The Virtues of Surah al-Fatihah
There are a number of ahaadeeth explaining to us the great virtue of this chapter: 1. Muslim reports from Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, Allah, the Glorious and Exalted said,
“I have divided the prayer between Myself and my servant equally and My servant shall be granted what he asked for.” Therefore when the servant says, ‘all praises and >thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the universe’,
Allah says, ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When hesays, ‘the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful,’ Allah says, ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgement,’ Allah says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’ When he says, ‘You Alone we worship and Your aid Alone do we seek,’
Allah says, ‘this is between Me and My servant and My servant shall have what he requested.’ When he says, ‘guide us to the Straight Path, the Pathof those whom You have favored, not of those who have incurred [Your] wrath, neither of those who have gone astray,’ Allah says, ‘
this is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asked for.’ [Saheeh Muslim [Eng. Trans. 1/215 no. 775]
2. At-Tirmidhee reports from Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said,
[The chapter commencing with], “all praises and thanks are due to Allah the Lord of the Universe” is
the Mother of the Qur’an, the Mother of the Book, the Seven Oft Repeated Verses and the Great Qur’an.
3. Ahmad reports from Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) who said,
The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) named Ubayy bin Ka`b while he was praying in the
Mosque saying, “O Ubayy!” Ubayy turned his head towards him but did not reply.
The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) named him again saying, “O Ubayy!” So Ubayy shortened his prayer and turned towards the Prophet and said, “as salaam u alaikum O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) replied, “wa alaikum as-salaam. What prevented you from replying to me when I named you?” Ubayy said, “O Messenger of Allah I was praying!” He said, “does Allah not say,
4. Ahmad reports from Abu Sa`d ibn al-Mu`allaa (May Allah be pleased with him) who said, The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) named while I was praying in the Mosque but I did not respond until I had completed the prayer. I went to him and he asked, “what prevented you from coming to me [earlier]?” I replied, “I was praying O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “does Allah not say,‘Respond to Allah and the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.’ [Al-Anfaal (8): 24]?
He then said, “I will teach a Surah which is the greatest Surah in the Qur’an before you leave the
Mosque.” Then he grasped hold of my hand and when he intended to leave [the Mosque], I asked him, “did you not say that you would teach me a Surah which is the greatest Surah in the Qur’an?” He replied, “yes. It is [the Surah commencing with], ‘All praise and thanks are due to Allah.’ It is the Seven Oft Repeated verses and the Great Qur’an that has been given to me.
The Ruling of Reciting al-Fatihah in Prayer
The opinion of the majority of the scholars, amongst them Maalik, ash-Shaafi`ee and Ahmad, is that it is obligatory to recite al-Fatihah in the prayer and that the prayer is not valid without it.
Their opinion is based upon many proofs; from amongst them the sayings of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him), “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.” [Saheeh Bukhaaree [Eng. Trans. 1/404 no. 723], Saheeh Muslim [Eng. Trans. 1/214 no. 771]]
“Whosoever performs a prayer in which he does not recite the Mother of the Book then it is deficient, it is deficient, it is deficient, it is incomplete” [Saheeh Muslim [Eng. Trans. 1/215 no. 775]]
The prayer is not valid in which the Mother of the Qur’an is not recited. [Saheeh Muslim [Eng. Trans. 1/215 no. 772]]
However according to Abu Haneefah, those of his companions who agreed with him, al-Awza`ee and athThawree, it is not obligatory to recite al-Fatihah, rather any portion of the Qur’an would be sufficient. They based this upon the saying of Allah, “And recite what is easy [for you] from the Qur’an.” [Al-Muzzammil (73): 20]
And the saying of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) to the man who prayed badly, When you stand for pray, say the takbeer and then recite what is easy for you from the Qur’an. [Saheeh Bukhaaree [Eng. Trans. 1/404 no. 724]]
There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book
In the case where one is a follower in a congregational prayer then the scholars fell into three opinions with regards to the follower’s reciting al-Fatihah:
