Sura Al-Fatiha (Arapa: , Sratu al-Ftihah, "The Opener") is the first chapter of the Muslim holy book, the

the Qur'an. Its seven verses are a prayer for God's guidance, and stress His lordship and mercy. This chapter has an essential role in daily prayers; Muslims recite the Surah Al-Fatiha seventeen times a day, at the start of each unit of prayer.

Interpretation
Muslims believe that the Qur'an is a revelation from God in the Arabic language. Translations into other languages are considered to be merely superficial "interpretations" of the meanings and not authentic versions of the Qur'an. The Arabic text with transliteration and translation in English is as follows: [Qur'an 1:1]. 1:1 Bismillhi r-ramnir-ram In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. 1:2 Al amdu lillhi rabbi l-'lamn Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds 1:3 Ar ramni r-ram The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. 1:4 Mliki yawmi d-dn Master of the Day of Judgement 1:5 Iyyka na'budu wa iyyka nasta'n To you we worship and to you we turn to in help. 1:6 Ihdin -ir al-mustaqm Show us the straight path, 1:7

ir al-lana an'amta 'alayhim ayril mabi 'alayhim wal lln

The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. When recited during daily prayers, some schools of thought follow Al-Fatihah by the word Amin

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The first verse, transliterated as "bismillhir rahmnir rahm", may be familiar to non-Arabic speakers and non-Muslims because of its ubiquity in Arabic and Muslim societies. This verse appears at the start of every chapter in the Qur'an with the exception of the ninth chapter. The verse is normally said before reciting a chapter or part of a chapter during daily prayer, and also before public proclamations and indeed before many personal and everyday activities in many Arabic and Muslim societies as a way to invoke God's blessing and proclaim one's motives before an undertaking. The two words "ar rahmn" and "ar rahm" are often translated in English as "the beneficent" and "the merciful" or "the generous" and "the merciful." They are often also translated as superlatives, for example, "the most generous" and "the most merciful". Grammatically the two words "rahmaan" and "raheem" are different linguistic forms of the triconsonantal root R-H-M, connoting "mercy". (For more information, see the section on root forms in Semitic languages). The form "rahmaan" denotes degree or extent, i.e., "most merciful," while "raheem" denotes time permanence, i.e., "ever merciful". The second verse's " " ranks as one of the most popular phrases in all of Arabic, being used to express one's well-being, general happiness, or even consolation in a disaster (see Alhamdulillah). The verse is also significant in that it includes a relationship between the two most common names for God in Arabic " " and " ". The first word is a ubiquitous name for God, and the second roughly translates to "Lord." It shares the same root with the Hebrew "rabbi". In some printings of the Qur'an, both words appear in red everywhere in the Qur'an. The reading of the first word of the fourth verse, translated as "master/king" above, has been the subject of debate. The two main recitations, of the Qur'an, Warsh and Hafs, differ on whether it should be "maliki" with a short "a," which means "king" (Warsh, from Nafi'; Ibn Kathir; Ibn Amir; Abu 'Amr; Hamza), or "mliki" with a long "a," which means "master" or "owner" (Hafs, from Asim, and al-Kisa'i). Both "maliki" and "mliki" derive from the same triconsonantal root in Arabic, M-L-K. Both readings are considered valid by many practitioners, since both can be seen as describing God. In the seventh verse, hadith inform us that "ayril mabi 'alayhim" (those who earned your anger) refers to the Jews, who, according to Allah, abandoned practicing his religion; "wal lln" (those who went astray) refers to the Christians, who lost the knowledge and thus deserve less anger.[1][2][3] In some Muslim societies, Al-Fatiha is traditionally read together by a couple to seal their engagement, however this act is not recorded in the sunnah and is seen by many to be an innovation.

Revelation

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Islamic scholarly tradition is concerned, amongst other things, with when and where verses and chapters of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad - for example, whether a verse was revealed while Muhammad was in Mecca or Medina. According to Ibn Abbas and others, Sura Al-Fatiha is a

Meccan sura; according to Abu Hurayrah and others, it is a Medinan sura. The former view is more widely accepted, although some believe that it was revealed in both Mecca and Medina.[citation needed]

Alternate names

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This surah is sometimes known in English as "the Exordium". In various Hadith it is described as "the mother of the Book" (Umm al-Kitab) and "the mother of the Qur'an" (Umm al-Qur'an), and "the cure of diseases" ("Sura-tul-shifa") and said to be the seven verses alluded to in Al-Hijr [Qur'an 15:87] .