1. Fathihah
Name
This Surah is named Al-Fatiha because of its subject-matter. Fatihah is that which opens a subject or a book or
any other thing. In other words, Al-Fatihah is a sort of preface.
Verses
This Surah has a total of 7 verses.
Period of Revelation
It is one of the very earliest Revelations to the Holy Prophet. As a matter of fact, we learn from authentic
Traditions that it was the first complete Surah which was revealed to Muhammed (PBUH). Before this, only a
few miscellaneous verses were revealed which form parts of Surah Alaq, Muzzammil, Muddathir, etc.
Theme
This Surah is in fact a prayer which Allah has taught to all those who want to make a study of his book. It has
been placed at the very beginning of the book to teach this lesson to the reader: if you sincerely want to benefit
from the Quran, you should offer this prayer to the Lord of the Universe.
This preface is meant to create a strong desire in the heart of the reader to seek guidance from the Lord of the
Universe, who alone can grant it. Thus Al-Fatiha indirectly teaches that the best thing for a man is to pray for
guidance to the straight path, to study the Quran with the mental attitude of a seeker-after-truth and to recognize
the fact that the Lord of the Universe is the source of all knowledge. He should, therefore, begin the study of the
Quran with a prayer to him for guidance.
From this theme, it becomes clear that the real relation between Al-Fatiha and the Quran is not that of an
introduction to a book but that of a prayer and its answer. Al-Fatiha is the prayer from the servant and the Quran
is the answer from the the Master to his prayer. The servant prays to Allah to show him guidance and the Master
places the whole of the Quran before him in answer to his prayer, as if to say, "This is the Guidance you begged
from Me."