Surah Fatihah (Introduction)

• Revealed at Makkah: 7 verses
• The following English translation of the Holy Quran is by Maulana Muhammad Ali.

The Opening  : سُوْرَۃُ الْفَاتِحَةِ

1-0        In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1-1        Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,

1-2        The Beneficent, the Merciful,

1-3        Master of the day of Requital.

1-4        Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.

1-5        Guide us on the right path,

1-6        The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favours,

1-7      Not those upon whom wrath is brought down, nor those who go astray.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١)

 ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ (٢)

 مَـٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ (٣)

 إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ (٤)

 ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ (٥)

 صِرَٲطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ (٦)

 غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ (٧)

Commentary

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• What follows next is the rendering (into the English language) by Dr. Hamid Rahman of the Commentary and Footnotes by Maulana Muhammad Ali which appear (in the Urdu language) and correspondingly accompany the Holy Quran.
• Note, too, that this is a DRAFT version.

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Name: The best-known name of this surah is الفاتحة or فاتحة الکتاب. The names of the Quranic surahs by which they are known are mentioned in many authentic hadith containing the narrations of the Holy Prophet. Since the names are traceable back to the blessed tongue of the Holy Prophet, it follows that the surahs were named under Divine guidance. This surah is mentioned in the ahadith as الفاتحة and فاتحة الکتاب from whence it gets its name. The recitation of الفاتحة is an essential part of the daily prayers as is apparent from a hadith quoted both by Abu Daud and Tirmidzi which states:لا صلوۃ اِلّابقراۃ فاتحة الکتاب       (there is no prayer without the Fatiha). Another hadith narrated by Ubaidah bin Samit and reported both in Bukhari and Muslim states: قال رسول اﷲ صلم ﻻصلوة لمن لّم یقراٌ بفاتحة الکتاب      (The Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever does not recite the Fatihah has not said his prayer). There are other names of the Fatihah as well. In surah Hijar of the Quran, this surah is referred to as: من المثانی سبعًا meaning the seven oft repeated verses. In an authentic hadith, it has also been referred to as اُمّالقران or اُمّ الکتاب which means that this surah is the essence and summary of the Holy Quran. It has been called by other names as well such as الدعاء- الصلوۃ- الشفاء- الکنز- الحمد-  . Imam Al-Suyuti lists twenty-five names for this surah in his book Al-Itqan fi Ulum Al-Quran (The Perfect Guide to the Science of Quran).

Summary of the subject-matter

The four greatest attributes of Allah the Most High: There are a total of seven verses in this surah out of which the first three verses mention those perfect attributes of Allah which sustain the entire systems of this world. The first verse mentions the attribute of ربوبیت which means the nurturer unto perfection of the entire creation within the ambit of their assigned objectives. The second verse contains two attributes. The first of these is رحمٰنیت , which is the attribute of providing for creatures prior to their creation all necessary resources needed by them to reach their perfection, and the second is  رحیمیتwhich is the attribute of arranging the best results when the creatures use the provided resources. The third verse contains the attribute of مالکیت which is the attribute of requital when given resources are not put to good use or for transgressing the laws that are in place so that things may progress to perfection and the established order in the universe be maintained. The fourth verse is a declaration that only the Pure Being whose praise is enunciated in the first three verses is deserving of worship and that He is the only One from whom help is sought.

The two parts of Fatiha and their mutual relationship: The last three verses are a supplication for guidance on the right path and for the avoidance of extremes. The first three verses are only for extoling the praise of Allah and the last three verses only for the supplicant that he may be the recipient of the best rewards. The middle verse gives the connection between Allah, the Most High, and His servant and thus is common between the first and second parts of the Fatihah. The opening words of this middle verse اِیَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ (Thee do we serve) really connect with the first three verses because they make the Being whose laudable qualities have been stated in the first three verses to be the only one deserving of worship. Now since He is the only one deserving to be worshipped then perforce, He is the One from whom help should be sought. This connects the second part of the verseنَسْتَعِیْنُ  اِیَّاكَ with the first part of the verse while a natural connection exists with the last three verses of this chapter which explain the nature of the help that is sought. This is the meaning of the hadith which states that صَلٰوۃُ  meaning Fatihah is half and half between Me and My servant قال اﷲ قسمت الصٰوۃ بینی و بین عبدی نصفین ولعبدی ماسال۔ Tirmizi classifies this hadith as Hassan i.e. fairly reliable.

The rationale for keeping the Fatihah at the head of the Quran is its greatness: In an authentic(Sahi)hadith, the Fatihah has been calledاعظم السور فی القران  meaning the greatest surah of the Quran. Its greatness is apparent from the fact that prayer, which has been called the ascension of the believer, requires the recitation of the Fatihah in every rakah along with recitation from any other part of the Quran. It is the essence and summary of the Quran as is apparent from its name of اُمُّ اْلکِتاب۔. The real purpose of the Quran is to expound the praise of Allah and to guide men to their ultimate perfection. Accordingly, the first part of the surah explicates the basic laudable attributes of Allah and the latter part the achievement of man’s perfection. The start of the surah with the statement اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ  not only mentions Allah’s general attribute of nurturing but also sets the basis for the unity of mankind by the use of the word الْعَالَمِیْنَ which does away with all national differences. The purpose of religion, in summary, is to establish the lordship of God and the brotherhood of man and there can be no better rendering of this summary than the words:  اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ  i.e. All praise is for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

The Fatihah refutes all false beliefs: The attributes of Allah mentioned in the Fatihah i.e. ربوبیت – رحمٰنیت – رحیمیت – مالکیت (Nurturer unto Perfection, Beneficent, Merciful, and Master) are the source or root from which all the other attributes of the Divine Being are derived. Another marvel of these attributes is that they refute the false beliefs of all the religions of the world. The attribute of ربوبیت (Nurturer unto Perfection) refutes the idea that anyone can partner or associate with Allah in His person or in His attributes. He is the Nurturer of the spirit and of matter, therefore they cannot be His associate in any attribute such as being eternal. Similarly, idolatry and all forms of polytheism is refuted because only a Being that nurtures others is worthy of praise and worship and that Being is only One. The attribute of رحمٰنیت (Beneficence) which connotes mercy without extracting recompense refutes the doctrine of atonement whose basis is that God cannot forgive without recompense and hence His son is made the recompense for the sins of mankind. But the dictates of رحمٰنیت (Beneficence) require that His mercy be exercised even without recompense as can be seen in His creation in which He makes provisions for men even before they are born. The attribute of رحیمیت (Mercy) means that He rewards abundantly for actions that are obedient to His laws. This refutes those beliefs that hold that man’s actions, which are necessarily limited in amount, can correspondingly only bring limited rewards, and therefore consider salvation to be only temporary. The attribute of مالکیت signifies that although Allah requites disobedience to His laws but His treatment with His creatures is that of a master with his servants. This refutes the creed of transmigration of the soul which holds that Allah cannot forgive any sin and therefore man must pass through many cycles of rebirth for the requital of sins.

Fatihah teaches moderation: Just as the first part of the Fatihah rebuts the false beliefs of other faiths, the second part of the Fatihah rebuts their extremist practices. All religions in their present condition except for Islam put special emphasis only on one aspect of human morality. Consequently, they have erroneously veered to one extreme or the other. Thus, they have put extreme emphasis on one branch and completely ignored the other. The summary of Islam’s teaching is here given as moderation which saves one from underindulgence and safeguards against overindulgence. Thus, the Surah Fatihah has the foundational teachings of the true principles of belief and actions and a rebuttal of that which is false.

The best supplication: The prayer that has been taught in this surah is of the highest excellence, the like of which is not met in any other religion. A comparison with the Lord’s prayer in Christianity exemplifies this statement. The Christians make tall claims about their Lord’s prayer, but it is nothing compared to the Fatihah. The Lord’s prayer supplicates for the daily bread while the Fatihah beseeches for the right path i.e. for the attainment of human perfection. This manifests the difference in the objectives of the two supplications. The Lord’s prayer pleads for the forgiveness of sins while the Fatihah expresses the desire to reach the station where one becomes free from committing sins and where there is no underindulgence or overindulgence in the fulfillment of rights. Thus, it is a prayer to become sinless or innocent. There is no supplication in the Torah or the Gospels which is a match for Fatihah in terms of teaching the right principles, in refuting the wrong beliefs, in eulogizing and praising Allah and for taking man to the highest pinnacle of perfection. Similarly, the relationship that has been created between Allah and His servant in the statement: اِیَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِیَّاكَ نَسْتَعِیْنُ  (Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help) is without a parallel. Those who roam around seeking incantations (وظیفہ) for their spiritual uplift will find that they will obtain their objective much faster if they were to resort to the foremost of supplications i.e. the Fatihah. There is no better incantation than the surah Fatihah and it is an incantation that Allah, the Most High, has Himself taught to men.

Period of Revelation: There is unanimity of opinion that not only is this a Makkan revelation but that it belongs to the earliest period. This surah was recited in prayers from the beginning and prayers were regularly offered in Makkah. An incident is recorded from the fourth year of prophethood in which Saad was offering prayer with a group of Muslims in an open area near Makkah when an altercation took place with the unbelievers of Makkah, after which it was decided that prayers would be held in the house of Raqam. This incident shows that congregational prayers were offered prior to the fourth year of apostleship and hence surah Fatihah was recited in the prayers at that time. Its early revelation is not merely a matter of conjecture but there is evidence that it was the first complete surah to be revealed. According to one narration the Fatihah is: اوّل شئى انزل من القران  i.e. the first thing that was revealed from the Quran. This hadith has been narrated by Bayhaqi in دلاءل النبوّۃ (Dalayal Al-Nabuwat). The criticism against this has been that there is a consensus that اقرأ باسم ربّك was the first revelation. It appears that what is meant by اوّل شئى is that Fatihah was the first complete surah of the Quran that was revealed because only the first five verses of surah Al-Alaq (ال علق) were revealed in the first revelation and the rest of the surah was revealed later.

بِسْمِ ﷲِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ  : It is written before all the surahs of the Quran except for surah Al-Baraat (ال براۃ ). The revelation of this verse before every surah is proven by authentic ahadith. A hadith in Abu Dawud states that the Messenger of Allah did not recognize the separation of a surah until بِسْمِ ﷲِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ  was revealed to him. This proves that بِسْمِ ﷲِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ  was revealed at the start of every surah but the verse is not included amongst the verses of any surah including the Fatihah. It is reported in Ibn Kathir that Dauwd said it is a permanent verse at the beginning of each surah and not part of the surah. This is also the narrative from Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and this was also the right belief of Imam Abu Hanifa.

بسم ﷲ (Bismillah) is the summary of every surah: بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم is a permanent verse because just as surah Fatihah is the summary of the Quran, بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم is the summary of surah Fatihah and thus it too is a summary of the Quran. Because every surah of the Quran is a book in itself with its standalone subject, بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم has been kept at the beginning of each surah as a summary of the surah as well. That بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم is a summary of surah Fatihah is apparent from the fact that out of the four attributes in the Fatihah i.e.   ربوبیت-  رحمٰنیت- رحیمیت – مالکیت , which are the root for all the other Divine attributes, two attributes – رحمٰنیت – رحیمیت – have been selected here. The reason is that the affairs of the world depend upon these two attributes. A little reflection will show that the provision of resources, and the arranging of the rewards when those resources are utilized is the basic organizational principle of the world on which all affairs depend. All the resources provided by Allah that make life possible such as water, fire, sun, etcetera, and the laws under which these operate are a manifestation of His attribute of رحمٰنیت (Beneficence), while the outcomes that result when we harness these resources is a manifestation of His رحیمیت (Mercy). The spiritual system is also based onرحمٰنیت  (Beneficence) and رحیمیت (Mercy). It is really on these two attributes that our physical well-being depends. The same is the case with our spiritual welfare. It is under His attribute of رحمٰنیت (Beneficence) that He grants us knowledge of His Divine ordinances and laws. ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ عَلَّمَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ (The Beneficent Taught the Quran) and when we put these ordinances and laws into practice, He organizes the outcomes. In short, both the physical and spiritual systems are established on these two attributes. It is for this reason that some consider the greatest name of Allah as: ﷲ الرَّحْمٰنِ ۔ الرَّحِیْمِ (Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful) [Zarqani]. بسم ﷲ  contains not only the summary of Allah’s attributes but the other half of Surah Fatihah pertaining to men has been encapsulated in the word با because that portion begins with إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ  and here too the با is for seeking of help. In this way, بسم ﷲ is a practical lesson of Unity for a Muslim in his life.

بسم ﷲ is the compliance of Allah’s order: It is also useful to remember that بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم is in reality the compliance of the first order that was given to the Holy Prophet. It is narrated in Bukhari that when the Holy Prophet, in accordance with his wont, was busy worshipping Allah in the Cave of Hira, the Angel came and said: اِقْرَاءُ i.e. “Read”. The Holy Prophet replied ما انا بقارئ i.e. “I am not one who can read”. The Angel again repeated the command and the Prophet repeated the same answer. This happened thrice. The fourth time, the Angel said: ٱقۡرَأۡ بِٱسۡمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ i.e. “Read in the name of thy Lord who creates” (96:1). So, Allah Himself taught man how بِٱسۡمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ is to be read. Accordingly, it appears from some narrations that the next revelation that came after this was: بِسْمِ ﷲِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ ۝ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ  up to the end of surah Fatihah. In other words, Allah Himself gave man the knowledge on how to ask Allah for help. The Prophet is reported in a hadith to have said: کل أمر لا یُبْد ءُ فیه بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم فھو اَجؐذم  i.e. “Every work that is not started with بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم is without blessings”. And certainly, a person who seeks helps from Allah in his work will receive His blessings.

1-0a     The با in بسم ﷲ is a plea for help, and its fuller exposition is, I read in the name of Allah seeking His help, and this is the compliance of the command ٱقۡرَأۡ i.e Read (96:1).

            اسم is from سُمُوٌّ which means highness or eminence and so اسم is that by which the eminence of the one called upon is extolled and he is recognized by it (R). It is used for both a personal name and an attribute. Allah is the proper name and الرحمٰن الرحیم (Al-Rahman and Al-Rahim) are attributive names, and the implication is that the reader seeks help from Allah’s attributes of Beneficence and Mercy. Allah, the personal name of God, is His greatest name and comprehends all His attributive names. It is not derived from اَلَهَ and its root is notاِلٰه   because اِلٰه is used for deities other than Allah. Neither in the Islamic period nor in the Pre-Islamic period was the word ﷲ ever used for any other deity. It is also not an abbreviation of اَلْاِلٰه (meaning the God) because God is not addressed as یا الاله or یَا اَلرّحْمٰن. Hence اَلْ is not an extra word. There is no language of the world other than Arabic that has the personal name of God.

            الرحمٰن الرحیم : Grammatically, both الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ are the superlative derivations from رَحِمَ (to have mercy upon, be merciful towards). One is on the measure of فَعْلان and the other on the measure of فعیل   . The superlative form of فَعْلان means repletion and overwhelm, and denotes an abundance of an attribute. The superlative of فَعیل means to repeat and implies that the attribute is repeated (AH). Some have distinguished between الرحمٰن  and  الرَّحِیْمِ by stating that الرحمٰن  is an attribute which is inherent in the Being of Allah and الرَّحِیْمِ is the attribute that denotes the relationship that develops with the person on whom mercy is shown. So رحمٰن is the Being whose beneficence is so vast that He creates all the necessities even before a person is born and this attribute encompasses both the believers and the non-believers and رحیم is the Being whose mercy is repeated again and again, and this attribute is manifested based on the action of the person (and is manifested again and again for every action) to whom mercy is shown.

            رحمٰن for this world and رحیم for the Hereafter: A hadith states that Allah is رحمٰن for this world and رحیم for the Hereafter because رحمٰن created all the necessities for a person before his birth merely out of an abundance of His beneficence and رحیم is the One who grants rewards for the righteous actions of an individual which will take place fully in the Hereafter. Thus, the One who endows the initial resources is رحمٰن and when a person expends effort to utilize these resources, the One who determines the outcomes is رحیم. The creation of the earth, water, fire etcetera is the demand of the attribute of beneficence (رحمانیت); by tilling, sowing a seed and irrigating, a person converts one seed into many and this is the demand of the attribute of mercy (رحیمیت). Similarly, the revelation of Divine laws (sharia) and the grant of prophethood is the demand of beneficence (رحمانیت). The success that results by adherence to these Divine laws takes place under the attribute of mercy (رحیمیت). It is for this reason that the teaching of the Quran to the Prophet is the work of الرحمٰن  and the verses ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ عَلَّمَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ  evidences this fact. رحمٰن is specific to Allah and is not used for any other, but رحیم is used for others as well. Thus, the word رحیم has been used for the Holy Prophet as in the verse:بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬  (9:128).