Page 50 - World Religions I - Islam

The Most Important Chapter
Far and away the most important surah in the life of a practicing Muslim is the first surah, called appropriately the Fatiha
("the opening one"). While in the formal Arabic language the surah is called Fatiha, in the common spoken tongue it is
generally pronounced Fatha.

• The Fatiha contains only seven verses which focus first on the praise of Allah, followed by a petition for his clear
guidance.
o As the first surah with only seven verses, it stands in stark contrast to the general organizational rule of
placing surahs from longest to shortest.
o Its seven verses along with its content lend itself to alternate titles such as "The Seven Recitals" and
"Chapter of Praise."
• Muhammad is said to have called the Fatiha "exalted reading," classifying it as the greatest chapter in the Qur'an and
dearer to him than all the treasures of the world. According to the Hadith of Al-Bukhari (6:60:002), Muhammad
enjoined his followers to say amin following the recitation of the Fatiha, with the promise that if their amens
coincided with that of the angels, all their past sins would be forgiven.
• The Fatiha is known as Umm al-Qur'an ("Mother of the Qur'an")13 because of its central place in the required five
daily prayers, as well as its popular recitation over the sick to bring healing and over the dead as a means of
seeking God's final mercy for them.
• The Fatiha is unique from the rest of the Qur'an in that it is a prayer directly addressed to Allah, while the rest of the
Qur'an claims to be Allah's address to Muhammad, to the Muslim community, or to the human race at large.
o Because of this peculiar nature, some scholars argue that the Fatiha was not originally included in the
Qur'an, but rather a prayer composed to be placed at the head of the assembled volume, to be recited
before reading the book.14
 The codex of Ibn Mas'ud did not include the Fatiha.15 When asked why he did not include the
Fatiha in his codex, Ibn Mas'ud answered that if he had included it he would have put it in front
of every surah. This statement shows that he considered it to be a liturgical piece to be recited
before reading the Qur'an.
 The oldest commentaries began with Surah 2 (Al Baqarah).16

The Chapter of Purity
Next in importance to the Fatiha is Surah 112, the Chapter of Purity (Al- Ikhlas).
• "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, the Absolute; He does not beget, nor is He begotten; And
there is none like unto Him." - Al-Ikhlas ("Purity" or "Fidelity") 112 Surah 112 is used regularly in anti-Christian Islamic
literature and is well-known throughout
• the Muslim world. It is a favorite among calligraphers as a means to showcase their talents.
o This chapter emphasizes the uniqueness and unity of the nature of God (known as tawheed) and serves
as both a
• polemic against both paganism ("There is none like unto Him") and Christianity ("He does not beget, nor is He
begotten").
o According to Hadith traditions, Muhammad held such a high estimation of the Surah of Purity that he
likened its recitation as equivalent to the recitation of one-third of the whole Qur'an. 17 18

The Heart of the Qur'an
Another chapter highly esteemed by Muhammad is Surah 36, Ya-Sin.
• Muhammad is said to have declared concerning this surah, "Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Qur'an is
the chapter Ya-Sin. Everyone who reads it, for him God will write rewards equal to those garnered for reading
the Qur'an ten times."19 On another occasion, upon hearing a follower recite Ya-Sin, Muhammad announced
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