Surah1

This is the first complete chapter of the Qur’an revealed to the Prophet. Only partial verses from chapters 96, 73, 68 and 74 preceded it. It contains a summary of the basic message of the entire Qur'an, namely that God is the ultimate power in the universe and we can't do without His guidance. According to one report from the Prophet, this chapter is divided into two halves: the first part is for a servant to praise God, and the second half is for a servant to ask for God’s help. (Nisa’i) It's no wonder that the Prophet called this chapter, ‘The Mother of the Book, the Opening of the Book and the seven frequently repeated verses' (At-Tabari). (Also see 15:87.) According to the Prophet, any of the ritual prayers performed without the reciting of this chapter are invalid. (Ahmad, Bukhari)

[1] In the Arabic language, the proper name of the One Supreme God is Allah. This word usually is taken to mean the One and Only God, but there is a deeper history to this word. It is derived, according to the Arabist Fleisher Franz Delitzsch, from the ancient Arabic root ilah, which means “to be possessed of God.” (A derivative from that root term, aliha, means “to be filled with dread” and “anxious to seek refuge,” thus the Qur’an’s call for believers to seek refuge with God. See 7:200 and 16:98, for example. The Old Testament Book of Genesis 21:42 & 53 uses the same term where God is called the “fear or dread” of Isaac, - not in a negative sense, mind you, but in the sense of utter and complete awe. The Hebrew word for God, Eloah, (or El) which occurs 3,350 times in the Old Testament, mostly in its plural ‘royal’ form of Elohim, is directly related to the Arabic root ilah. Adding the definite article Al to ilah makes it Al-ilah which becomes Allah, or: The God. If it is remembered that Ishmael, the son of Abraham, spoke the same ancient tongue as Isaac, whose descendants became the Hebrews, then it is clear why Arabic and Hebrew are related languages. Now the Arabs believed that a supreme God existed, but they held that He was remote and disinterested in human affairs, thus they worshipped and prayed to idols for favors and fortune. This was ironic for they knew that Abraham, the monotheist, was their most famous ancestor. (Also see 59:22-24 for a further description of God’s attributes.)

[2] The Arabic term that we have rendered as “Lord” is Rabb. The closest English word (in literal meaning) is “Custodian” or even “Overlord” in the sense that Rabb means to take care, to have custody of, and to see something through to its full development.

[3] The Arabic term ‘ibadah means to be subdued, to worship and to serve. In this translation we have used either of the two near synonymous terms based upon the context with the favor going to the literal meaning: service.

[4] A man named Adi ibn Hatim said, “I asked the Messenger of God about the verse of God which said, ‘…not the path of those who’ve earned your anger…,’ and he replied, ‘They are the Jews.’ And then I asked about the statement, ‘…nor of those who’ve gone astray,’ and he said, ‘The Christians are the ones who went astray.’” (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

^{^[5]} The Prophet said, "After the Imam (prayer leader) finishes (the last line of Al Fatihah,) you should say, ‘Ameen’ (‘Let it be so,’) for if your saying of 'Ameen' coincides with that of the angels, your past sins will be forgiven." (Muslim) The Prophet used to say the ameen out loud and used to extend it with his voice and it is said that the mosque walls would shake from the loud saying of ameen in unison by the people at prayer. (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi,Ibn Majah)