The Meaning and Impact of Surah Al-Fatiha on the Life of a Muslim

Surah Fatiha in English means The Opening. It is the first Surah of the Holy Quran. Its immense importance in Islam can be evaluated from the fact that it is a prerequisite of every prayer. No prayer is accepted without the recitation of this Surah, regardless of whether it is an obligatory or voluntary prayer. Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) said, “Whoever does not recite Al-Fatiha in his prayer, his prayer is invalid.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

The Meaning of Surah Fatiha

Surah Fatiha’s English translation is:

“In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds –

The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

Guide us to the straight path –

The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”

We should praise Allah day and night

At the start of the Surah, we affirm that all praise and glorification is owed to Allah alone. No other entity has a share in His right to be worshipped. He is the only deity worthy of being exalted, for He is infinite and unlike anything else in existence. He alone is all-powerful and the only one who is perfect in every sense. All of creation is reliant on none but Him for survival and sustenance.

We should acknowledge Allah alone, as the Lord of all creation

The second part of the verse emphatically establishes Allah’s authority over the entire universe and everything within it. It is an affirmation of His exclusive dominion over all of creation. He alone is the omnipotent Creator of all things. All His attributes are perfect in every sense, and He cannot be compared to any of His creation.

Allah is omniscient, possessing knowledge of everything, and has no flaws. He has no difficulty in sustaining and taking care of everything that exists at all times. He has no weaknesses and never gets tired. Allah is completely different from His creation and has no partners or children, for all such matters are beneath His Majesty.

We should always remain hopeful of Allah’s Mercy

Allah is Rahman and Raheem. Both these words from Surah Fatiha have a similar meaning. They both pertain to Allah’s Mercy. However, Rahman is a more comprehensive term than Raheem.

Rahman refers to God’s Mercy to all things, not only in this life but also in the Hereafter. On the other hand, Raheem has a very specific implication. Raheem is Allah’s exclusive Mercy, reserved solely for the believers. Hence, created beings can also be labeled Raheem but only to a limited extent. Meanwhile, only Allah can be called Rahman, owing to the connotations of the word.

The Prophet (PBUH) said, “When Allah completed the creation, he wrote in his book with him upon the throne: Verily, my mercy prevails over my wrath.”

This Hadith illustrates Allah’s unfathomable capacity for forgiveness and reminds us never to despair of His Mercy. Regardless of how hopeless and downhearted one may feel, one should always turn to Allah and seek His Mercy, for its scope is beyond our comprehension.

We should always fear Allah’s ultimate accountability of our actions

The Day of Judgment only belongs to Allah. We ought to always keep this ultimate reality in mind. It is imperative to do so to ensure that our priorities are in order. When we are constantly mindful of Allah’s eventual decisive Judgment, we are able to instill piety in our lives.

Having the correct perspective in this life is vital to please Allah, our solitary judge, on the all-important day. Exercising God-consciousness in all our affairs is essential for us to earn His Pleasure with sincerely performed righteous deeds. Consequently, we must also seek to avoid His Wrath by avoiding sinful deeds and shunning evil desires.

We should live by Tawhid and only turn to Allah for help

Allah is the only One worthy of our worship. Indeed, the sole purpose of mankind’s creation was to worship the one true God. It is impermissible to deify any other entity, for Allah has explicitly informed us that He has no partners. Believers must, therefore, pray to Allah alone, and love, fear, and obey Him with utter devotion.

Moreover, Muslims are not to seek help from anyone but Him, unless it is something within His creation’s capability. In cases of being aided by others, we should still be aware that all assistance originates from Allah. Certainly, every single thing that happens is according to His Divine Will.

We should always pray for steadfastness

Believers ought to seek guidance on the right path and steadfastness at all times. We should read and understand Allah’s revelation, the Noble Quran (Quran learn online from Quranforkids.com. We need to reflect deeply on its meanings and strive to our utmost to follow its pristine teachings. In addition, we have to always pray to Allah for guidance in all situations in our lives and pray that He keeps us steadfast upon the truth.

We should aspire to be amongst Allah’s righteous slaves

Muslims should make it their primary goal in life to emulate the upright believers who preceded them. These include the numerous Prophets sent by Allah to preach the pure message of monotheism and their honorable followers. It’s crucial to follow in the footsteps of those who sought to please Allah, for we share their aim.

We should seek refuge from misguidance and Allah’s displeasure

While sincerely praying to be among the pious, we should also seek refuge from misguidance and earning Allah’s anger. Muslims appeal to Allah to protect us from the erroneous paths of two groups who went astray. The first of these were those who were aware of the true nature of religion. Nevertheless, they were disobedient and angered Allah.

The second of these immoral groups altered the principles of the religion itself. They did this to make religion conform to their sinful desires. They thus distorted Allah’s revelation and had the audacity to assign inappropriate attributes to Him. After modifying the religion, they were able to use it to justify their wicked actions.

The impact of Surah Fatiha

Now that we have covered Surah Fatiha’s translation and analyzed Surah Fatiha’s meanings, it is prudent to consider Surah Fatiha’s benefits. The Surah Mulk undoubtedly has a massive impact on the everyday life of a Muslim. It is, after all, effectively a pillar of Salah (prayer), which is itself a pillar of Islam. Furthermore, there are many Hadiths pertaining to its virtues.

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “The Um (substance) of the Qur’an is the seven oft-repeated verses (Al- Mathaini) and is the Great Qur’an (i.e. Surat-al-Fatiha). (Sahih al-Bukhari)

“Shall I not teach you the most superior Surah in the Qur’an?” He said, ‘(It is), ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. ‘(i.e., Surat Al-Fatiha) which consists of seven repeatedly recited Verses and the Magnificent Qur’an which was given to me.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Furthermore, the recitation of this blessed Surah can also be used to treat illness. The Prophet (PBUH) approved of the practice of reciting Surah Al-Fatiha for healing purposes. (Sahih al-Bukhari) Thus, we can conclude that Surah Fatiha also contains healing benefits.