AL-FĀTIḤAH ( الفاتحة )
7 verses revealed at Meccan
»The surah that is The Opening to the Quran and the straight way of God. Another common name of the surah is The [Lord’s] Praise (al-Ḥamd). It is seen to be a precise table of contents of the Quranic message and is important in Islamic worship, being an obligatory part of the daily prayer, repeated several times during the day
The surah is also known as: The Exordium, The Opening Chapter, The Opening of the Book, The Prologue.
1. بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ
TRANSLITERATION
bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi
TRANSLATION
In the Name of Allah,the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.
2. الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العالَمينَ
TRANSLITERATION
al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīna
TRANSLATION
All praise belongs to Allah,1Lord of all the worlds,
In muslim parlance the phrase al-ḥamdu lillāh also signifies ‘thanks to Allah.’
3. الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ
TRANSLITERATION
ar-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi
TRANSLATION
the All-beneficent, the All-merciful,
4. مالِكِ يَومِ الدّينِ
TRANSLITERATION
māliki yawmi d-dīni
TRANSLATION
Master1 of the Day of Retribution.
This is in accordance with the reading mālik yawm al-dīn, adopted by ʿĀṣim, al-Kisāʾī, Yaʿqūb al-Ḥaḍramī, and Khalaf. Other authorities of qirāʾah (the art of recitation of the Qurʾān) have read ‘malik yawm al-dīn,’ meaning ‘Sovereign of the Day of Retribution’ (seeMuʿjam al-Qirāʾāt al-Qurʾāniyyah). Traditions ascribe both readings to Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (ʿa). See al-Qummī, al-ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-Imām al-ʿAskarī.
5. إِيّاكَ نَعبُدُ وَإِيّاكَ نَستَعينُ
TRANSLITERATION
ʾiyyāka naʿbudu wa-ʾiyyāka nastaʿīnu
TRANSLATION
You [alone] do we worship,and to You [alone] do we turn for help.
6. اهدِنَا الصِّراطَ المُستَقيمَ
TRANSLITERATION
ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭa l-mustaqīma
TRANSLATION
Guide us on the straight path,
7. صِراطَ الَّذينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِم غَيرِ المَغضوبِ عَلَيهِم وَلَا الضّالّينَ
TRANSLITERATION
ṣirāṭa lladhīna ʾanʿamta ʿalayhim ghayri l-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīna
TRANSLATION
the path of those whom You have blessed1—such as2 have not incurred Your wrath,3nor are astray.4
