Surah Al-Fatiha: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", is the first surah of the Quran and the one Muslims recite most: in every rakʿah of every prayer, at least seventeen times a day. In seven short verses it praises Allah, affirms that He alone is worshipped, and asks Him for the one thing everyone needs most: guidance to the straight path.

The Prophet ﷺ called it the greatest surah in the Quran, and in a ḥadīth qudsī Allah describes it as a conversation between Him and His servant.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning verse by verse.

The full surah

بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ مَٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ

Transliteration

1. Bismillāhir-raḥmānir-raḥīm
2. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbil-ʿālamīn
3. Ar-raḥmānir-raḥīm
4. Māliki yawmid-dīn
5. Iyyāka naʿbudu wa iyyāka nastaʿīn
6. Ihdinaṣ-ṣirāṭal-mustaqīm
7. Ṣirāṭal-ladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim ghayril-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim wa laḍ-ḍāllīn

English translation (Saheeh International)

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. [All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds - the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path - the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray. (1:1-7)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ اَلۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِيۡنَۙ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِۙ مٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ الدِّيۡنِؕ اِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَاِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِيۡنُؕ اِهۡدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الۡمُسۡتَقِيۡمَۙ صِرَاطَ الَّذِيۡنَ اَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡۙ غَيۡرِ الۡمَغۡضُوۡبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا الضَّآلِّيۡنَ

You can read and listen to Surah Al-Fatiha with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

Al-Fatiha is the first surah of the Quran, with 7 verses, at the start of the 1st juz. Most scholars say it is Meccan. It is called "The Opening" because the Quran opens with it, both in the written mushaf and in every prayer.

It has more names than almost any other surah, and several come from the hadith:

• Umm al-Kitab and Umm al-Quran, "the Mother of the Book": it gathers the Quran's main themes (Sahih Muslim 394).
• As-Sabʿ al-Mathani, "the seven oft-repeated verses", mentioned in 15:87, because it is repeated in every rakʿah.
• As-Salah, "the Prayer", because Allah calls it that in the ḥadīth qudsī below.
• Ar-Ruqyah, "the cure by recitation", from the story of the Companion who recited it over a man stung by a scorpion.

The greatest surah

Abu Saʿid ibn al-Muʿalla said the Prophet ﷺ took his hand and told him he would teach him the greatest surah in the Quran before he left the mosque. Then he said: "Al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbil-ʿālamīn. It is the seven oft-repeated verses, and the Great Quran that I have been given" (Sahih al-Bukhari 4474).

Ibn ʿAbbas reported that an angel came down through a gate of heaven that had never opened before, and said to the Prophet ﷺ: "Rejoice in two lights you have been given that no prophet before you was given: the Opening of the Book and the last verses of Surat al-Baqarah. You will not recite a letter of them without being given it" (Sahih Muslim 806). The second of those lights has its own article.

A conversation in every prayer

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said Allah, the Most High, says: "I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant will have what he asks for." Then he went through the surah (Sahih Muslim 395):

When the servant says	Allah says
Al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbil-ʿālamīn	"My servant has praised Me."
Ar-raḥmānir-raḥīm	"My servant has extolled Me."
Māliki yawmid-dīn	"My servant has glorified Me."
Iyyāka naʿbudu wa iyyāka nastaʿīn	"This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will have what he asks for."
Ihdinaṣ-ṣirāṭal-mustaqīm … to the end	"This is for My servant, and My servant will have what he asks for."

Knowing this changes how the surah feels in salah. Each verse gets an answer. It is worth pausing slightly after each one. Umm Salamah described the Prophet ﷺ reciting it verse by verse, stopping after each (Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 2927).

Verse 1: In the name of Allah

بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. (1:1)

In the common Hafs numbering, the basmalah is the first verse of Al-Fatiha. The schools differ on this: the Shafiʿis count it as part of the surah, while the Hanafis and others see it as a separate verse placed at the start of surahs, not part of Al-Fatiha itself.

Both names of mercy come from the same root, raḥmah. Ar-Raḥmān is mercy that is vast and covers all creation. Ar-Raḥīm is mercy that reaches people in particular, and many scholars say especially the believers. Before anything else, the Quran introduces Allah through His mercy.

Verse 2: All praise to the Lord of the worlds

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ

[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds. (1:2)

Al-ḥamd is praise mixed with love and gratitude. With al- in front of it, it means all praise: whatever good is praised anywhere, the praise ultimately belongs to Allah, who gave it.

Rabb is the Lord who creates, owns, provides and nurtures. Al-ʿālamīn is the plural of ʿālam, a world: humans, jinn, angels, animals, everything other than Allah.

Verse 3: The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful

ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. (1:3)

The two names of mercy come again, straight after "Lord of the worlds". Lordship and power are mentioned, and mercy follows immediately, so that the servant approaches Him with hope as well as awe.

Verse 4: Sovereign of the Day of Recompense

مَٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ

Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. (1:4)

Yawm ad-dīn is the Day of Judgement, when every deed is repaid. Allah owns everything on every day, but on that Day no one else will even appear to have any authority. Hope from verse 3, and now awe: the scholars said a believer should hold both, like the two wings of a bird.

There are two well-known readings of the first word: Māliki, "Owner", which is the Hafs reading, and Maliki, "King". Both are authentic, and both meanings are true of Allah.

Verse 5: You alone we worship

إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ

It is You we worship and You we ask for help. (1:5)

This is the turning point of the surah. Until now the servant has spoken about Allah; here he speaks to Him: "You".

In Arabic the object, iyyāka, "You", comes before the verb. That word order adds the sense of "You alone". It is the whole of tawḥīd in one line: worship belongs only to Allah, and real help comes only from Him.

Worship is mentioned before asking for help. Scholars noted that you can't even worship properly without Allah's help, so the verse asks for it straight away.

Verses 6-7: Guide us to the straight path

ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ

Guide us to the straight path - the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray. (1:6-7)

After praise and a promise of worship comes the request: ihdinā, "guide us". It is in the plural, so even when you pray alone you ask for the whole community.

Someone already praying still asks for guidance, many times a day. That is because guidance isn't only finding the path once; it is knowing it better, staying on it, and being guided in each choice along the way.

The straight path is described by who walks it. "Those upon whom You have bestowed favour" are named in 4:69: the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous.

Then two paths to avoid. The Prophet ﷺ explained them through two examples of his time: "Those who earned anger are the Jews, and those astray are the Christians" (Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 2954). Commentators drew the lesson from it: one group knew the truth and didn't follow it, and the other worshipped sincerely without knowledge. The straight path needs both knowledge and action.

Āmīn

After Al-Fatiha it is sunnah to say āmīn, "O Allah, answer". The Prophet ﷺ said: "When the imam says āmīn, say āmīn, for whoever's āmīn coincides with that of the angels will have his past sins forgiven" (Sahih al-Bukhari 780). Āmīn is not part of the surah itself.

Al-Fatiha in prayer

Al-Fatiha is recited in every rakʿah. The Prophet ﷺ said: "There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book" (Sahih al-Bukhari 756; Sahih Muslim 394).

The schools differ on the details, especially for someone praying behind an imam. The Shafiʿis hold that the follower recites it in every prayer; the Hanafis that the imam's recitation counts for the follower; the Malikis and Hanbalis that the follower recites it when the imam recites silently. If you are unsure, follow what your local scholars teach.

Al-Fatiha as a cure

Abu Saʿid al-Khudri described a group of Companions on a journey who camped near a tribe whose chief had been stung. One of them recited Al-Fatiha over him, and he recovered. When they told the Prophet ﷺ, he said: "How did you know that it is a ruqyah?" and approved what they had done (Sahih al-Bukhari 5749; Sahih Muslim 2201).

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
بِسۡمِ	bismi	in the name
ٱللَّهِ	Allāhi	of Allah
ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ	ar-raḥmān	the Entirely Merciful
ٱلرَّحِيمِ	ar-raḥīm	the Especially Merciful
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ	al-ḥamdu	all praise
لِلَّهِ	lillāhi	is for Allah
رَبِّ	rabbi	Lord
ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ	al-ʿālamīn	of the worlds
مَٰلِكِ	māliki	Owner
يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ	yawmid-dīn	of the Day of Recompense
إِيَّاكَ	iyyāka	You alone
نَعۡبُدُ	naʿbudu	we worship
نَسۡتَعِينُ	nastaʿīn	we ask for help
ٱهۡدِنَا	ihdinā	guide us
ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ	aṣ-ṣirāṭal-mustaqīm	the straight path
أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ	anʿamta ʿalayhim	You have favoured
ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ	al-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim	those who earned anger
ٱلضَّآلِّينَ	aḍ-ḍāllīn	those astray

Living by Surah Al-Fatiha

• Pause in your prayer. Give each verse a moment, knowing Allah answers it.
• Learn the meaning word by word. You say these words seventeen times a day or more. Knowing exactly what they mean changes every prayer.
• Ask for guidance as if you need it. You do, every day, however long you have been praying.
• Hold hope and fear together. Mercy in verse 3, judgement in verse 4.
• Recite it over the sick. It is a ruqyah, as the Companions found.

Open Surah Al-Fatiha to read and listen to it with its translation.