Perhaps the greatest merit of this short surah is that it must be recited in every prayer, every day; that it is the opening chapter of God’s book; and that it is a counterpart of the entire Quran according to verse 15:87.
- There are several Prophetic narrations to this effect: ‘By the one who has my life in His hand, the like of this surah has not been revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, or the Quran. It is [the surah of] the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Quran [15:87] by which I have been graced.’
- The Messenger of God said: ‘Whoever recites Fātiḥat al-Kitāb, it is as if he has recited the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Quran.’
- The Messenger of God said: ‘God, the mighty and majestic, will give the reward of reciting every verse that has been sent from the heaven to one who recites Fātiḥat al-Kitāb.’
- The Messenger of God once told Jābir ibn ʿAbd-Allāh: ‘O Jābir! Shall I not teach you the best chapter that God has revealed in His book?’ Jābir said: ‘Of course, may my parents be your ransom, O Messenger of God! Teach me!’ Then the Prophet taught him this chapter and added: ‘It is a cure for every illness except death.’
- The Messenger of God referred to this surah and said: ‘It is the greatest surah in the Quran.’
- The Prophet said: ‘Fātiḥat al-Kitāb equates to two-thirds of the Quran.’
- There are several narrations saying that this surah has been sent from the treasures at God’s Throne.
- The great expert of the Quran, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, taught this surah to a son of Imam al-Husayn (a). When the child recited it to his father, the Imam rewarded the teacher by paying him a thousand dinars (gold coins), giving him a thousand sets of clothes, and filling his mouth with pearls. When he was asked about this generous gift, he said: ‘This is nothing compared to his gift!’ meaning his teaching of the surah.
Note: It is possible that the Imam had such wealth at the time. Otherwise, it could be that the Imam intended to give al-Sulamī such a lofty reward and described him as worthy of it. Yet another possibility is that the Imam wanted others to realise the great expertise of al-Sulamī in the Quran. The Quran that we recite today is indeed the recitation of al-Sulamī from Imam Ali (a).
- Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘If al-Ḥamd is recited seventy times to a dead body and its soul returns to it, then that is not strange.’
- Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘God’s greatest name is hidden in this surah.’
- There are many narrations that say ‘No prayer is valid or complete without Fātiḥat al-Kitāb’.
- Imam al-Riḍā (a) said: ‘If one asks: “Why have the people been ordered to recite the Quran in the prayer?” the answer is: so that the Quran would not become forsaken, lost, and extinct. This way it remains fresh and known. If one asks: “Why should the recitation [in prayer] always start with al-Ḥamd among all other chapters?” the answer is: because all good and wisdom is gathered in Sūrat al-Ḥamd in a way that is not gathered in any other part of the Quran or any other speech.’
[1] Ahmad, 2/357, 2/413, 5/114; Tirmidhi, 4/231; Nasai, 2/139; Tabari, 14/40-41; Suyuti, 1/4; Kanz, 1/559-560.
[2] Suyuti, 1/5.
[3] Khisal, 2/355, h. 36.
[4] Ayyashi, 1/20, h. 9; Tabrisi, 1/88. Kanz, 1/559.
[5] Kanz, 1/559, h. 2513.
[6] Suyuti, 1/5; Suyūṭī, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, 2/208, h. 5828; Kanz, 1/556, h. 2495.
[7] Amali.S, p. 175, h. 2; Maani, p. 51; Thalabi, 6/64; Suyūṭī, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, 1/257, h. 1687, and 2/208, h. 5829; Kanz, 1/558, h. 2506.
[8] Manaqib, 4/66.
[9] Kafi, 2/623, h. 16; Makarim, p. 363.
[10] Thawab, p. 104.
[11] Ahmad, 2/241, 2/250, 5/314, 5/322, 6/142; Bukhari, 1/184, 8/211; Muslim, 2/9; Ibn Majah, 1/273-274; Abu Dawud, 1/189, h. 821. Tirmidhi, 1/151, h. 238, 1/156, h. 247, 1/194-196, and 4/269-270, h. 4027. Nasai, 2/135-138; Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī, 1/196, 2/218, h. 13-14; Kanz, 7/436-438, 442-444; Wasail, 6/39, h. 7285, 6/127, h. 7522; Mustadrak.W, 4/158, h. 4367.
[12] Faqih, 1/310, h. 926; Uyun, 2/107.