Q. 1:1 In the name of Allah, the Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful.
Q. 1:2 All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Q. 1:3 The Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful.
Q. 1:4 The Master of the Day of Judgment.
Q. 1:5 You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.
Q. 1:6 Guide us to the straight path.
Q.1:7 The path of those You have blessed, not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.
Why Surah al-Fatihah is Written at the Beginning of the Quran
Allah, Exalted be He, begins His Book with surah al-Fatihah because it encompasses all goals of the Quran and it summarizes all details mentioned in the Quran. This indicates excellent commencement. These are the most important goals of surah al-Fatihah: 1) Defining who is the Creator, Allah. 2) Defining the path of worship. 3) Showing conditions of people throughout the path of worship.
Tafsir
Q. 1:1 In the name of Allah, the Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful.
Allah is a proper noun referring to the self of the Creator, God. It refers only to Allah and no one shares this name with Him. Allah is the greatest name of the Creator, God, which encompasses all attributes of perfection.
[In the name of Allah…], ‘bism-Allah…’ I begin reciting the Quran by mentioning Allah’s name and seeking His help.
Beginning surah al-Fatihah by mentioning Allah’s name implies an instruction to Messenger Muhammad and his followers to begin all their deeds and statements by mentioning it.
[The Giver of Mercy…], ‘ar-Rahman.’ It is one of Allah’s names. It means that Allah is characterized by comprehensive mercy. His mercy encompasses all creatures.
[… the Most Merciful.], ‘ar-Rahim.’ It is one of Allah’s names. It means that Allah grants His mercy to whomever He wants of His creatures.
‘Ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim’ are derived from ‘rahma,’ mercy. They are names of Allah that refer to Allah’s self and that He is characterized by mercy.
Is al-basmalah [In the name of Allah, the Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful.] an ayah from surah al-Fatihah? [Tafsir of al-Fatihah wa-Baqarah, Sheikh Muhammad al-Uthaymeen]
The scholars disagree on whether al-basmalah an ayah from surah al-Fatihah or not. Some scholars say that it is an ayah from surah al-Fatihah, and believe that the prayer is invalid without reciting it because it is an ayat from surah al-Fatihah.
Other scholars maintain that al-basmalah is not an ayah from surah al-Fatihah. They believe that it is an independent ayah of the Quran, which is the correct opinion. The proof supporting this opinion is that the prophetic narration reported by abu Hurairah. It says, ‘The prayer is divided between Me and My slave into two halves. And My slave will attain what he asks for. When the slave says, [All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.], Allah says, ‘My slave has praised Me.’…’ [Tafsir of al-Fatihah wa-al-Baqarah, Sheikh Muhammad al-Uthaymeen]. Al-basmalah is not mentioned in this narration, which is proof that it is not an ayah from surah al-Fatihah.
Another proof is the context of surah al-Fatihah. The scholars unanimously agree that surah al-Fatihah contains seven ayat. The first three ayat are for Allah. They are the following: [All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. The Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful. The Master of the Day of Judgment.] The second half contains four ayat. They are the following: [You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path. The path of those You have blessed; not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.]
Q. 1:2 All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
[All praise is due to Allah…] Allah, Exalted be He, instructs His slaves to praise Him. All kinds of praise are due only to Allah. It is constant praise. Praising Allah is attributing perfection to Allah alone with loving and glorifying Him. All perfection is due to Allah in His self, attributes, deeds, and statements.
Indeed, Allah deserves all praise and thank. He has given His slaves countless blessings. Allah has taught His slaves how to worship and obey Him. He has provided them with sustenance without which they can never live. Allah has also shown His slaves means leading to eternal bliss in Paradise. Verily, all praise and thank are due to Allah alone.
Abdul Allah bin Abbas said, ‘Praise is to thank Allah, acknowledging His blessings, guidance, etc [Tafsir al-Tabari].’
[…the Lord of the worlds.] Rabb, translated to the Lord, refers to Allah. It means that Allah is the Creator, the Master, and the Sustainer of His creatures. When the word rabb is used with the definite article ‘ar, ar-Rabb, it refers only to Allah. In other cases, when the context makes it clear to whom the word refers something, it means the master of that thing, e.g. the rabb of the house, i.e. the master of the house.
[… the Lord of the worlds.] Rabb-al-‘lamin, translated to the words, refers to all existing things except Allah, Exalted be He. They are called so because their existence denotes that there is a Creator, who created them, that He is able, wise, merciful, etc. Abdul Allah bin Abbas said, ‘All praise is due to Allah, who created all creatures, the heavens, the earth, what is thereon, what is between them, what is known, and what is unknown [Tafsir al-Tabari].’
In sum, the ayah confirms that absolute praise is due to Allah alone, the Lord of the worlds. Indeed, Allah is the Giver of all blessings.
Q. 1:3 The Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful.
The previous ayah mentions that Allah is the Lord and the Master of all that exist. He is the only God that has absolute authority over the creatures. This may give rise to fear of Allah. Therefore, the following ayah mentions that Allah is characterized by mercy to remove that feeling, and inform Allah’s slaves that Allah’s Lordship is based on His comprehensive mercy. Verily, Allah has created and provided them out of His mercy, and He will resurrect them for reckoning on the Day of Judgment by His mercy. This motivates the slaves to worship and praise Allah with reassured hearts and happy souls. This will also guide them to build their lives on mercy and kindness, not on tyranny and injustice.
Q. 1:4 The Master of the Day of Judgment.
Allah, Exalted be He, mentions that He alone deserves all praise because He is the Creator and Giver of all blessings to His slaves and that He is merciful in the previous part. This may make some people indulgent depending on Allah’s kindness and mercifulness. Thus, the following ayah mentions that Allah is the Master of the Day of Judgment so that people become careful not to disobey Allah since there will come a day on which they will be recompensed for their deeds.
The fact Allah is the Master of the Day of Judgment does not negate that He is the Master of all days. However, on the Day of Judgment, no one can claim any ownership or power, and all authority and power will only belong to Allah. Thus, the ayah mentions that Allah is the Master of the Day of Judgment.
Q. 1:5 You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.
The previous ayat confirms Allah’s Lordship and mercy. Then this ayah establishes the fact that Allah alone deserves worship.
Our Lord, You alone we humiliatingly worship. Verily, You have generously granted us blessings and Your mercy have encompassed us. We worship You alone and ask You to help us to obey and facilitate all our affairs. We will never ask help from anyone but You as You alone deserves complete worship and obedience. You are the Able, the All-Knowing, and nothing is hidden from You. Abdul Allah bin Abbas said, ‘Gabriel said to Messenger Muhammad, ‘O Muhammad, say, ‘[You alone we worship.] You alone we worship, fear, and hope for help, O our Lord, not from anyone else [Tafsir al-Tabari].’
Worship includes doing all things that Allah has commanded His slaves to do and avoiding all things that Allah has prohibited His slaves to do.
The ayat says, ‘You alone…’ to indicate that worship is due to Allah alone. Moreover, worship is mentioned before seeking help because the former is the means to achieve the latter, and the slaves cannot worship Allah properly except by His help and guidance. Furthermore, the ayah does not mention what are the things that they need help with to include all the righteous deeds that they want to do.
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