Introduction

This is the first Surah of the Holy Quraan, not only in its present order but also in its order of revelation. Prior to its revelation, though the beginning verses of Surah Alaq and Surah Muddassir were revealed, however no complete Surah had been revealed before it. It has been placed before every other Surah in its present sequence because it is, so to say, the essence of the Holy Quraan encapsulating its main themes and the rest of the Quraan following it is its commentary.

The knowledge contained in the entire Quraan relates to either one of three themes; Imaan (faith), A’amaal-e-Saaliha (virtuous deeds) and the hereafter. The basic principles of these three have been indicated in this Surah. It is for this reason this Surah has been titled in the Ahaadith with the titles of Ummul Quraan (The essence of the Quraan), Ummul kitaab (The essence of the book) and Al-Quraanul Azeem (The Glorious Quraan).

This Surah is an instruction from Allah Ta’ala to man as to how he should supplicate to Allah Ta’ala and seek guidance from Him. The rest of the Quraan is an answer to this supplication. It is for this reason this Surah is named Al Fatiha – The Opening. The theme of this Surah is that, in order for one to benefit from the Holy Quraan, one is required to bring Imaan in the basic articles of faith (belief in the oneness of Allah, His beautiful attributes, in the hereafter, reckoning on the Day of Judgment, risaalat - following the path of His chosen servants (the Ambiyaa) and refraining from the pathways leading to his disobedience). Similarly this Surah directs man towards achieving his goal through turning completely to Allah Ta’ala, seeking guidance from Him and refraining from the path leading to His anger and the path of misguidance. If one recites this Surah and studies it with an open mind and heart as a true seeker of the truth, he will be blessed with true guidance from Allah Ta’ala.

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (Radiyallahu Anhu) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: "I swear by Allah who is the master of my life that neither the Towrah, nor the Injeel nor the Zaboor nor any other portion of the Quraan can be compared with Surah Faatiha.”

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) has said that this Surah is a cure for all kinds of illnesses. According to another Hadith, this Surah is also named As-shifa (The cure). It is reported from Hazrat Anas (Radiyallahu Anhu) that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) has called this Surah the greatest among all the Surahs of the Holy Quraan.

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّ‌حِيمِ  

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَ‌بِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ﴿٢﴾ ٱلرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّ‌حِيمِ ﴿٣﴾ مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ ﴿٤﴾ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴿٥﴾ ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَ‌ٰ‌طَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ ﴿٦﴾ صِرَ‌ٰ‌طَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ‌ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ﴿٧﴾

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

All praise be to Allah, the Rabb of the worlds; The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful; Master of the Day of reward. You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help.  Show us the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have favoured, not of those who have earned Your wrath, nor those who have gone astray.

Commentary

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَ‌بِّ ٱلْعـٰلَمِينَ

All praise be to Allah, the Rabb of the worlds

The Surah begins with the words ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ (All Praise be to Allah), signifying that all praise essentially belongs to Allah Ta’ala alone. Whosoever praises anything anywhere in the world is ultimately praising the creator of all things, Allah Ta’ala. The world contains millions of things which draw man's attention towards its beauty and splendour, but if one tries to look beyond the veil in order to see who is controlling everything and who is allowing the magnificent universe to function in such harmony, one will certainly reach the conclusion that it is none other than Allah Ta’ala alone. In essence each and every creation in its beauty is the manifestation of the grandeur of the Almighty Allah Ta’ala.

Once man has realized that there is only one being in the whole universe who is worthy of all praise, then he ought to understand that this great being alone should be worthy of worship. Thus we see that although the phrase ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ (All Praise be to Allah) has been used to signify praise, yet, by implication, it cuts the very root of shrirk (polytheism) or the worship of all created entities and at the same time establishes the belief of tawheed (bringing faith in the oneness of Allah Ta’ala). Hence we understand that the very first verse of the Holy Quraan establishes the foundational principle of the Islam (i.e. Tawheed – the oneness of Allah Ta’ala).

‌رَ‌بِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ - (The Rabb of the worlds)

The word رَب signifies the being who nurtures every creation and takes them from different levels of development gradually from the beginning to the end. He takes special care of them in gradual stages in a manner which is conducive to its nature till it attains perfection. Hence we understand that this attribute is exclusive to the sacred being of Allah Ta’ala and nobody else shares in it.

عـٰلَمِينَ refers to the worlds or the different planets that Allah Ta’ala has created. One world is the world that we are presently living in. This world is visible to man. However there are many other worlds or planets which are created by Allah Ta’ala which are not visible to man.

Then عـٰلَمِينَ can also refer to the different species of creation like the human kingdom, the animal kingdom, the kingdom of the jinaat and the kingdom of the Malaaikah, etc. These creations are at times referred to as the different worlds (the world of man, the world of jinn, the animal world, etc). Hence when Allah Ta’ala says ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَ‌بِّ ٱلْعـٰلَمِينَ (All Praise be to Allah, the Rabb of the worlds) it means all praise for that being who has given existence to every creation, nurtures them and takes care of them in the world they live in.

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمـٰنِ الرَّ‌حِيمِ

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, most Merciful.

The merits of Bismillah

It was a custom in the Age of Ignorance (Jaahiliyyah) before the advent of Islam that whenever the pagans used to commence any work then before commencing they would take the names of their idols and gods. It was to abolish this practice that Allah Ta’ala commanded us to take His name and recite Bismillah before commencing any work. Hence we see that the first verse of the Holy Qur’an which Hadhrat Jibraeel (Alayhis Salaam) brought down to Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam commanded him to begin the recitation of the Qur’an with the name of Allah Ta’ala. اقرا باسم ربك - “Recite ( O Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) with the name of your Rabb.”

The Qur'an and Hadith repeatedly instruct us to begin all our works with the name of Allah Ta’ala. Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam has said that no important work receives the blessings of Allah Ta’ala, unless it is commenced with His blessed name. The reason a Mu’min is commanded to commence any work with the name of Allah Ta’ala is so that he has complete conviction that it is only with the grace and blessings of Allah Ta’ala that he is able to commence the work and only with the grace of Allah Ta’ala, he will be able to complete the work. Hence, Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam has taught us in his Mubaarak Ahaadith that whenever we close the door, or put out the lamp, or cover a utensil all should be done with taking the name of Allah Ta’ala and reciting Bismillah.

Other Divine Heavenly scriptures commencing with the name of Allah Ta’ala

Allamah Suyuti (the famous commentator of the Quraan) says that besides the Holy Qur'an all other divine scriptures also commenced with Bismillah. However, other scholars are of the opinion that بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمـٰنِ الرَّ‌حِيمِ is exclusive to the Holy Qur'an and to the followers of Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. Mufti Muhammad Shafi (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) mentioned that these two views can be reconciled in this way that all the divine scriptures commence with the name of Allah, but the words بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمـٰنِ الرَّ‌حِيمِ are exclusive to the Holy Qur'an. This is proven from certain Ahaadith which reveal that prior to بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمـٰنِ الرَّ‌حِيمِ being revealed upon Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he used to say بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ (Bismikallahumma) when undertaking any task. However when the verse بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمـٰنِ الرَّ‌حِيمِ was revealed, he adopted these words and left out reciting Bismikallahumma.

The wisdom behind reciting Bismillah

By instructing man to begin everything with the name of Allah Ta’ala, Islam has given man a new direction in life. He is being taught that his entire effort and orientation should be focused towards Allah Ta’ala. With each step he takes, he renews his allegiance and covenant with Allah Ta’ala bearing testimony that nothing he does can be accomplished without the help of Allah Ta’ala. Thus, all his domestic and social activities he carries out throughout his life, his mundane affairs and business transactions, all are done with keeping Allah Ta’ala in mind and taking His name before every action. In this way all his worldly engagements and dealings are transformed into acts of worship. How brief is the action, yet how immense is the gain. A disbeliever eats and drinks just as a Muslim does, but in saying 'Bismillah' as he begins to eat, the Muslim affirms that it was not in his power to obtain this little morsel of food which has passed through innumerable stages, from the sowing of the seed to the reaping of the grain and corn and which has (during this process) required the labours of the wind, the rain, the sun, the earth, the effort of man and of many creations of Allah Ta’ala. A Mu’min bears testimony that it is Allah Ta’ala alone who has granted him this morsel of food or this drink of water after making it pass through all these stages.