recorded:

Ibn 'Abbas reported that while Gabriel was sitting with the Apostle (may peace be upon him) he heard a creaking sound above him. He lifted his head and said: This As a gate opened in heaven today which had never been opened before. Then when an angel descended through it, he said: This is an angel who came down to the earth who had-never come down before. He greeted and said: Rejoice in two lights given to you which have not been given to any prophet before you: Fatiha al-Kitab and the concluding verses of Surah al-Baqara. You will never recite a letter from them for which you will not be given (a reward).

—Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Sahih Muslim

Unauthentic, weak or Ḍaʻīf merits

When you lie your side on your bed [getting ready to sleep] and you recited {The Opening chapter of The Book} and {Qul Huwallaahu [Suratul al-Ikhlaas]}, then you have been secured from everything, except death...

—Weak. Dhaif at-Targheeb wa tarheeb: 347

The Faatiha (Opening chapter) of The Book and the Ayaat ul Kursi; no slave will ever recite them in a house; except that no evil eye -from a Jinn or human – will ever affect them in that day...

—Dhaif al Jam i as-Sagheer: 3952; weak according to Scholar Albaanee

The Faatiha (Opening chapter) of The Book is equal to a third of the Qur’an...

—Weak. Dhaif al Jam i as-Sagheer: 3949