Al fatihah The Opening the first surah in the Blessed Quran

Al-Fatihah

Tafseer by Dr Israr Ahmad

Surah Al-Fatihah is one of the very earliest revelations. Infact, we learn from

authentic traditions that it was the first complete surah revealed to the Prophet

(Peace be upon him). Before this, only a few miscellaneous verses were revealed

which form parts of surah Al-Alaq, Al-Muzzammil and Al-Muddathir.

This surah is called Al-Fatihah; the Opener of the Book, and the surah with

which prayers are begun. It is the greatest surah in the Qur’an, and it is also

called Umm Al-Kitab (Mother of the Book), because it contains the meanings of

the entire Qur’an. Other names for this surah are; Salah, Al-hamd, Umm al-

Qur'an, Al-Sab al-Mathani, As-Shifa, Ar-Ruqya, and so on. Infact more than fifty

names have been enumerated by Jalal Al-Din Al-Suyuti [12], in his famous book

"Al Itqan fi Ulum al Qur'an”.

Number of Ayat
There is consensus of majority of the scholars; from early generations that

surah Al-Fatihah contains seven ayat. However, they disagree over whether

Bismillah is a part of Al-Fatihah, and likewise every surah, or it is a separate

ayah. The first opinion, that Bismillah is a part of every surah except surah Al-

Tauba, is attributed to some Companions (May Allah be pleased with them all),

Imam Az-Zuhri, Imam As-Shafi, and Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak. They state that

Bismillah is a part of Al-Fatihah and the last ayat; “The Way of those whom You

have favored” and “not of those who have earned Your wrath, or of those who

have lost The Way.” are not separate ayat but a single ayah. On the other

hand, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa and their followers say that Bismillah is

not an ayah in Al-Fatihah or any other surah, and it is a separate ayah in the

beginning of every ayah. But there is no disagreement over the matter that Al-

Fatihah has seven ayat. Those who consider last two ayat as one ayah, include

Bismillah in it, and those who consider the last two as separate say Bismillah is

not a part of it.

Virtues of Al-Fatihah
This is the most important surah in the Qur’an, and there are a lot of Ahadith

which narrate the virtues of this surah. In Musnad of Imam Ahmed, he

recorded that Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him), said, “The

Messenger of Allah went out while Ubayy bin Ka‘b was praying and said, “O’

Ubayy!”, Ubayy did not answer him. The Prophet said, “O’ Ubayy!”, Ubayy

prayed faster then went to the Messenger of Allah saying, “Peace be unto you,

O’ Messenger of Allah!” He said, “Peace be unto you. O’ Ubayy, what prevented

you from answering me when I called you”, Ubayy said, “O’ Messenger of Allah! I

was praying”. He said, “Did you not read among what Allah has sent down to

me”,

‘Answer Allah and Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life’.

He said, “Yes, O’ Messenger of Allah! I will not do it again.” the Prophet (Peace

be upon him) said; “Would you like me to teach you a surah the likes of which

nothing has been revealed in the Torah, the Injeel, the Zabur (Psalms) or the

Furqan (the Qur’an)”, He said, “Yes, O’ Messenger of Allah!”, the Messenger of

Allah said, “I hope that I will not leave through this door until you have learned

it.” He (Ubayy) said, “The Messenger of Allah held my hand while speaking to

me, meanwhile I was slowing down fearing that he might reach the door before

he finished his conversation. When we came close to the door, I said: “O’

Messenger of Allah! what is the surah that you have promised to teach me”. He

said, “What do you read in the prayer”. Ubayy said, “So I recited Umm Al-Qur’an

to him”. He said, “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! Allah has never revealed in

the Torah, Injeel, Zabur or the Furqan a surah like it. It is the seven repeated

verses that I was given”.

Al-Fatihah and Salah
Al-Fatihah is also called Salah, because it is itself a prayer and reciting it is a

condition for the correctness of Salah-The Prayer, as recorded by Muslim that

Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) said, that the Prophet(Peace be

upon him) said;

“Whoever performs any prayer in which he did not read Umm Al-Qur’an (Al-

Fatihah), then his prayer is incomplete.” He said it thrice. [13]

There is another hadith, narrated by Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with

him) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said; “Allah the exalted said, ‘I have

divided the prayer (Al-Fatihah) into two halves between Me and My servant. A

half of it is for Me and a half for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what

he asked for.

If he says, ‘All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existence’, Allah says,

‘My servant has praised Me.’

When the servant says, ‘The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.’

Allah says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’

When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgment.’

Allah says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’

When he says, ‘You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help.’,

Allah says, ‘This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall acquire

what he sought.’

When he says, ‘Guide us to the straight path. The way of those on whom You

have granted Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of

those who went astray’,

Allah says, ‘This is for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he asked

for.’ ” [14]

In the above hadith, the word Salah is used in reference to the Qur’an (Al-

Fatihah), which also testifies the importance of this surah and reciting it during

every prayer, in every rak’ah.

Al-Fatihah is not merely an introduction to Qur’an, rather it is a prayer from

man and the Qur’an is the answer from his Lord. Thus it has a relationship of a

prayer and a response. If a person is an earnest seeker after truth, and

recognizes that the Lord of the Universe is the source of all knowledge, then he

prays to Allah to show him guidance and Allah places the whole of the Qur’an

before him in answer to his prayer.

All praise is for Allah, the Sustainer and Cherisher of the Worlds. Al-Fatihah

starts with the praise of Allah, who is the Lord and Creator of this world and

the Hereafter. It states that all thanks and praise are due purely to Allah alone,

and nothing is to be worshipped except Him. He is the Sustainer and Owner of

all that He has created in both Alams (Worlds).

The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Ar-Rahman (Most Gracious) and Ar-

Raheem (Most Merciful) are two words of the same root Ar-Rahmah (the mercy).

One of them is softer than the other, meaning, it carries more implications of

mercy. Allah is Ar-Rahman for all humankind irrespective of their belief in

Allah, whether they are good-doers or evil-doers; they all obtain their

sustenance from Allah, this is because Allah is Ar-Rahman. Allah is also Ar-

Raheem for the believers in Him. They receive special blessings from Allah, that

is, happiness and contentment in this life and reward in the Hereafter.

Master of the Day of Judgment. After Allah describes that He is Ar-Rahman and

Ar-Raheem, He immediately gives a warning, that along with His mercy, He is

also the Master of the Day of Judgment. So that a person should not forget that

along with His mercy He is also Just.

You Alone we worship and You Alone we call on for help. After the person has

praised Allah and thanked Him, now he stands before Him, addressing Him

directly; O’ Allah our worship, obedience, submission and devotion is only for

You alone, and we only serve You. O’ Allah we know that You are the Lord of

the Universe and You have the power over everything, therefore, we only turn

to You for help, for our needs and requirements.

Guide us to The Right Way. i.e. Make us firm on the straight path and don’t let

us deviate. The straight path mentioned here and elsewhere in the Qur’an

refers to Islam. We already mentioned the hadith in which the servant

proclaims, ‘Guide us to The Right Way’ , and Allah says, “This is for My servant

and My servant shall acquire what he has asked for.

The Way of those whom You have favored. i.e. The servant prays to Allah to

guide him towards the straight path in every walk of life, and the path of those

upon whom You have bestowed Your mercy i.e. people who are obedient to

Allah and His Messengers.

Not of those who have earned Your wrath, or of those who have lost The Way.

A servant also prays to Allah, to help him avoid the path of those whom Allah is

angry with, whose intentions are corrupt and who know the truth, yet they

deviate. And also help us to avoid the path of those who were led astray. These

two paths are of Jews and Christians. ‘Not of those who have earned Your

wrath’, refers the Jews and “ or of those who have lost The Way” is for the

Christians.

After finishing Al-Fatihah, it is recommended to say Amin, which means, ‘O’

Allah accept our invocation’, for those who are not praying and strongly

recommended for those who are praying. As the Messenger of Allah (Peace be

upon him) said:

“ When any of you says in the prayer Amin, and the angels in the heaven say,

Amin, in unison, his previous sins will be forgiven.”[15]

Source

Oneness of the Names and the Qualities of Allah

Assalam alaykum brothers and sisters

1 We must not name or quality Allah except with what He mention in quran or His Messenger's has named or qualified Him in the sahih Hadith

2. None can be named or qualified with the Names or Qualifications of Allah. if a person wants to name any one name allah then he should add first 'ABD' for male and AMT for female means SLAVE for ex: ABD-ul- RAHAMAN or AMT-ul RAHAMAN (SLAVE OF RAHAMAN) and the Qualifications e.g.al-raheem: Most Merciful like wise 99 names of allah and last one is ALLAH

regarding mercy it says in sahih bukhari vol 8, book 6, No 476: Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, Verily Allah created Mercy. The day He created it, He made it into one hundred parts. He withheld with Him ninety-nine parts, and sent its one part to all His creatures. Had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, he would not lose hope of entering Paradise, and had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, he would not consider himself safe from the Hell-Fire."

We must believe in all the qualities of Allah which Allah has stated in His Book (the Quran) or mentioned through His Messenger (Muhammad [SAWS]) without changing their meaning or ignoring them completely or twisting the meanings or likening them (giving resemblance) to any of the created things, e.g. Allah is prevent over His Throne as mentioned in the Qur’an (V 20:5)

Also Allah says: 'There is nothing like unto Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer’ (V. 42:11). This holy Verse proves the quality of hearing and the quality of sight for Allah without likening them (or giving resemblance) to any of the created things and likewise He also says: ‘To one whom I have created with Both My Hands’ (V.38:75); and He also says: ‘The Hand of Allah is over their hands’ (V.48:10).

jazzakallah- Brother

The Quran According to the Quran.

In the name of Allah/God, most compassionate, most merciful

[17:41] We have cited in this Quran (all kinds of examples), that they may take heed. But it only augments their aversion.

[20:113] We thus revealed it, an Arabic Quran, and we cited in it all kinds of prophecies, that they may be saved, or it may cause them to take heed. [24:18] GOD thus explains the revelations for you. GOD is Omniscient, Wise.

[25:33] Whatever argument they come up with, we provide you with the truth, and a better understanding.

[29:51] Is it not enough of a miracle that we sent down to you this book, being recited to them? This is indeed a mercy and a reminder for people who believe.

[30:58] Thus, we have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples. Yet, no matter what kind of proof you present to the disbelievers, they say, "You are falsifiers."

[34:5] As for those who constantly challenge our revelations, they have incurred a retribution of painful humiliation.

[34:6] It is evident to those who are blessed with knowledge that this revelation from your Lord to you is the truth, and that it guides to the path of the Almighty, the Most Praiseworthy.

[47:24] Why do they not study the Quran carefully? Do they have locks on their minds?

[75:16-19] Do not move your tongue to hasten it. It is we who will collect it into Quran. Once we recite it, you shall follow such a Quran. Then it is we who will explain it.

Truthful is God the almighty



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The Quran is against beheading Innocent People.

Many seen brutal Images of people tied up and viciously beheaded by a few men with one thing on their mind and that is to spread TERROR.

The recitations of the Quran makes no significance to me, because the Quran itself is AGAINST them being in that position.

Looking into the Quran we will find that, there are two mentioning of beheading in the Quran.

Chapter 47:3 says "When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely; then bind the [surviving] prisoners tightly." Chapter 8:12 states "I will cast dread into the hearts of the unbelievers. Strike off their heads, then, and strike off all of their fingertips.

To say Islam and the Quran support and commands Muslims to behead unbelievers is really out of tone with the Quranic teachings in regards to innocent people as in none militant ones.

According to Islam, humanity is the result of Adam and Eve, so lets see what the Quran speaks in regards to the children of Adam and Eve.

17: 70 And indeed Allah (God) has honored the Children of Adam, and Allah (God) carried them on land and sea, and has provided them with At-Taiyibât (lawful good things), and has preferred them above many of those whom He has created with a marked preference.

The Quran clearly commands in verse in Chapter 2:190

Fight in the Cause of Allah, those who fight you, but don't transgress. Allah DOESN'T LOVE transgressors.

Lets bring this very important verse to light Chapter 76:8-11

And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and THE CAPTIVE OF WAR.
Say( Muslims ) : We only fear a day of distressful wrath from the side of our lord. Lo, Allah will deliver them from the evil of that day, and will shed over them a light of beauty and joy.

Chapter.2:112

But FORGIVE THEM, and overlook (their misdeeds). Verily, Allah loves the good¬doers.

Chapter 7:199 Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and TURN AWAY FROM the FOOLISH (i.e. don't punish them).

An Example of Allah's Mercy in the Quran

Say: 'O My servants who have transgressed against your own souls: do not despair of God's mercy,
for God forgives all sins. It is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'
Qur'an (39:53. Full Article




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