Surah Al Fatiha

ِ ‫بِ ۡس ِم ٱهللِ ٱلر َّۡح َم ٰـ ِن ٱلر‬

)١( ‫َّح ِيم‬
ِ ‫ٱلر َّۡح َم ٰـ ِن ٱلر‬ )٢( ‫ين‬
ِ ‫ َم ٰـلِ ِك يَ ۡو ِم ٱل ِّد‬ )٣( ‫َّح ِيم‬
‫ين‬ َ ‫ۡٱل َحمۡ ُد هَّلِل ِ َربِّ ۡٱل َع ٰـلَ ِم‬
( ‫ص َرٲطَ ۡٱل ُم ۡستَقِي َم‬ ۡ  )٥( ‫ين‬
ِّ ‫ٱه ِدنَا ٱل‬ ُ ‫ك نَ ۡستَ ِع‬َ ‫ك نَ ۡعبُ ُد َوإِيَّا‬َ ‫إِيَّا‬ )٤(
‫ب َعلَ ۡي ِهمۡ َواَل‬ ِ ‫ت َعلَ ۡي ِهمۡ َغ ۡي ِر ۡٱل َم ۡغضُو‬ َ ۡ‫ين أَ ۡن َعم‬
َ ‫ص َرٲطَ ٱلَّ ِذ‬ ِ  )٦
)٧( ‫ين‬ َ ِّ‫ٱلضَّآل‬
 
Surah Fatiha has 7 verses, 25 words, 113 letters.  This Surah is a supplication
to Allah for guidance taught by Allah himself.
The Surah is called Al Fatiha because:

 it is the opening of the Quran,  the opening chapter, the beginning.

 It is also called Al Fatiha because it is the opening of Salah (prayer).
When you pray salah, we always start with Al Fatiha.

‫ال َفات َِحة‬ Al Fatiha literally means the opening derived from the root letters ‫ف ت ح‬
Root English Arabi Meaning 
c

 Openin Fatiha to open something, to remove a block, to

‫فتح‬ g remove the confusion from something so
  that it becomes clear.

Imagine a door that is blocking access to a room, fatah-al-baab, is to open up

the door, to remove the block so that you can enter.
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet (saw) said,  Surah Al Fatiha is the
Mother of the Book.  In arabic, ‫ا ُ ْم الكتاب‬, Ummul Kitab.  Umm meaning mother,
Kitab meaning book. The mother is the foundation of something.
Surah Fatiha is the foundation of the Quran.  If a person is able to understand
and accept the message of Surah Al Fatiha, the rest of the Quran is also easy
to comprehend as all the main concepts and themes are mentioned in Surah
Al Fatiha.
There are other names for Surah Al Fatiha: 
Al-Salah - The Prayer
Ah Shiffa - A Cure
Ar Rukeya - The Remedy
Al Hamd - The Praise
Al Asas - The Foundation
Fatiha Al Kitab - Opening of the Book

It is from the etiquette when a person begins the recitation of the Quran, he
should seek protection from the Shaytan (devil), with Allah (swt)
 

ِ ‫بِ ۡس ِم ٱهللِ ٱل َّر ۡح َم ٰـ ِن ٱل َّر ِح‬

‫يم‬
1. In The Name of Allah The All-Merciful, The
Always All-Merciful
 

‫ب ۡس ِم‬ 
ِ Bismi is a combination of  Bi (with)  and ism - name.  (ism) also includes
all the names of Allah.
Bismi means, I begin with name, by mentioning the name of Allah (swt)
You begin this journey with the help and blessing of Allah (swt)

Ism - derives from the root ‫س م و‬ samoo, which means height from the same
root of the word samah which means sky.
There is a connection between ism and samah
Ism - name which can be anyone's name
Samah -  sky which is high above us.  That which is high above becomes
prominent.  The main prominent thing of someone will be their

name  ‫ب ۡس ِم‬ 
ِ with name.  
‫ ٱلرَّ ۡح َم ٰـ ِن ٱلرَّ ِح ِيم‬ we begin with two names of Allah, they both have
the same root letters.
Root  English Arabic Meaning

‫ َم‬  ‫ ۡح‬  ‫َّر‬ Mercy Rahma to want what is good for those who deserve it,
intention to do good, compassion, sympathy,
kindness, pity
Used for womb of a mother, source of baby's growth, nurture. It is out of
Allah's Rahma that we are here.

The difference between  ‫ِيم‬ ِ ‫ٱلرَّ ۡح َم ٰـ ِن ٱلرَّ ح‬ Ar Rahman and Ar Rheem,
Ar Rahman: The Entirely Merciful 
 Conveys the meaning of excessiveness/vastness of the attribute of Mercy. No
one else is more merciful than Allah (swt).
 A great amount of Mercy, exceedingly merciful, he shows mercy again and
again and again.
 Possessor of Mercy
 General Mercy for all mankind
Ar Raheem: The Especially Merciful
 Indicates the action of Mercy, he puts the quality of Mercy into action, he
shows it
 Specific Mercy in particular for those that deserve that special mercy

َ ‫ۡٱل َع ٰـلَ ِم‬

   ‫ين‬ ِّ ‫ۡٱل َحمۡ ُد هَّلِل ِ َر‬
‫ب‬
 2. All Praise is for Allah the Sustainer of the
Worlds 
 

ۡ Alhumdu: All thanks, praise are due to Allah.

‫ٱل َح ۡم ُد‬ 
Root  English Arabic Meaning 

Praise Hamd Praise that is based on respect and love

 ‫د‬  ‫م‬  ‫ح‬
To mention the perfect attributes of the one who is praiseworthy, the one who
deserves praise.
These perfect attributes are of three types:

 in the being, eg Allah deserves praise as he is the Creator

 in the qualities, eg Allah has the quality of Mercy that is all-encompassing
 in action,  eg Allah created us, sent us the Quran,
Hamd also includes gratitude. Thanking Allah for his actions/blessings upon
you. Includes praise and thanks.

ِ ‫هَّلِل‬   Allah: Lillahi, the Laam conveys two meanings:

 used for specification.
 It is he who only deserves complete praise, no one else other than him.
 worthiness
Only he who is worthy of complete praise.

‫ب‬
ِّ ‫ر‬ 
َ Rabb:  Sustainer
Root  English Arabic Meaning

Sustainer Rabb To gradually nurture something, to make

‫ربب‬ something grow until it reaches its stage of
completion and perfection.
 To nature with a lot of care, protection, concern, mercy. e.g, for a seed to turn
into a plant, it needs nurturing and time, care and love.
 To bring from non-existence into existence. 
 
Allah is the one who manages, nurtures, creates all that is exists in the world
of people, angels, jinns, ants, fish, birds etc. There are two ways to look at the
word Rabb:
1.Rabb in a general way.  He creates all, nurtures all.
2.Rabb specifically. Only for the believers, Allah nurtures them generally
(physically) but also spiritually, increases their faith (emaan).
The term Rabb includes three things:
1. Khaliq: Creator
2. Maalik: Complete authority. Owner.
3. Mudabbir: Planner. The One who manages the affairs of that being.
ۡ Alameen: plural of 'alam.  relates to any being or object that points
َ ‫ٱل َع ٰـ َل ِم‬ 
‫ين‬
to the existence of its creator, relates to everything besides Allah (swa)
Root  English Arabic Meaning

Worlds Alameen A sign, a flag, to mark, to distinguish, A mean

‫ َل ِم‬  ‫َع‬ of which one knows a thing, it signifies world
or creation, it points to Allah the Creator.

ِ ‫ٱل َّر ۡح َم ٰـ ِن ٱل َّر ِح‬

‫يم‬
3. The All-Merciful, The Always All-Merciful 
See Ayet (Chapter) 1 above for word analysis.
 

‫َم ٰـلِ ِك يَ ۡو ِم ٱلدِّين‬

4. Master of The Day of Recompense
 

‫ َم ٰـلِ ِك‬ Malik: Master

Root  English Arabic Meaning 
 Master Malik To have complete authority over something th
‫ ِك‬  ‫ ِل‬  ‫َم‬ a person owns
Allah is the Real Malik, he owns everything and has complete authority over it.
People are also described as Masters, but when it comes to people their
mastery is incomplete, they may have authority over others but they don't own
them.
Allah has complete Authority and Possession.  He is the Ruler and the Owner.

‫ َي ۡو ِم‬ Yaum: Day
Root  English Arabic Meaning

‫ ۡو ِم‬  ‫ي‬
َ
Day Yaum Begins with one sunset and ends with the next
sunset. A period of time
In the Lunar calendar, the day changes after sunset (maghrib).  Allah is the
Malik of the Day of Judgment. 

ِ ‫ ِّد‬ 
‫ين‬  Deen: Recompense

Root  English Arabic Meaning

Recompense Deen To give recompense to someone

‫ن‬  ‫ى‬  ‫د‬
Recompense means to get back exactly what you deserve, it could be reward
or punishment.
There are other meanings of the word Deen but it depends on context. Here it
means The day when people will be given what they deserve for their actions
and it will be done with justice.

 Justice
 Religion
 Judgment
 Recompense
 

‫إِيَّا َك نَ ۡعبُ ُد َوإِيَّا َك نَ ۡستَ ِعينـ‬

5. Only You We Worship and Only You We Ask
for Help
 

‫َّاك‬
َ ‫إِي‬ Iyyaka: Only You. Combination of  ‫إِي‬ Iyya and ‫ك‬ 
َ Kaa.
Iyya comes to support the Kaa (You). Gives the meaning of Only.
The word Iyya you will never find it alone by itself, it will always be used with a
pronoun.  When the word is combined with a pronoun it is conveyed as
specific, only, non-but.

‫ َن ۡع ُب ُد‬  Na'budu: We worship.
Root  English Arabic Meaning

ُ   ‫ۡع‬
Worship 'Ibada To show humility and love
 ‫ ُد‬  ‫ب‬
To express one's humility in front of someone. To express oneself as weak
and insignificant out of intense love.  To submit.
Another word from the same root:

 'Abd--Slave.
A slave will do everything that the master commands.
'Ibadah is everything, every action that Allah (swt) loves and is pleased with.
 1. To do what Allah says
2. To refrain from what he forbids.
3. To do all that He loves
It includes all the rituals of salah, fasting, zakat etc but also all acts throughout
the day that is done with the intention of pleasing Allah.  It also includes
statements such as speaking the truth as well as actions. They can be hidden
or visible, eg, salah is visible, hidden could be good thoughts or gratitude
about Allah or someone.

‫َّاك‬
َ ‫ َوإِي‬ Wa iyyaka: And You Alone.
‫ َن ۡس َت ِعين‬ Nasta'een: We seek help
Root  English Arabic Meaning

seek help Nasta'een a general help, any and every kind of help
‫ن‬  ‫و‬  ‫ع‬
Only you we ask for help in all matters.

‫ص َرٲطَ ۡٱل ُم ۡستَقِي َم‬ ۡ

ِّ ‫ٱه ِدنَا ٱل‬
6. Guide Us to The Straight Path
 

ۡ Ihdina:  Guide us. Ihdi - guide,  Na - us,  combination of two words.

‫ٱه ِد َنا‬ 
Root  English Arabic Meaning

Guidance Hidaya to guide someone with affection and kindness

‫ى‬  ‫د‬  ‫ه‬
Hidaya  Includes:
1. To Show the path
2. To make a person walk on the path
3. To make sure they reach the destination.
Hidaya is also of two types:
1. Hidayah Irshaad - to give knowledge information about that which is correct.
2. Hidayah Taufiq - to implement the knowledge that he has been given.
َ ‫ٱلص َِّر‬  Siraat: The path
‫ٲط‬