Sūrah al-Fātiḥah is also named the Mother of the Qurān and it precisely summarizes the whole of the Qurān:
- Sūrah al-Fātiḥah includes affirmation of Tawhid in all of its various categories
- Tawhid ar-Rububbiyyah: Meaning Oneness of Allah’s Lordship, contained in His saying, “Lord of the Worlds”.
(مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ) - Tawhid al-Ibadah: Meaning Oneness of Allah’s Worship in that all worship is to be done sincerely for His sake Alone. contained in His saying “You Alone we worship and Your aid Alone we seek.”
(إِيَّاك نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ) - Tawhid al-Asma’ wa-s-Sifat: Meaning the Oneness of Allah’s Names and Attributes in that they are perfect and unique to Him, contained in His saying, “All praise and Thanks are due to Allah”.
(الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ)
- Tawhid ar-Rububbiyyah: Meaning Oneness of Allah’s Lordship, contained in His saying, “Lord of the Worlds”.
- It teaches us to praise and glorify Allah by mentioning His beautiful and perfect Names and Attributes.
- It teaches us about His mercy and His justice.
- It teaches us about Day of Judgment and about the recompense of our deeds.
- It teaches us that the recompense will be established upon perfect justice.
- It encourages one to perform righteous actions and discourages one from performing sins.
- It teaches us to ask of Allah Alone, to humble ourselves before Him and worship Him Alone and to put our trust and reliance (tawakkul) in Him Alone.
- It teaches us to ask Allah continuously for guidance to the Straight Path (Sirata -l-mustaqeem).
- It points us towards the nations of the past and warns us against failing into the same acts of transgression (sin) and misguidance that they were guilty of.
- It teaches us to aspire to the company of the sincerely truthful, the martyrs and the righteous.
- It teaches that there is nothing in the Quran that would give aid to or encourage [religious] innovation (Bid’ah). Hence, never will the innovator be able to find evidence for his misguidance in the Quran.
Sūrah al-Fātiḥah is a supplication (dua) that Allah teaches us to say with the purpose of attaining right guidance in this life and then next. Its place at the beginning of the Quran signifies that we are supposed to read the Book with the aim of discovering right guidance and following it. As such this opening Surah is like an introduction and summary of Quran, its relationship is that of petition and response. Man ask for right guidance, and the rest of the Quran is the answer to that request.
Taken from Abu Rumaysah’s The Spiritual Cure : An Explanation of Surat Al Fatiha (2006), (pg. 192-194). UK: Al-Hidaayah Publishing.