"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee we worship from from Thee we seek help. Guide us upon the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast blessed, not of those who incur wrath, nor of those who are astray."
Quran 1:1-7
This is the first surah in the Quran, al-Fatihah, often rendered as "The Opening." And here is a link, although repeated three times for help in memorization, to let you know how it sounds. We've talked about the fact that the surahs mainly run from longest to shortest, with the obvious exception of al-Fatihah. As Nasr reminds us, "The primary meaning of al-Fatihah is "The Opening," which indicates the surah's function as 'the opening of the Book' and as the first surah to be recited in each cycle (rak'ah) of all the canonical prayers as well as the manner in which it serves as an opening for many functions in everyday Islamic life." (Nasr, Study Quran, p. 3) Again, another link, this time from a children's video about how to pray; if you listen to it a couple times you can quickly identify al-Fatihah. It, more than any other surah or hadith, follows every Muslim throughout the day. Not surprisingly, it is the first bit of Arabic that a convert would learn. Again, from Nasr: "It is also recited by Muslims on occasions as diverse as a funeral, a wedding, the birth of a child, the inauguration of an official event, the signing of contracts, and the commencement of an individual endeavor, such as the beginning of a journey." I served on the constitution and by-laws committee at the mosque last year (now that was an adventure) and, oddly enough, I was the one who reminded everyone that the document should start with al-Fatihah, which it eventually did.
Quran 1:1-7
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| al-Fatihah as it looks in Arabic. |
This is the first surah in the Quran, al-Fatihah, often rendered as "The Opening." And here is a link, although repeated three times for help in memorization, to let you know how it sounds. We've talked about the fact that the surahs mainly run from longest to shortest, with the obvious exception of al-Fatihah. As Nasr reminds us, "The primary meaning of al-Fatihah is "The Opening," which indicates the surah's function as 'the opening of the Book' and as the first surah to be recited in each cycle (rak'ah) of all the canonical prayers as well as the manner in which it serves as an opening for many functions in everyday Islamic life." (Nasr, Study Quran, p. 3) Again, another link, this time from a children's video about how to pray; if you listen to it a couple times you can quickly identify al-Fatihah. It, more than any other surah or hadith, follows every Muslim throughout the day. Not surprisingly, it is the first bit of Arabic that a convert would learn. Again, from Nasr: "It is also recited by Muslims on occasions as diverse as a funeral, a wedding, the birth of a child, the inauguration of an official event, the signing of contracts, and the commencement of an individual endeavor, such as the beginning of a journey." I served on the constitution and by-laws committee at the mosque last year (now that was an adventure) and, oddly enough, I was the one who reminded everyone that the document should start with al-Fatihah, which it eventually did.
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