Al-Fatiha
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 Al-Fatihah |
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| Classification | Makkan |
|---|---|
| Meaning of the name | The Opening |
| Other names | Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book) Umm al-Qur'an (Mother of the Qur'an) The Key Surah al-Hamd (The Praise) |
| Time of revelation | Early years of prophethood |
| Statistics | |
| Sura number | 1 106 |
| Number of verses | 7 |
| Juz' number | 1 |
| Hizb number | 1 |
| Number of Rukus | 1 |
| Number of Sajdahs | None |
| Harf-e-Mukatta'at | No |
| Number of Ayats on particular subjects | Praise of God: 3 Relation between Creator and creatures: 1 Prayer of the humankind: 3 |
| Previous Sura | — |
| Next Sura | Al-Baqara |
Listen to Surah Fatiha |
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Sura Al-Fatiha (Arabic: سورة الفاتحة, Sūratu al-Fātihah, "The Opening") is the first chapter of the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an. Its seven verses are a prayer for God's guidance and stress the lordship and mercy of God. This chapter has a special role in daily prayers, being recited at the start of each unit of prayer.
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[edit] Interpretation of the Meaning of Sura Al-Fatiha
Muslims believe that the Qur'an is a revelation from God in the Arabic language. Translations into other languages are considered by many to be merely superficial "interpretations" of the meanings and not authentic versions of the Qur'an. Although some Qur'an alone and liberal Muslims use translations as part of their daily prayers, they are used mainly for personal spiritual use by non-Arabic speakers.
The Arabic text with transliteration and translation in English is as follows: [Qur'an 1:1].
1:1 بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيم
1:2 الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين
1:3 الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيم
- Ar raḥmāni r-raḥīm
- The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
1:4 مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّين
- Māliki yawmi d-dīn
- Sovereign of the Day of Judgment.
1:5 إِيَّاك نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين
- Iyyāka na'budu wa iyyāka nasta'īn
- You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help
1:6 اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ
- Ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭ al mustaqīm
- Guide us to the straight path;
1:7 صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّين
- Ṣirāṭ al-laḏīna an'amta 'alayhim ġayril maġḍūbi 'alayhim walāḍ ḍāllīn
- The path of those on whom You have bestowed your grace, not of those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who go astray.
When recited during daily prayers, some schools of thought follow Al-Fatihah by the word Amin.
[edit] Notes
The first verse, transliterated as "bismillāhir rahmānir rahīm", may be familiar to non-Arabic speakers and non-Muslims because of its ubiquity in Arabic and Muslim societies. This verse appears at the start of every chapter in the Qur'an with the exception of the ninth chapter. The verse is normally said before reciting a chapter or part of a chapter during daily prayer, and also before public proclamations and indeed before many personal and everyday activities in many Arabic and Muslim societies as a way to invoke God's blessing and proclaim one's motives before an undertaking.
The two words "ar rahmān" and "ar rahīm" are often translated in English as "the beneficent" and "the merciful" or "the generous" and "the merciful." They are often also translated as superlatives, for example, "the most generous" and "the most merciful". Grammatically the two words "rahmaan" and "raheem" are different linguistic forms of the triconsonantal root R-H-M, connoting "mercy". (For more information, see the section on root forms in Semitic languages). The form "rahmaan" denotes degree or extent, i.e., "most merciful," while "raheem" denotes time permanence, i.e., "ever merciful".
The reading of the first word of the fourth verse, translated as "master/king" above, has been the subject of debate. The two main recitations, of the Qur'an, Warsh and Hafs, differ on whether it should be "maliki" with a short "a," which means "king" (Warsh, from Nafi'; Ibn Kathir; Ibn Amir; Abu 'Amr; Hamza), or "māliki" with a long "a," which means "master" or "owner" (Hafs, from Asim, and al-Kisa'i). Both "maliki" and "māliki" derive from the same triconsonantal root in Arabic, M-L-K. Both readings are considered valid by many practitioners, since both can be seen as describing God.
In some Muslim societies, Al-Fatiha is traditionally read together by a couple to seal their engagement, however this act is not recorded in the sunnah and is seen by many to be an innovation.
[edit] Revelation
Islamic scholarly tradition is concerned, amongst other things, with when and where verses and chapters of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad - for example, whether a verse was revealed while Muhammad was in Mecca or Medina. According to Ibn Abbas and others, Sura Al-Fatiha is a Meccan surah; according to Abu Hurayrah and others, it is a Madinan surah. The former view is more widely accepted, although some believe that it was revealed in both Mecca and Medina.
[edit] Alternate names
This surah is sometimes known in English as "the Exordium". In various Hadith it is described as "the mother of the Book" (Umm al-Kitab) and "the mother of the Qur'an" (Umm al-Qur'an), and "the cure of diseases" ("Sura-tul-shifa") and said to be the seven verses alluded to in Al-Hijr [Qur'an 15:87].
[edit] Statistics
This sura contains 7 verses, 29 words and 139 letters (or 25 and 120, not counting the first verse), although Ibn Kathir says "The scholars say that Al-Fatiha consists of 25 words, and that it contains 113 letters." It falls in the first hizb, and hence the first juz', which are sections of the Qur'an.
| Previous Sura: — |
The Qur'an | Next Sura: Al-Baqara |
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[edit] Translations, interpretations and commentaries on Surah Al-Fatiha
Because of a hadith which states that "whoever does not recite Surah Al-fatihah in his prayer his prayer is invalid", many Islamic scholars emphasise the importance of this chapter in their commentaries. In practice, this means that Muslims who perform daily prayers according to traditional rules will recite Surah Al-Fatiha at least 17 times a day.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Islam Quran Sunnah - The Right Path
- Surah Al Fatiha Learn Surah Al Fatiha with Audio at MountHira.com
- Al-Fatiha at Altafsir.com
- Sura 1, The Key (Al-Fãtehah)
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir
- Mawdudi
- A Raleigh khutba
- Surat al-Fatiha Learn Surat al-Fatiha with sound and translation at NaturalArabic.com
