- Revealed in: Makkah
- Was revealed in the first 5 surahs.
- The first surah that was revealed in its entirety.
- Number of ayat: 7
- Number of words: 25
- Number of letters: 113
Other names for Surah Al-Fatiha:
Overall 25 names for this surah. Some of them are:
Surah Al-Fatiha as Sab’al Masaani
Sab’al Masaani is the name mentioned in the Quran. Masaani means to follow-up. In this case, it means that it is frequently recited. Hence, Sab’al Masaani translates to the seven most oft repeated verses.
Nothing is recited more than this Surah. On average a Muslim who barely prays recites 20 times a day, averages to 7000 times a year. Even if 1/2 of Muslim population prays, it is recited 20 billion times per day, 7 trillion times a year. Imagine how many times this gets recited since the day it was revealed till the day of judgment? Can anything else that’s recited come close to even 1% of this quantity? Hence Sab’al Masaani, for it’s always being recited.
Umm-Al-Kitaab, Umm-Al-Quran
Surah Al-Fatiha is called Umm Al-Kitab, because the Quran starts with it and because the prayer is started by reciting it. It is considered as the opening (or introduction) for the rest of the Quran. It is perceived that the rest of the Quran is the commentary to Surah Al fatiha.
Umm-ul-Quran means the one that combines the Quran, the extract of the Quran. Umm-ul-Kitaab the gist of the kitaab.
Meaning of Umm:
The Arabs call every comprehensive matter that contains several specific areas an Umm. For instance, they call the skin that surrounds the brain, Umm Ar-Ra’s. They also call the flag that gathers the ranks of the army an Umm.
Makkah was called Umm Al-Qura, (the Mother of the Villages) because it is the grandest and the leader of all villages. It was also said that the earth was made starting from Makkah.
Hadith from Jami’ at-Tirmidhi
Narrated Abu Hurairah (radi allahu anhu): That the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Al-Hamdulillah is Umm Al-Qur’an and Umm Al-Kitab and the seven oft-repeated.”
Al-Hamd, As-Salah
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said that his Rabb said, the prayer (i.e., Al-Fatiha) is divided into two halves between me and my servants. When the servant says, ‘all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of existence,’ Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says, ‘my servant has praised me’.
Surah Al-Fatiha was called the Salah, because reciting it is a condition for the correctness of Salah – the prayer.
Hadith from Sunan Ibn Majah
It was narrated that ‘Aishah (radi allahu anha) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) say: ‘Every prayer in which the Ummul-Kitab (the Mother of the Book) is not recited is deficient.’”
Ash-Shifa, Ar-Ruqyah
Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (radi allahu anhu) narrates the time when some of the companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) were traveling and as night fell they came upon an Arab tribe. They requested hospitality, but were refused. So they had to camp in the desert instead. While they were in that state, the chief of that tribe was bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion).
So, a female servant came running from the tribe and said (to the companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)), “The leader of this area has been poisoned and our people are away. Have you got any medicine with you or anybody who can treat it with Ruqyah?”
The Prophet’s companions were reluctant because they had not been treated well. But one of the companions, who didn’t have any great healing expertise, stood up and said, “You refuse to entertain us, so we will not treat (your chief) unless you pay us for it”. So they agreed to pay them a flock of sheep(30 sheep and some milk).
The companion started reciting Surah Al-Fatiha and gathering his saliva and spitting it (at the snake-bite). The patient got cured and his people were relieved and presented the sheep to them.
When the companion who healed the chief returned to the other companions, they said, “You know of a (new) Ruqyah, or did you do this before?”, to which he replied, “I only used Umm Al-Kitab as Ruqyah”.
Before accepting their reward, the Companions decided to ask the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) for advice. So they said, “We will not take it unless we ask the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) (whether it is lawful)”. When the companions returned to Al-Madinah they mentioned what happened to Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). Upon hearing their story, Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) smiled and said, “How do you know that Surah Al-Fatiha is a Ruqyah? Take it (flock of sheep) and assign a share for me.”
Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari
Narrated Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri (radi allahu anhu): Some of the companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) came across a tribe amongst the tribes of the Arabs, and that tribe did not entertain them. While they were in that state, the chief of that tribe was bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion). They said, (to the companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)), “Have you got any medicine with you or anybody who can treat with Ruqya?” The Prophet’s (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) companions said, “You refuse to entertain us, so we will not treat (your chief) unless you pay us for it.” So they agreed to pay them a flock of sheep.
One of them (the Prophet’s (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) companions) started reciting Surat-al-Fatiha and gathering his saliva and spitting it (at the snake-bite). The patient got cured and his people presented the sheep to them, but they said, “We will not take it unless we ask the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) (whether it is lawful).” When they asked him, he smiled and said, “How do you know that Surat-al-Fatiha is a Ruqya? Take it (flock of sheep) and assign a share for me.”