Surah Al-Fatihah: Meaning, Names, Tafsir and Its Place in Every Prayer

Surah Al-Fatihah, the Opening, is the first chapter of the Quran and has seven verses. Ibn Kathir, in the abridged tafsir on quran.com, calls it the opener of the Book with which prayers are begun, and reports from Ibn Abbas, Qatadah and Abu al-Aliyah that it was revealed in Makkah.

It is recited in every unit of prayer. Sahih al-Bukhari 756 records the Prophet saying that whoever does not recite Al-Fatihah in their prayer has no valid prayer, and Sahih Muslim 395a calls a prayer without Umm al-Quran deficient, repeating the word three times. The schools differ over the follower behind an imam, as explained below.

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Al-Fatihah has several names, each drawn from a report or from what the surah does. Ibn Kathir lists names including Umm al-Kitab, al-Hamd, as-Salah, ash-Shifa and ar-Ruqyah, and quotes al-Bukhari: it is called the Mother of the Book because the Quran begins with it and prayer begins with its recitation.

Qur'an 15:87, rendered below, speaks of seven oft-repeated verses given to the Prophet, and Sahih al-Bukhari 4704, placed under that verse, identifies them with Umm al-Quran.

Sources: [2] [9] [7] [8] [5] [12] [4]

Al-Fatihah moves from praise of Allah to a direct request for guidance. Ibn Kathir summarises it as praise through Allah's beautiful names and attributes, a reminder of the Hereafter, sincere worship of Allah alone and a request for the straight path. The notes below paraphrase each verse.

On the last verse, Ibn Kathir describes those who earn anger as people who know the truth yet turn from it, and those astray as people who have lost true knowledge. He cites Jami at-Tirmidhi 2954, graded hasan on the page, applying these descriptions to Jews and Christians, and draws the lesson that the believer's path joins knowledge of the truth with acting on it.

• 1:1, the basmala: the reciter begins in Allah's name, invoking two names of mercy; the numbering used here counts it as the first verse.
• 1:2: all praise and thanks belong to Allah, Lord of everything that exists.
• 1:3: the names of mercy return, framing His lordship with mercy.
• 1:4: the reciter turns to the Day of Judgement, when authority belongs to Allah alone.
• 1:5: worship of Allah alone joined to complete reliance on Him.
• 1:6: the first request, for guidance to the straight path and steadfastness on it.
• 1:7: the path of those favoured, whom Ibn Kathir identifies through Qur'an 4:69 as the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous, not the paths of anger or straying.

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It is a hadith qudsi in Sahih Muslim 395a in which Allah says He has divided the prayer between Himself and His servant, and His servant will have what he asks. At the praise of the Lord of the Worlds, Allah says His servant has praised Him; at the names of mercy, that His servant has lauded Him; at the Master of the Day of Judgement, that His servant has glorified Him.

At You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help, Allah says this is between Him and His servant, and at the request for guidance, that this is for His servant, who will have what he asks. Ibn Kathir explains that the surah is called the prayer here because reciting it is a condition of the prayer. Reciting slowly, pausing at the end of each verse, is one practical way to act on the report.

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It depends on your school. IslamOnline's comparative answer summarises the positions: Hanafis say the follower recites nothing, citing Qur'an 7:204 on listening to the Quran; Shafi'is require the follower to recite it in silent and audible prayers alike; Malikis recommend it in silent prayers and dislike it in audible ones; and Hanbalis recommend it in silent prayers and in the imam's pauses.

Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti's Shafi'i answer on SeekersGuidance calls it obligatory in every rak'ah and recommends that the imam pause after Al-Fatihah in audible prayers. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance has the follower stand in attentive silence and say amin quietly. Follow your own school's method rather than mixing them.

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Scholars differ. Ibn Kathir reports that al-Shafi'i, Ibn al-Mubarak and others, with one report from Ahmad, held the basmala to be a verse of every surah except the ninth, Al-Fatihah included, while Malik and Abu Hanifa held that it is not a verse of Al-Fatihah or any other surah; another view, also attributed to Ahmad, treats it as a separate verse before each surah.

The practical difference is audibility. Shaykh Jamir Meah explains that Shafi'is, counting it as part of the surah, recite it aloud in audible prayers, while Ibn Kathir reports that Abu Hanifa, al-Thawri and Ahmad did not say it aloud and that Malik held it is recited neither aloud nor silently in the prayer. Ibn Kathir notes that these imams agree the prayer of both groups is correct.

Ibn Kathir reports no disagreement that the surah has seven verses; the majority of the reciters of Kufa counted the basmala as the first, the count this site's numbering follows.

Sources: [2] [17] [1]

Amin is a short supplication that, as Ibn Kathir reports from most scholars, means O Allah, answer our invocation, and it is said after the surah's closing request for guidance. Sahih al-Bukhari 780 records the Prophet telling worshippers to say amin when the imam says it, for whoever's amin coincides with that of the angels has their past sins forgiven.

How it is said differs. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance has the follower say amin quietly. A Shafi'i answer on IslamQA explains that the imam says it aloud in audible prayers and softly in silent ones, and that al-Nawawi judged the stronger view to be that the follower also says it aloud. Ibn Kathir adds that amin is recommended after Al-Fatihah even outside prayer.

Sources: [3] [6] [15] [18]

The best-established virtues concern its rank. In Sahih al-Bukhari 4474 the Prophet called it the greatest surah in the Quran, and in Jami at-Tirmidhi 2875, graded sahih on the page, he said nothing like it was revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms or the Quran.

Sahih Muslim 806 records an angel announcing two lights given to the Prophet that no earlier prophet received, Al-Fatihah and the closing verses of Al-Baqarah, with a reward for every letter recited from them. Sahih al-Bukhari 5007 tells of a Companion reciting it over a man stung by a scorpion, and the Prophet asking how he knew it was a ruqyah.

These reports establish its rank and its use as a recitation for healing; its first purpose remains attentive recitation in every prayer.

Sources: [7] [10] [11] [12]

Learn it by listening, repeating in short phrases and having a teacher check you. Because it is recited in every rak'ah, accuracy matters; the Tajweed for beginners guide explains the basics of articulation.

If you are new to Islam and cannot yet recite it, Egypt's Dar al-Ifta advises remembrance of Allah in its place until you are able, and the chapter heading for Sahih Muslim 395 on sunnah.com speaks of reciting whatever else one can manage.

• Listen to a careful reciter while following the Arabic, one verse at a time.
• Repeat each verse in short phrases until you can say it without looking, then join it to the verse before.
• Learn the meaning alongside the words, using the verse notes above.
• Ask a teacher to listen, especially for sounds absent from your first language.

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