Al-Fatihah is the greatest surah of the Qur’an: the seven oft-repeated verses and the mighty Qur’an given to the Prophet ﷺ. Nothing like it was revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms or the Qur’an, and it is a light no prophet received before him. No prayer is complete without it: in every rak’ah the servant converses with his Lord through it. It is also a healing ruqyah, by Allah’s leave.
The Prophet ﷺ told Abu Sa’id ibn al-Mu’alla that it is the greatest surah of the Qur’an, the seven oft-repeated verses and the mighty Qur’an given to him; he also called it “the most excellent part of the Qur’an”.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Bukhari (4474) and Abu Dawud (1458) Authentic (sahih)An-Nasa’i (As-Sunan al-Kubra, 8011), Ibn Hibban (774) and Al-Hakim
The Prophet ﷺ swore that nothing like it was revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms or the Furqan.
An angel gave the Prophet ﷺ the good news of two lights no prophet had received before him: the Opening of the Book and the closing verses of Al-Baqarah; he recites not a letter of them without being granted it.
A prayer without the Mother of the Qur’an is deficient and incomplete. Allah has divided it between Himself and His servant into two halves: He answers each of its verses, and His servant shall have what he asks.
Companions recited it over a stung chieftain, who recovered, and over a man suffering from madness, who recovered too; the Prophet ﷺ approved, saying: “How did you know it is a ruqyah?” Ibn al-Qayyim explains that it also heals hearts, for the plea for guidance it contains cures misguidance.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Bukhari (5736) and Muslim (2201) Authentic (sahih)Abu Dawud (3896), Ahmad (5/210) and Ibn Hibban
Allah opened His Book with it because it gathers the Qur’an’s aims: the whole Qur’an details what it summarises, oneness, worship, rulings, promise and threat; hence its name, “the Mother of the Qur’an”.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
لأعلمنك سورة هي أعظم السور في القرآن قبل أن تخرج من المسجد … قال: الحمد للّه رب العالمين، هي السبع المثاني والقرآن العظيم الذي أوتيته
“I will teach you, before you leave the mosque, a surah that is the greatest in the Qur’an.” … He said: “‘All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds’: it is the seven oft-repeated verses (as-sab’ al-mathani) and the mighty Qur’an that I have been given.”
والذي نفسي بيده ما أنزلت في التوراة ولا في الإنجيل ولا في الزبور ولا في الفرقان مثلها، وإنها سبع من المثاني والقرآن العظيم الذي أعطيته
By the One in whose hand is my soul, nothing like it was revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms or the Furqan; it is the seven oft-repeated verses and the mighty Qur’an that I have been given.
هذا بابٌ من السَّماء فُتِح اليوم، لم يُفتح قطُّ إلَّا اليوم، فنزل منه مَلَك، فقال: هذا ملَكٌ نزل إلى الأرض، لم ينزلْ قطُّ إلَّا اليوم، فسلَّم، وقال: أبشِرْ بنورَينِ أوتيتَهما، لم يُؤتَهما نبيٌّ قبلك: فاتحة الكتاب، وخواتيم سورة البقرة، لن تَقرأ بحرفٍ منهما إلَّا أُعطيتَه
“This is a gate of heaven opened today; it has never been opened before today.” An angel came down from it, and he said: “This angel has come down to earth today; he has never come down before today.” The angel greeted him and said: “Rejoice in two lights given to you that were given to no prophet before you: the Opening of the Book and the closing verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. You will not recite a letter of them without being granted it.”
مَن صلَّى صلاةً لم يقرأْ فيها بأُمِّ القرآن، فهي خداجٌ -ثلاثًا- غير تمام … قال الله تعالى: قسمتُ الصلاة بَيني وبَين عبدي نِصفين، ولعَبدي ما سأل، فإذا قال العبدُ: الحمدُ لله ربِّ العالَمين، قال الله تعالى: حمَدني عَبدي، وإذا قال: الرَّحمن الرَّحيم، قال الله تعالى: أثْنَى عليَّ عبدي، وإذا قال: مالِك يومِ الدِّين، قال: مَجَّدني عبدي … فإذا قال: إيَّاك نعبُدُ وإيَّاك نستعين، قال: هذا بَيني وبَين عبدي، ولعَبدي ما سأل، فإذا قال: اهدِنا الصِّراطَ المستقيمَ صِراطَ الذين أنعمت عليهم غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالِّين، قال: هذا لعَبدي، ولعبدي ما سألَ
Whoever performs a prayer in which he does not recite the Mother of the Qur’an, it is deficient (he said it three times), incomplete. … Allah, the Exalted, said: “I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he asks. When the servant says: ‘All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds’, Allah says: ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When he says: ‘The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful’, Allah says: ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ When he says: ‘Master of the Day of Judgement’, He says: ‘My servant has glorified Me.’ … When he says: ‘You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help’, He says: ‘This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks.’ When he says: ‘Guide us to the straight path, the path of those You have blessed, not of those who earned anger, nor of those who went astray’, He says: ‘This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks.’”
ألا أخبرك بأفضل القرآن؟ قال: فتلا عليه ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾
“Shall I tell you what is most excellent in the Qur’an?” Then he recited to him: “All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.”
فانطلق فجعل يتفل ويقرأ ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ حتى لكأنما نشط من عقال … فقال: وما يدريك أنها رقية؟ أصبتم، اقسموا واضربوا لي معكم بسهم
He went to him and began to blow lightly and recite “All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds”, and it was as if the man had been released from a fetter. … The Prophet ﷺ said: “How did you know it is a ruqyah? You did right; share it out and assign me a share with you.”
فرقيته بفاتحة الكتاب فبرأ، فأعطوني مائة شاة، فأتيت رسول الله ﷺ فأخبرته فقال: هل قلت إلّا هذا؟ قلت: لا. قال: خذها فلعمري لمن أكل برقية باطل، لقد أكلت برقية حق
I treated him with ruqyah using the Opening of the Book, and he recovered; they gave me a hundred sheep. I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and told him. He asked: “Did you say anything other than this?” I said: “No.” He said: “Take them. By my life, some live off a false ruqyah, but you have lived off a true ruqyah.”
Main purpose: To realise pure and exclusive servitude to Allah, the Exalted.
Al-Fatihah is Meccan in the preponderant view, among the very first surahs revealed; it has also been said to be Medinan, or revealed twice. Al-Qurtubi favours the first view, since Allah says in the Meccan surah Al-Hijr: “We have given you seven of the oft-repeated verses”. It has seven verses without disagreement, according to Ibn Kathir, and the only surah recited in every rak’ah of every prayer. Its names include Al-Fatihah, the Mother of the Qur’an, the Seven Oft-Repeated, Al-Hamd, the Cure, the Sufficient and the Ruqyah.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Fatihah Listen to Al-Fatihah by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
