Surah Al-Fatiha: The Perfect Prayer for Seeking Guidance and Blessings

Al Quran: Discover the beautiful words and profound meaning of surah Al-Fatiha, and learn how to recite it with proper Arabic and its translation.

Surah Al-Fatiha

Al-Fatiha, alternatively transliterated Al-Fātiḥa or Al-Fātiḥah is the first surah of the Quran. It consists of 7 āyāt which are a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as salah.Quranic chapter titles are not considered by Muslims to be part of the divine revelation of the Quran. The primary literal meaning of the expression "Al-Fatiha" is "The Opener," which could refer to this Surah being the first in the Quran, the first chapter recited in full in every rakat of salah, or to the manner in which it serves as an opening for many functions in everyday Islamic life. Some Muslims interpret it as a reference to an implied ability of the Surah to open a person to faith in God.Surah Al-Fatiha is narrated in the Hadith to have been divided into two halves between Allah and His servant, the first three verses being His half and last three being the servant's. There is disagreement as to whether the Bismillah is the first verse of the surah, or even a verse in the first place. The chapter begins by praising Allah with the phrase Alhamdulillah, and stating that it is Allah who has full authority over all creations, that He is Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim or the Most Gracious and Most Merciful, and that He is and will be the true owner of everything and everyone on the Day of Judgement.The last three verses, which comprise the servant's half, begin with the servant stating that they worship and seek only Allah's help, asking Him to guide them to the Sirat al-Mustaqim of those who God has been bountiful to, and not of those who have earned His anger.Some Muslim commentators believe Jews and Christians are examples of those evoking God's anger and those who went astray, respectively. Others view this as an exclusive condemnation of all Jews and Christians from all times. The Noble Quran, which is said to be the most widely disseminated Quran in most Islamic bookstores and Sunni mosques throughout the English-speaking world, defines the two groups as Jews and Christians respectively.Other Muslim commentators have interpreted these verses as referring exclusively not to a specific group of people but instead interpret these in the more general sense.The most commonly accepted view about the origins of the surah is the view of Ibn Abbas, among others, that Al-Fatiha is a Meccan surah, although some believe that it is either a Medinan surah or was revealed in both Mecca and Medina. Most narrators recorded that al-Fātiḥah was the first complete Surah revealed to Muhammad.The name Al-Fatiha could refer to the surah being the first in the Mus'hafs, the first to be recited in each rakat of salah, or to the manner of its usage in many Islamic traditions as an opening prayer. The word itself comes from the root f-t-ḥ which means to open, explain, disclose, conquer, etc. Al-Fatiha is also known by several other names, such as Al-Hamd, As-Salah, Umm al-Kitab, Umm al-Quran, Sab'a min al-Mathani, and Ash-Shifa'.Muslims attribute special significance to some surahs for their virtues and benefits described in the hadith. Acceptance of the different hadith varies between Sunni and Shia Muslims and there is a variety of terms to classify the different levels of confirmed authenticity of a hadith. However, both Sunnis and Shia believe Al-Fatiha to be one of the greatest surahs in the Quran, and a cure for several diseases and poisons.

Al-Baqara

Al-Fatiha

آلم

تفسير : in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful:

تفسير : praise be to god, is a predicate of a nominal clause, the content of which is intended to extol god [by stating that]: he possesses the praise of all creatures, or that he [alone] deserves their praise. god is a proper noun for the one truly worthy of worship; lord of all worlds, that is, [he is] the one who owns all of creation: humans, jinn, angels, animals and others as well, each of which may be referred to as a ‘world’; one says ‘the world of men’, or ‘world of the jinn’ etc. this plural form with the yā’ and the nūn [sc. ‘ālamīn] is used to denote, predominantly, cognizant beings (ūlū ‘ilm). the expression [‘ālamīn] relates to [the term] ‘sign’ (‘alāma), since it is an indication of the one that created it.

تفسير : the compassionate, the merciful: that is to say, the one who possesses ‘mercy’, which means to want what is good for those who deserve it.

تفسير : master of the day of judgement: that is, [the day of] requite, the day of resurrection. the reason for the specific mention [of the day of judgement] is that the mastery of none shall appear on that day except that of god, may he be exalted, as is indicated by [god’s words] ‘whose is the kingdom today?’ ‘god’s’ [q. 40:16] (if one reads it mālik [as opposed to malik], then this signifies that he has possession of the entire affair on the day of resurrection, or else that he is ever described by this [expression], in the same way as [he is described as] ‘forgiver of sin’ (ghāfir al-dhanb). thus, one can validly take it as an adjective of a definite noun).

تفسير : you [alone] we worship, and you [alone] we ask for help: that is to say, we reserve worship for you [alone] by way of acknowledging your oneness (tawhīd) and so on, and we ask for [your] assistance in worship and in other things.

تفسير : guide us to the straight path: that is, ‘show us the way to it’. this is substituted by:

تفسير : the path of those whom you have favoured, with guidance (from alladhīna together with its relative clause is substituted by [ghayri l-maghdūbi ‘alayhim]) not [the path] of those against whom there is wrath, namely, the jews, and nor of those who are astray, namely, the christians. the subtle meaning implied by this substitution is that the guided ones are neither the jews nor the christians. but god knows best what is right, and to him is the return and the [final] resort. may god bless our master muhammad (s), his family and companions and grant them everlasting peace. sufficient is god for us; an excellent guardian is he. there is no power and no strength save in god, the high, the tremendous.

Sirata allatheena anAAamta AAalayhim ghayri almaghdoobi AAalayhim wala alddalleena