Chapter 1-0
The Opening (Surah Fatiha)
(7 verses in total; revealed in Makkah, known to have been revealed as the 5th revelation)
Even though this Chapter (Surah) is not the first in chronological order, the placement of this at the beginning of the Qur’an serves as the introduction of the Qur’an, an introduction that truly summarizes what to expect from the Qur’an and how human beings should aspire for faith and goodness. This chapter is recited in each of the Muslim daily prayers. Say a person starts daily prayers at the age of 15 (10th grade) and lives to the age of 80, he will have recited this chapter alone 664,300 times in his lifetime.
This surah has three major themes:
God is the Sovereign of the Universe and the Enabler of Resurrection
Yearning of our souls for Providence and a commitment to worship God
To seek guidance from God, guidance that leads to the Straight Path, a blessed guidance not tainted by anger (impatience) or faltered by deviation (temptations)
In the Name of God, the God of Mercy, the Endower of Mercy1
Praise be to God (Allah)2
The Sustainer (Rab)3 of the Universe!
God of Mercy (Rahman), Endower of Mercy (Rahim)
Master (Malik) of the Day of Judgment!
(O God) It is You alone that we worship
It is You alone that we seek providence!
Guide us to the Straight Path
The Path of those whom You blessed
They suffer no anger
Nor do they stray!4
1(Bismillah…) This statement is at the beginning of each surah. A person of faith is required to utter this phrase to invoke God’s name and seek God’s grace before any act of any significance, even before taking a drink of water, for example.
2"Allah" is the Arabic name for God shared by Muslims, Christians, and Jews who speak Arabic – it is a unique designation devoid of plural, gender distinctions and simply means the Singular Deity Who alone is worthy of worship from the creation which includes humans, jinn, all animate beings, vegetations, celestial objects, inanimate things, and all elements in the created world.
3"Rab" is difficult to translate as Lord or Master, typically done in many ancient and modern translations. Rab is an active God who cherishes the creation with deliberation and purposefulness, sustains them irrespective of their faith or not, and constantly encourages them to align with God. Therefore, I have used either Sustainer or Cherisher depending on the context rather than Lord.
4While blessings come from God and it is His prerogative, it is our free choices to exercise wisdom and intelligence and thereby commit to seeking and staying on the true path, the straight path that has no crookedness (Siratal Mustaqim) – the path that Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad walked on and followed.
