Surah Al-Fatiha is the beginning of the Qur’an. This short surah is how we start the Qur’an, and it is a part of every obligatory and supererogatory salaah (non-obligatory prayers) that we have to perform every day.
The meaning of Surah Al-Fatiha is beautiful. Here is the English translation of it:
“In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and Most Merciful.
All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
The Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful.
Sovereign of the Day of Judgment.
It is You alone, we worship, and to You only, we seek Your help.
Guide us to the straight path;
The path of those who with whom You have bestowed grace upon, not those who have gone astray.”
– Ameen
Why do we say “Ameen” after we read Surah Al-Fatiha?
The reason we say Ameen is because this is a dua. We are asking Allah SWT to guide us to His Path, which is Islam. The path on which He wants us to be that will please our Lord, and eventually will lead us to Jannah if we stay on the path to goodness.
In fact, anytime you read Surah Al-Fatiha at any time, always say Ameen. It is an indirect part of the surah.
The virtues of Surah Al-Fatiha are so many. First of all, Surah Al-Fatiha is the Mother of the Book – Umm al Kitab. If you look carefully at the verses, the entire surah summarizes the basic tenets of Islam – the Oneness of Allah SWT, and His Glory. It also tells us, in fact, reminds us to have tawakkul in Him, and ask of Him for any help we need and to worship Him. We are reminded here that we don’t ask anyone else, nor any human being for help. Allah SWT is Who we need to go to for everything.
Look even more carefully at this surah. Allah SWT says that He is the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent. Our Lord tells us that He is Forgiving. He is Loving. He is Giving and Generous. How could we not ask from the King of the Worlds.
Allah SWT also says He is the Lord of the Worlds. It is obvious from this that there is more than just our Earth – there may be other planets just like ours with people living or creatures inhabiting those worlds. We don’t know but Allah SWT is the creator of the heavens – the entire universe only bends upon His Whim. When He says “kun fayakun” which means “Be, and it is” that is when things happen. A leaf doesn’t fall without Allah SWT’s permission.
We must Praise our Lord daily, each and every day through doing dhikr, whether that is of Allah SWT’s names, of this Surah or other verses of the Qur’an or through other beautiful ways that we have been taught by our Prophet (SAW).
Finally, we ask Allah SWT through this surah, to guide us because we will constantly need Allah SWT’s guidance in every aspect of our lives. When we choose to take a path in our lives, we should ask Allah SWT’s guidance on whether we are on the right path or not. We ask Allah SWT to counsel us, and advise us, and provide khair (goodness) in whatever tasks we take on.
Because of the deeper meaning of this Surah, it is beneficial for us to recite Surah Al-Fatiha as a dhikr every day. This surah is so important that we must recite it in every salaat – if we don’t our prayer will become invalid – this is a hadith by our Prophet (SAW) who said “Whoever does not recite Surah Al-Fatiha in his prayer, then his prayer is invalid.” This hadith was related by Ubadah bin As-Samit and related as sahih (correct) by Bukhari.
Through the recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha, our duas are answered and manifested. There is a hadith, narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA) who reported that the Prophet (SAW) 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
In this hadith, we can see that Allah SWT says “My servant shall have what he asked for” which means that Allah SWT answers our duas through our reading of Surah Al-Fatiha. Just as we read salawat/durood on our Prophet (SAW) as the doorway toward our duas being heard, and accepted by Allah SWT, Surah Al-Fatiha is the same way.
In fact, I have a habit that right after I finish my salaah, I read Surah Al-Fatiha and then I make dua in sujood, repeating salawat/durood on the Prophet (SAW) three, five or eleven times then making dua for my wordly, and akhirah needs.
Surah Al-Fatiha is also a cure (shifaa) for all sicknesses and ailments, and helps to ward off the evil eye (nazar). It is also a ruqyah (spiritual cure) from the issues that affect us on a soul level. So read Surah Al-Fatiha as part of the other surahs in the Qur’an that help to ward of the evil eye (with Surah Nas, Surah Falaq, Surah Ikhlaas, Ayat ul-Kursi, and Surah Kauser, all read together and blown on the person afflicted by the evil eye). My mom and I do this all the time to help us ward off any nazar, and I get afflicted by it often so we have to read this everyday.
The other day, my mom and I were listening to our Mufti who was talking about the virtues of reading Surah Al-Fatiha. He said to make it a part of your spiritual life. That means, do dhikr of Surah Al-Fatiha as much as you can.
You can read a tasbeeh of it daily, and make dua knowing Allah SWT has heard it, and will accept and grant you what you’re asking for.
One thing our Mufti said was that if we choose to, we can read Surah Al-Fatiha in between the Sunnat and Fard of Fajr salaah. So, for example, when you wake up to read Fajr, and you read your two rakaat of Sunnah prayer, then before reading the Fard salah, read Surah Al-Fatiha 41 times and incorporate Bismillah in it each time. It would be read as such:
“Bismillah Ar-Rahman-Nir-Raheem-mil hamdulillah hi rabbil ‘Alameen….” and you continue reading the entire surah.
Note: Our Islamic scholars have studied for years and years, really digging deep into the meaning of each verse, and ayah of the Qur’an and studied with intensity the Sunnah and the hadith of our Prophet (SAW) and that of the companions. They take what they learn, and use it to gain experience they then share with us in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah. If you ever have any questions, or need to understand something from the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the hadith, I always urge you to go to your Muftis, Sheikhs, Aalims, etc. to ask questions. They are a wealth of information and guidance that we do not have, and they are the ones who write and publish books for us to read, as well as speak on topics people have questions about.
Anything I write here is from what I hear from our Mufti, and that which others have discussed. I believe in spreading what I hear to all of you, so that you may benefit and be guided by it. And Allah SWT knows best. He knows we try our best to please Him, and with that, He will always be pleased. So, do your best to do good with others, and to guide yourself, your family and others around you.
As you can see, Surah Al-Fatiha has many blessings, virtues, and is the main tenet of Islam. Read this daily as a dhikr, and watch how your life will be full of ease, and your duas answered. Read it to help cure your mind, body and spirit, and inshallah, reap the benefits of this in your life.
-Dr. Aasiyah N. Ghazi