The Opening Surah (Fatha): Your Door to Quran

By: Maged Taman

Verses of the Opening Surah:

1. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

2. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;

3. Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

4. Master of the Day of Judgment.

5. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.

6. Show us the straight way,

7. The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.

This surah (chapte) is red in the beginning of every prayer. It can be followed by a second Surah from the 113 other Surahs. It gives you the way to think about religion. That is why it was called also Am Al katab or the gate to the Quran.

You are recognizing God and because of his great attributes we will have to answer him in the day of judgment we ought to worship him and seek his help. We have to ask him to show us the straight path so we do not follow those who intentionally left his path or those who were misled in belief. It is the entry or the door that you pass through to enter Quran and Islam. It is also a prayer to ask God to help you in understanding the rest of Quran and Islam.

Thus Al Fatah is a praise to God, asking for his mercy, and acknowledging the day of judgement and for the aforementioned reasons we ask him to the guide us to the right path unlike those who went astray intentionally or intentionally.

The words are that of God as every verse in the Quran. As in many verses God say to us using the word say or understandingly is saying to repeat his verses and pray to God with these verses. The opening is one of the simplest of his chapters and briefly give you the bottom line of the message of God.

For New Muslims who want to use for prayer this is the Arabic text with transliteration and translation in English is as follows: [Qur'an 1:1]. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Fatiha
1:1 بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيم
Bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm
In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful:

1:2 الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين
Al ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi l-'ālamīn
Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe.

1:3 الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيم
Ar raḥmāni r-raḥīm
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1:4 مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّين
Māliki yawmi d-dīn
Master of the Day of Judgment.

1:5 إِيَّاك نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين
Iyyāka na'budu wa iyyāka nasta'īn
You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help

1:6 اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ
Ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭ al mustaqīm
Guide us to the straight path;

1:7 صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّين
Ṣirāṭ al-laḏīna an'amta 'alayhim ġayril maġḍūbi 'alayhim walāḍ ḍāllīn
The path of those whom You have favoured, not of those who have deserved Your anger, nor of those who stray.

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