Surah Fatihah

Surah Fatihaa cure

Surah Fatihaa

Allah  Ta’ala responds to the believer when he recites Surah Al-Fatihah

Sahih Muslim records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) who said that the Messenger of Allah(صلى الله عليه وسلم)  said,

“Allah Ta’ala, the Glorious and Exalted said, “I have divided the prayer between Myself and my servant equally and My servant shall be granted what he asked for.” Therefore, when the servant says, ‘All praises and thanks are due to Allah Ta’ala , the Lord of the worlds’, Allah Ta’ala  says, ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When he says, ‘The All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, ‘Allah Ta’ala says, ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgment,’ AllahTa’ala  says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’ When he says, ‘You Alone we worship and Your aid Alone do we seek,’ Allah Ta’ala  says, ‘this is between Me and My servant and My servant shall have what he requested.’ When he says, ‘Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have favored, not [the path] of those who have earned [Your] anger, nor of those who have gone astray,’ Allah Ta’ala says, ‘this is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asked for.’ “

The many names of Surah Al-Fatihah

Surah Al-Fatiha has a great many names, each one indicating a different aspect of its meaning.

The popular names of this Surah are the following:

  • Al-Fatihah (The Opening) – It is named Al-Fatihah, the Opening – because it opens the Book and by it the recitation in prayer commences.
  • Umm al-Quran (Mother of the Quran) – According to At-Tirmidhi on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “The chapter commencing with “All praises and thanks are due to Allah Ta’ala the Lord of the Worlds” is the Mother of the Quran, the Mother of the Book, the Seven Oft Repeated Verses and the Great Quran.” Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said that it was named so because the meaning of the entire Quran is summarized therein. The Arabs named anything that concisely summarizes something or comprises its most important part, Umm, or Mother.
  • Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book) – Al-Bukhari said in the beginning of the Book of Tafsir in his Sahih: “It is named Umm al-Quran because it is the first chapter written in the Quranic texts and the recitation in prayer commences with it.”
  • Sab’ul-Mathani (The Seven Oft Repeated Verses) – It is also named Sab’ul-Mathani, the Seven Oft Repeated Verses, because they are frequently recited and indeed recited in every rakaah of the prayer. Allah  Ta’ala says in the Quran
  • Al-Hamd (Praises to Allah) – It is also named Al-Hamd, the Praise, because it contains mention of hamd just as Al-Baqarah is named so because it contains mention of the cow. Some scholars also gave the reasoning that Al-Hamd comprises heart of Al-Fatihah.
  • As-Salah (The Prayer) – It is named the Prayer because its recitation is a condition for the validity of the prayer.
  • Ash-Shifa – It is also named Ash-Shifa’, the Cure, due to what Ad-Darimi reports on the authority of Abu Sa’id that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “The Opening of the Book is a cure to every poison.”
  • Ar-Ruqyah – It is also named Ar-Ruqya, the Spiritual Cure due to the hadith of Abu Sa’id  (رضي الله عنه) reported by Bukhari that after he had recited it to cure a person who had been bitten by a scorpion, the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked him, “…And what made you to know that it was a ruqya.”
  • Asas al-Quran (the Foundation of the Quran) – Ash-Sha’bi records on the authority of Ibn Abbas  (رضي الله عنه) that he named it, and that he said, “The foundation of Al-Fatihah is, “Bismillah…” (With the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful.)

Other scholars have also named it as Al-Kanz (the Treasure), Ash-Shukr (Gratitude), ad-Dua (Supplication), Ash-Shafiyah (the sufficient), Al-Kafiyah (the Sufficient), Al-Wafiyah, the Fulfillment and more.