Background And Meaning
It is the Makki Surah of the Holy Quran, which means that it was discovered on the Apostle ﷺ of God while He was in Makkah, i.e. before migration to Madina.
Different Names of Surah Al-Fatiha
1. Umm ul-Quran/Kitab (Mother of the Quran/Book): Abu Hurairah (R.A) narrated the Messenger ﷺ of Allah saying as:
“The chapter commencing with “All praises and thanks are due to Allah 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.” (Tirmidhi)
Hence, it indeed is the Mother of Quran as Rasulullah ﷺ Himself has given it that name. Moreover, the Arabs used to name anything that summarizes anything well or consists of the most important part of some matter as Umm or Mother.
2. Sab’ul-Mathani (The Seven Oft Repeated Verses): It is also named so because its seven verses are regularly recited at the start of every rakaah of the prayer.
3. Al-Hamd (Praises to Allah): It is also named Al-Hamd, the Commendation, as it contains the Adoration of the Almighty Lord.
4. As-Salah (The Prayer): It is named as the Entreaty because its reading is a requirement for the legality of the daily prayers.
5. Ash-Shifa (The Cure)
6. Ar-Ruqyah (the Spiritual Cure): Abu Sa’id reported that after he had recited it to cure a person who had been bitten by a scorpion, the Apostle ﷺ of God asked him,
“…And what made you to know that it was a ruqya.” (Bukhari)
7. Asas al-Quran (the Basis of Quran): It is known by this name as Surah Fatiha contains the most essential fundamental teachings of Islam, i.e. Admiration of One Allah SWT.
Reciting Surah Al-Fatiha in Daily Prayers
It is the only Chapter of the Holy Quran that has got the reputation of being an indispensable part of Namaz, which is to be recited regularly in every Rakah of Salah.
Virtues of Surah Al-Fatiha
Some of the greatest qualities that this chapter of Furqan e Hameed contains are:
i) Being The Greatest Surah of The Holy Quran
It is considered as the most influential chapter of the Hallowed Volume of God Almighty, as it consists of the almost the complete essence of the Islamic faith, i.e. Believing and Admiring the Exalted One, and asking Him only for gaining rectitude in life.
Abu Sa’ad ibn Al-Mu’alla narrated the Apostle ﷺ of Allah saying as:
“…I will teach a Surah which is the greatest Surah in the Quran before you leave the Masjid.’ Then he took hold of my hand and when he intended to leave [the Masjid], I asked him, “Did you not say that you would teach me a Surah which is the greatest Surah in the Qur’an?” He replied, ‘Yes. It is [the Surah commencing with], “All praise and thanks are due to Allah.” It is the Seven Oft-Repeated verses and the Great Qur’an that has been given to me.’ “(Ahmad)
The above stated Hadith shows that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has called this Surah as the Utmost section of the Holy Quran.
ii) Resulting in Answering Of One`s Prayer By Allah SWT
Surah Al-Fatiha is a great form of supplication to the Almighty God. There are some recitations like sending Durood e Pak on Rasulullah ﷺ, which result in acceptance of entreaty at once. Umm ul-Quran is also such narration that leads towards getting the attention of Allah SWT while praying to Him:
Abu Hurairah (R.A) reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ once said:
“Allah, 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, the Lord of the worlds’, Allah says, ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When he says, ’The All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, ‘Allah says, ‘My servant has extolled 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 Your aid Alone do we seek,’ Allah 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 says, ‘this is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asked for.’ “(Muslim)
iii) Being Part Of Two Lights Given to the Holy Prophet ﷺ
Ibn Abbas (R.A) narrated the Messenger ﷺ of Allah saying as:
“While the Messenger ﷺ of Allah was sitting with Jibril he heard a creaking sound above him. Jibril looked up and said, “This is [the sound of] a gate that has been opened in heaven today and has never been previously opened.” Then an Angel descended through it and came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘Rejoice in the good news of two lights that have been given to you such as no Prophet before you has been given. [They are] Surah Al-Fatihah and the concluding [two] verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. You will never recite a word from them without being given the blessings they contain.’ “
It shows that Surah Al-Fatiha, among the last two Ayats of Surah Baqarah is the great source of enlightenment that Allah SWT has only given to the Ummah (Followers) of Rasulullah ﷺ, which has the greatest effect in the attainment of Allah`s favors.
iv) Being the Most Noble Part of Quran
Anas (R.A) reported the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying as:
“Should I not inform you of the most noble and excellent part of the Quran?” He then recited “All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds” (An Nisai)
It means that Surah Al-Fatiha is the most outstanding section of Furqan e Hameed, which contains the best form of Islamic teachings in concise form.
It is the Makki Surah of the Holy Quran, which means that it was discovered on the Apostle ﷺ of God while He was in Makkah, i.e. before migration to Madina.
Different Names of Surah Al-Fatiha
1. Umm ul-Quran/Kitab (Mother of the Quran/Book): Abu Hurairah (R.A) narrated the Messenger ﷺ of Allah saying as:
“The chapter commencing with “All praises and thanks are due to Allah 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.” (Tirmidhi)
Hence, it indeed is the Mother of Quran as Rasulullah ﷺ Himself has given it that name. Moreover, the Arabs used to name anything that summarizes anything well or consists of the most important part of some matter as Umm or Mother.
2. Sab’ul-Mathani (The Seven Oft Repeated Verses): It is also named so because its seven verses are regularly recited at the start of every rakaah of the prayer.
3. Al-Hamd (Praises to Allah): It is also named Al-Hamd, the Commendation, as it contains the Adoration of the Almighty Lord.
4. As-Salah (The Prayer): It is named as the Entreaty because its reading is a requirement for the legality of the daily prayers.
5. Ash-Shifa (The Cure)
6. Ar-Ruqyah (the Spiritual Cure): Abu Sa’id reported that after he had recited it to cure a person who had been bitten by a scorpion, the Apostle ﷺ of God asked him,
“…And what made you to know that it was a ruqya.” (Bukhari)
7. Asas al-Quran (the Basis of Quran): It is known by this name as Surah Fatiha contains the most essential fundamental teachings of Islam, i.e. Admiration of One Allah SWT.
Reciting Surah Al-Fatiha in Daily Prayers
It is the only Chapter of the Holy Quran that has got the reputation of being an indispensable part of Namaz, which is to be recited regularly in every Rakah of Salah.
Virtues of Surah Al-Fatiha
Some of the greatest qualities that this chapter of Furqan e Hameed contains are:
i) Being The Greatest Surah of The Holy Quran
It is considered as the most influential chapter of the Hallowed Volume of God Almighty, as it consists of the almost the complete essence of the Islamic faith, i.e. Believing and Admiring the Exalted One, and asking Him only for gaining rectitude in life.
Abu Sa’ad ibn Al-Mu’alla narrated the Apostle ﷺ of Allah saying as:
“…I will teach a Surah which is the greatest Surah in the Quran before you leave the Masjid.’ Then he took hold of my hand and when he intended to leave [the Masjid], I asked him, “Did you not say that you would teach me a Surah which is the greatest Surah in the Qur’an?” He replied, ‘Yes. It is [the Surah commencing with], “All praise and thanks are due to Allah.” It is the Seven Oft-Repeated verses and the Great Qur’an that has been given to me.’ “(Ahmad)
The above stated Hadith shows that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has called this Surah as the Utmost section of the Holy Quran.
ii) Resulting in Answering Of One`s Prayer By Allah SWT
Surah Al-Fatiha is a great form of supplication to the Almighty God. There are some recitations like sending Durood e Pak on Rasulullah ﷺ, which result in acceptance of entreaty at once. Umm ul-Quran is also such narration that leads towards getting the attention of Allah SWT while praying to Him:
Abu Hurairah (R.A) reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ once said:
“Allah, 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, the Lord of the worlds’, Allah says, ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When he says, ’The All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, ‘Allah says, ‘My servant has extolled 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 Your aid Alone do we seek,’ Allah 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 says, ‘this is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asked for.’ “(Muslim)
iii) Being Part Of Two Lights Given to the Holy Prophet ﷺ
Ibn Abbas (R.A) narrated the Messenger ﷺ of Allah saying as:
“While the Messenger ﷺ of Allah was sitting with Jibril he heard a creaking sound above him. Jibril looked up and said, “This is [the sound of] a gate that has been opened in heaven today and has never been previously opened.” Then an Angel descended through it and came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘Rejoice in the good news of two lights that have been given to you such as no Prophet before you has been given. [They are] Surah Al-Fatihah and the concluding [two] verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. You will never recite a word from them without being given the blessings they contain.’ “
It shows that Surah Al-Fatiha, among the last two Ayats of Surah Baqarah is the great source of enlightenment that Allah SWT has only given to the Ummah (Followers) of Rasulullah ﷺ, which has the greatest effect in the attainment of Allah`s favors.
iv) Being the Most Noble Part of Quran
Anas (R.A) reported the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying as:
“Should I not inform you of the most noble and excellent part of the Quran?” He then recited “All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds” (An Nisai)
It means that Surah Al-Fatiha is the most outstanding section of Furqan e Hameed, which contains the best form of Islamic teachings in concise form.
Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) reported that when Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) asked Ubayy ibn Ka’ab (radiAllahu anhu), "Do you want me to teach you a Surah the like of which has not been revealed in the Torah, the Injeel, the Zabur, nor the Qur'an?", and also asked what he recited in his prayers. He replied Umm-ul Qur’an (Surah Fatihah) the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) proclaimed, 'By Him in whose dominion my soul is, nothing like it has been revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, or the Qur’an and it is seven of the oft-repeated verses in the Mighty Qur’an which I have been given'
[at-Tirmidhi, Al-Hakim says that this hadith is Sahih on the conditions established by Imam Muslim (Tafseer Mazhari 1:30)]
Ambari in his ‘Kitabur-Rad’ through his own chain of narrators has mentioned from Mujahid ibn Jabr (rahmatullahi alaih) that Iblees the accursed of Allah Ta’ala lamented on four occasions: first when he was cursed; secondly when he was cast out of Heaven to the Earth; thirdly when Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was given the Prophethood; fourthly when Surah Fatihah was revealed and it was revealed in Madinah.
Sa’ib (radhi Allah anhu) bin Yazeed says that Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) recited Surah Al-Fatihah and blew it on me. To safeguard me against calamities, Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) recited this Surah and put his blessed saliva in my mouth.
[At-Tabraani narrated this tradition in 'Al-Awsat', Tafseer Mazhari 1:31]
The Prophet said, 'The mother of the Qur'an are the seven oft repeated verses'
[Bukhari 4704]
Surah Al-Fatihah is equivalent to two thirds of the Qur'an
[Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Haakim, Tafseer Mazhari 1:31]
Asalam aleikum warahmatullah wabarakat . All praise is due to Allah the exalted one ..
ReplyDeleteMy point is that in the introduction of the surah u said its a makiya surat and again when u talked about the occasions of Allah cursing.chasing of the iblees .. u concluded by say that the surah was revealed in madina ... some corrections Insha Allah.