Al-Fatihah الفاتحة
The Opener
Al-Fatihah opens the Quran and is recited in every unit (rakah) of every prayer — a Muslim praying five times a day recites it at minimum seventeen times. Its seven verses move from praise of God, through a statement of dependence on Him alone, to a request for guidance onto "the straight path." Because it functions as a direct address to God answered (in a well-known hadith) verse by verse, it is sometimes called Umm al-Kitab, "the mother of the Book."
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy!
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds,
ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy,
مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
Master of the Day of Judgement.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
It is You we worship; it is You we ask for help.
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Guide us to the straight path:
صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
the path of those You have blessed, those who incur no anger and who have not gone astray.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Seven verses (ayat).
It was revealed in Makkah, making it a Meccan surah.
Islamic jurisprudence holds that a prayer (salah) is invalid without reciting Al-Fatihah in each rakah — it is the only surah with this requirement.