Surah Fatiha

Surah Fatiha (فاتِحَة) otherwise known as Fatihat al-Kitab (فاتِحةُ الکِتاب) meaning the opening of the book is the first surah in the Noble Quran. This surah has seven verses with the Bismillah being counted as the first verse. It is incumbent on all Muslims to memorize this surah as they must recite it in their prayers.

Facts about Surah Fatiha

Arabic Text and Translation of Surah Fatiha

Surah Fatiha at a glance

Meccan/Madinan	Meccan
Order of revelation	First complete Surah revealed to the prophet
Order of appearance in the Quran	First
No. of verses	Seven
No. of Juz	1
Other names	• Al-Hamd • Al-Fatiha • Fatiha al-Kitab • Sab’ul Mathani (the 7 oft-repeated verses) • Umm al-Kitab (mother of the Book) • Umm al-Quran (mother of the Quran) • Al-Shifa (the cure) • al-Salah (the prayer), • Asas al-Quran (the foundation of the Quran) • al-Kanz (treasure)
Themes and topics	• Monotheism • Resurrection • Prophethood • Glorification of God • Ikhlas (claiming purity of intention and deeds) • Prayer for guidance
Benefits	Cure for spiritual and physical illness; reward of its recitation equal to one reciting two thirds of the Quran

In this article we are going to take a look at:

What Are the Other Names of Surah Fatiha?

• Fatihatul Kitab (فاتحة الکتاب)

The very first Surah of the Quran which consists of seven verses is called Surah Fatiha or Fatihatul Kitab, meaning the opening of the book.

• Asas al-Quran (أَساسُ القُرآن: the foundation of the Quran)

Ibn Abbas, the famous commentator of the Quran says,

«لکل شي اساساً… و اساس القرآن الفاتحة و اساس الفاتحة {بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ}»

For everything there is a foundation:

• The foundation of the world, is Mecca,
• the foundation of the heavens is the seventh heaven …
• the foundation of Bani Isra’il is prophet Jacob (AS) and
• the foundation of all divine books is the Quran, and
• the foundation of the Quran is Fatiha al-Kitab (the opening of the book)
• and the foundation of Fatiha al-Kitab is Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim. 2

• Umm al-Kitab (امّ الکتاب)/Umm al-Quran (امّ القرآن)

It is also called Umm al-Kitab which means ‘the Mother of the Book’ since it includes seven verses summarizing more than 6000 verses of the entire Grand Quran.

The noble prophet (peace be upon him and progeny) says, “By the One who possesses my soul, No Surah has been sent down by Allah the like of it (Surah Al-Fatiha) in Turah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor even in the Qur’an and it is Umm al-Kitab. 3

• Sab’ul Mathani (سَبعُ المَثاني: The Seven Oft-repeated)

Surah Hijr (الحِجر), 87, positions the seven verses of Surah Hamd side by side the entire Quran:

لَقَدْ آتَیْناکَ سَبْعاً مِنَ الْمَثانی‏ وَ الْقُرْآنَ الْعَظیمَ

And We have bestowed upon thee the Seven Oft-repeated (verses) and the Grand Quran. 4

According to many exegetes of the Quran, the seven most repeated verses would be the seven verses of chapter Fatiha. Juxtaposed by the entire Quran, Surah Hamd is considered as the mother of the Book, that is, the Quran, and is also called Umm al-Quran, that is, the mother of the Quran.

• Al-Kanz (treasure)

Surah Fatiha is also referred to as al-Kanz (the treasure).
The messenger of God (peace be upon him and progeny) says, “Indeed, Allah (SWT), has bestowed (His) favours upon me Especially Al- Fatihah and has placed it on a par with the entire Qur’an, and certainly Fatiha al-Kitab is the most valuable in the treasures of God’s Throne”. 5

• Surah al-Hamd

This Surah is also named al-Hamd because it starts by glorifying God as the Lord of two worlds:

الحمد لِلَّهِ رب العالمین

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. 6

• Al-Salah

Surah Fatiha is an integral part of every Muslim’s obligatory prayers as it is recited ten times a day, that is, once in the first two units (rak’ah) of all five Wajib prayers.

Surah Fatiha cannot be replaced by other surahs of the Quran in the first two rak’ats of prayers. In other words, its recitation is a condition of the validity of salah.

Imam Baqir (AS) was asked about the validity of the prayer of one who had not recited surah Fatiha in it, to which he replied, “His prayers will not be valid unless he recites the opening Surah of the Qurah, Fatiha al-Kitab.” Elsewhere he said:

كل صلاة لايقرأ فيها بفاتحة الكتاب فهى خداج

Any prayer without the recitation of Fatiha al-Kitab is incomplete. 7

• Al-Shifa (cure for illnesses)

Surah Fatiha has been mentioned as cure for all illnesses except death. [See section on Surah Fatiha benefits]

Was Surah Fatiha the First Surah Revealed?

There are different views as to which are the first verses revealed to the prophet (peace be upon him and progeny) in Mecca in the first year of Bi‘thah (the appointment of the Noble Prophet as messenger of God):

1. The first five verses of chapter al-Alaq [96:1-5] in Hira cave, reported by Ibn Hisham (d. 218 H / 833 CE);
2. The first verses of chapter al-Muddaththir [74:1] which were revealed to Muhammad upon his return from Hira cave in Mecca, reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Yahya bin Abi Kathir;
3. The first verses of chapter 1, known as al-Fatiha (the Opening) [1:1-7], reported in a hadith by Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi (d. 384 H / 994 CE). 8
   According to another view, the first verses revealed to the Prophet Muhammad were the first five verses of chapter Alaq and the first complete surah, revealed to the prophet was surah Fatiha, revealed to the Noble Prophet in Mecca.

How the story goes…

So, one could say that surah Fatiha is the first surah that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. As a matter of fact, when Gabriel descended to bring the very first revelation to the messenger of Allah in the cave of Hira, he recited the first five verses of chapter Alaq [96:1-5], which meant Read, in the name of your Lord, instructing Muhammad to recite firmly what was going to be revealed to him, meaning the seven verses of Surah Fatiha. It is as though someone sends you a letter, emphasizing in the beginning not to hesitate or be fearful, this letter has been written for you to read, so read it with no fear.

Reasons why Surah Fatiha was revealed in Mecca

There are a number of proofs of surah Fatiha being revealed in Mecca:
1. Surah Hijr is a Meccan chapter in the Noble Quran. In it we have verse 87, pointing to Surah Fatiha, indicating that we have earlier sent to you the oft-repeated verses of Surah Fatiha:

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِّنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ

And We have bestowed upon thee the Seven Oft-repeated (verses) and the Grand Quran. 9

Based on the narration mentioned earlier by the prophet we come to grasp the idea that no prayer is valid without Fatiha al-Kitab. If we are of the idea that the noble prophet (peace be upon him and progeny) prayed the five obligatory prayers from the very beginning of his appointment as prophet, then we have naturally accepted the fact that he recited Surah Fatiha as part of his salah, hence, it does not seem probable that this Surah was revealed in Medina, unless one states that it was revealed for the second time in Medina for emphasis.

2. If we accept the view that Surah Fatiha was the first complete Surah revealed to the prophet, then we would say that it was a Meccan surah because the noble prophet received the first revelation in Mecca. This is in fact the popular view among Muslim scholars; however, based on the view of a few number of scholars such as Mujahid bin Jabr 10 , Surah Fatiha was revealed in Medina.

The Pressures on Muhammad by the Polytheists of Mecca

The few individuals who had accepted Islam along with the messenger of God, namely Ali bin Abi Talib (AS) and lady Khadijah started praying salah with Muhammad from the very beginning of Bi’thah. There have been no narrations mentioning that Muhammad (peace be upon him and progeny) recited other surahs instead of surah Fatiha as part of his prayers.

Note that the atmosphere of Mecca was quite tense and tough for the Muslims who had accepted Islam at the beginning of Bi’thah. They were exposed to ample torture and harassment. Praying was not an easy thing to do. Chapter Alaq (علق) describes the situation clearly:

Have you seen the one who prohibits (9) a servant of Ours from prayer? (10) What will happen if the praying person is rightly guided( 11 )…Let him know that if he does not desist, We shall certainly drag him by his forelocks,( 15 )…( Muhammad ), never yield to him! Prostrate yourself and try to come closer to God. 11

In such a condition was Muhammad to renounce all other deities but Allah and to utter the principles of his religion, meaning the seven verses of Surah Fatiha.

Surah Fatiha: A direct loving link between Servant and Lord

Why does every practicing Muslim, recite Surah Hamd ten times every day as an essential segment of the five obligatory prayers?
The direct relationship of a servant with his/her lord, depicting the height of intimacy, purity and servitude, are demonstrated in each and every verse of the opening chapter of the Quran, chapter Fatiha.
Three concepts are well understood here:

What is the Importance of Surah Fatiha?

Surah Fatiha consists of only seven verses, however, it contains the gist of more than 6000 verses, meaning the entire Quran. In an enlightening narration we read that the Satan uttered a painful call on four occasions in his life, one of which was after the revelation of this Surah:

رَنَّ إِبْلِيسُ أَرْبَعَ رَنَّاتٍ أَوَّلُهُنَّ يَوْمَ لُعِنَ وَ حِينَ أُهْبِطَ إِلَى اَلْأَرْضِ وَ حِينَ بُعِثَ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اَللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ حِينَ أُنْزِلَتْ أُمُّ اَلْكِتَابِ

The day he was cursed by God, the day he was sent to earth from heaven, the day Muhammad (peace be upon him and progeny) was appointed as messenger of God and the day Surah Fatiha was revealed. 12

Surah al-Fatiha and the Principles of Faith

Some of the most prominent principles of Islam included in Surah Umm al-Kitab are:

Monotheism (oneness of God)

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Mentioning the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, one starts this Surah. In fact, unlike other chapters of the Quran which do not include Bismillah as part of them, this statement is considered as a part of this Surah.

In a beautiful narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him and progeny) says, “The act that initiates without the name of God, will remain fruitless and cut off.” 13

Every Act With His Name

Ilah (اله), is someone worthy of servitude and worship because of His ultimate power in bestowing blessings upon His creatures. So in His name, the Muslims start their day and carry out every act that they do whether it is getting up from bed, preparing and having breakfast, getting dressed to leave home and each and every other action that they do on a daily basis, all along reminding themselves of how needy they are and what powerful source they have chosen to cling on in their affairs.

The messenger of God says, “As soon as a teacher teaches a child to say ‘Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim’ and the child says it, God records for the child, his/her parents and the teacher immunity (from fire)”. 14

Calling on the one God at Times of Utter Destitute

When one utters Bismillah (بسم الله) it means that in the midst of the most challenging trials and difficulties of life, one comes to the recognition that no one in this universe is capable of helping one, thus one turns to God as the sole source of ultimate power, might and compassion.

This point is beautifully illustrated in the story of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) when he was about to be cast into the fire. The angels, heavens, and earth cried to their Lord to save this pure servant of Him from fire. Gabriel descended to Ibrahim, asking him if he needed his help, to which Ibrahim replied in the negative and said, “It suffices that He sees me and knows about my condition.” 15 Therefore, when he was cast into the fire, God said,

قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ﴿69﴾

AWe said, “O fire, be coolness and safety upon Ibrahim” 16

Initiating With God’s Names: Other Instances From the Quran

In several other verses of the noble Quran, God instructs His servants to initiate with His name.
• Receiving the first verses of revelations from His Lord, Muhammad (peace be upon him and progeny) is instructed to read in His name:

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِى خَلَق

Read in the Name of your Lord who created. 17

• God tells Prophet Noah (AS) to board his ship with His name.

وَ قَالَ ارْكَبُواْ فِيهَا بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مجَرئهَا وَ مُرْسَئهَا إِنَّ رَبىّ‏ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيم

He said,” Board it: In the Name of Allah it shall set sail and cast anchor. 18

• When commencing to eat food, particularly as for the laws pertaining to the slaughtering of an animal, mentioning God’s name is incumbent:

فَكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ بِآياتِهِ مُؤْمِنين‏

Eat from that over which Allah’s Name has been mentioned, if you are believers in His signs. 19

Glorifying the One God, the Key to Bounties

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ‏ الْعَلَمِينَ ﴿2﴾

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,

In Chapter al-Fatiha, there is only the servant and his/her Lord, face to face. There is no mediator. No one to convey His message but the servant.
How would you start your talks with the King of your heart, the One whom you know is capable of doing any possible and impossible act in the universe? Obviously, you would want to display the basic etiquette of manners by telling Him that you have seen His generosity in your life, recognize and acknowledge His power and compassion, hence, you initiate by glorification and praise of the Lord of both worlds.

Three Points to Keep in Mind:

• By the word Rabb (رب) you say that all that exists in the universe has an owner and creator in whose hands lies the management of everything;
• By the word al-‘Alamin (العالمین) you say that life does not end by death in this world and there is a second world to come;
• By al-Hamd (الحمد) you acknowledge that the blessing and bounties that have been granted to creatures deserve to be seen and appreciated.

Justice Side by Side With Compassion

الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ﴿3﴾

The All-beneficent, the All-merciful,

God is beneficent. His attribute of al-Rahman (الرحمن) includes abundance and generality of His blessings showered upon all servants, believer and non-believer alike. The Lord whose compassion envelops all, invites them to His limitless bounties, to an everlasting happiness which is the result of following the path of servitude and righteousness, the upright religion. Here the believers and non-believers are separated and each are treated fairly based on the justice of their Lord.

God is also merciful (al-Rahim), which means that there are a group of His perpetual bounties that are uniquely ascribed to the believers and designated servants of God. They have earned special qualities and have equipped themselves with distinct features, hence, they are ready to receive special favors as God is just.

Justice on the Last Day

In this world, we feel that we are the owners of our wealth, property, household, health, and basically whatever that belongs to us. Our countries have a president, representing our nation, our offices have a boss whom we see as the owner of the business firm; every shopping mall or store has an owner. When we write a paper or conduct a research project, we see ourselves as the owner of it, hence at times we seem to neglect the true owner of all that we possess in life.

On the Last Day, however, all these owners are gone and there is truly one real owner who is just and whose justice is not restricted to the material world and manages Qiyamah since He is the master of that Day:

مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ﴿4﴾

Master of the Day of Retribution. 20

Now the distinguished servants of God who attest with their hearts, words and deeds that there is only one God, simply worship Him and seek Him for help. This is pure monotheism:

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ إِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴿5﴾

You [alone] do we worship, and to You [alone] do we turn for help. 21

Guidance to the Straight Path: the Prayer in Surah Fatiha

“God’s name” is the criterion; guided and virtuous servants of God adorn all their affairs with and seek His assistance. There is no end to this lighted path. More glory and proximity awaits the select servants of God. However, the whims of the Satan are constantly whispered into the ears of all, hence, these servants earnestly supplicate and pray to be and remain guided. (For a more comprehensive discussion on supplication and dua please refer to the article, ‘Dua in the Quran’.

Moreover, if the servants of God are to be rewarded and punished based on the justice of their Lord on the Last Day, they need to have been shown the way to the right path, to eternal felicity through guides in the material world. Hence, they ask Him for guidance:

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ﴿6﴾

Guide us on the straight path,

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَ لَا الضَّالِّينَ ﴿7﴾

the path of those whom You have blessed such as have not incurred Your wrath, nor are astray.

Prayers are Answered

In chapter An’am (انعام), God assures his servants guidance by instructing His messenger to address the unbelievers as thus:

قُلْ إِنَّنىِ هَدَئنىِ رَبىّ‏ إِلىَ‏ صرِاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ دِينًا قِيَمًا

Say,” Indeed my Lord has guided me to a straight path, the upright religion, 22

And ultimately the abode of the righteous will not be confound to gardens beneath which rivers flow, but more importantly, nearness to God:

دَعْوَئهُمْ فِيهَا سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَ تحَيَّتهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَامٌ وَ ءَاخِرُ دَعْوَئهُمْ أَنِ الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ‏ الْعَلَمِين

Their call therein will be,” O Allah! Immaculate are You!” and their greeting therein will be,” Peace!” and their concluding call,” All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.” 23

Who Has Incurred Allah’s Wrath and Who Has Gone Astray?

Two groups of people have been mentioned in this verse:

1. Those who have gone astray and endeavor to make others follow their path. (مغضوب علیهم).
2. Those who have been shown the way, yet willingly go astray themselves only (الضالین).

What Does the Quran Say About These Two Groups (مغضوب علیهم و لضالین)?

God’s wrath will be upon…

1. The hypocrites and polytheists and those with evil assumption about God. 24
2. Unbelievers in the signs of God and those who killed the prophets; 25
3. The people of the book who heard the truth yet stubbornly followed in their previous path of hiding the truth and sinning; 26
4. Those who turned away from struggling in the path of God; 27
5. Those believers turning to disbelief and willingly opening their breasts to disbelief; 28
6. Those accepting the friendship and leadership of enemies of God. 29

Surah Fatiha Benefits

Reward of Recitation

The reward cited in narrations for the recitation of Surah Fatiha are unparalleled.
The noble prophet (peace be upon him and progeny) says, “The one who recites this surah has the reward of one who has recited two thirds of the Quran and has donated charity to all Muslims.” 30
Elsewhere, the noble prophet mentions the reward of the reciter of surah Fatiha equal to one reciting all the verses sent down from heaven.

من قراء فاتحة الكتاب اءعطاه الله بعد كل آية نزل من السماء ثواب تلاوتها 31

Cure for Illness

Surah Fatiha has been introduced as cure for an individual’s spiritual and physical diseases. How is that so?
We are living at a time where there has been many technological advancements in many areas of life, naturally leading to a higher expectation of the quality of life; however, we see many prevalent psychological, physiological and spiritual ailments, some of which are interrelated, disturbing people’s lives.

Spiritual Disease

Spiritual ailments could be the result of different factors, the most prominent of which according to the Quran is disbelief in God. People are constantly bombarded with and influenced by numerous ideologies and mentalities from various sources such as educational systems, the media, and the society. It happens quite frequently that one pauses for a moment in life, wondering if he is pursuing the correct path and it would not be the case that he would one day look back at life regretful of so many years being wasted.

The Quran beautifully mentions the disease of the heart:

في‏ قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ‏ فَزادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضاً وَ لَهُمْ عَذابٌ أَليمٌ بِما كانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ ﴿10﴾

In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves). 32

وَ أَمَّا الَّذينَ في‏ قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ‏ فَزادَتْهُمْ رِجْساً إِلَى رِجْسِهِمْ وَ ماتُوا وَ هُمْ كافِرُونَ ﴿125﴾

But as for those in whose heart is a sickness, it only adds defilement to their defilement, and they die while they are faithless. 33

The remedy is also provided by this noble book. Clarity of vision, purposefulness, a sane mind and healthy heart are the result of the correct worldview, which is monotheism, a prayer a Muslim makes ten times a day reciting surah Fatiha: Guide us on the straight path, 34

Physical Illness

Surah Fatiha does miracles as it also has the Divine capacity in healing physical sicknesses. The Noble Prophet (Peace be upon him and progeny) said to Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari, “O’ Jabir! Shall I teach you the most superior Surah God has revealed in His book?” Jabir answers in the affirmative. The messenger of God then taught him Surah Hamd (Ummul Kitab) saying, “O’ Jabir! In it lies the cure to all pains but death.” 35