سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ
Surah Al-Fatihah (The Opening) – Arabic, Translation & Audio
Surah Al-Fatihah is the 1st surah (chapter) of the Quran. Its name means “The Opening”. It has 7 ayahs (verses), is a Meccan surah (revealed in Makkah) and is found in Juz 1 of the Quran. Below you can read the full Arabic text with English translation and transliteration, and listen to each ayah.
| Surah number | 1 of 114 |
|---|---|
| Arabic name | الفاتحة |
| English meaning | The Opening |
| Number of ayahs | 7 |
| Revelation | Meccan (Makkah) |
| Order of revelation | 5 (traditional chronology) |
| Juz (part) | 1 |
| Mushaf pages | 1 (604-page Madinah mushaf) |
| Verses of prostration | None |
| Begins with Bismillah | Yes – counted as ayah 1 |
About Surah Al-Fatihah
Al-Fatihah, "The Opening", is the first surah of the Quran and the one Muslims recite most often: it is read in every unit (rak‘ah) of every prayer. Its seven verses praise Allah as Lord of all the worlds, the Entirely Merciful and the Master of the Day of Judgment, then turn to a direct address — "It is You we worship and You we ask for help" — and end with a request for guidance to the straight path.
It is also known as Umm al-Kitab (the Mother of the Book) and as-Sab‘ al-Mathani (the seven oft-repeated verses), a phrase that appears in Surah Al-Hijr 15:87. In Al-Fatihah the Bismillah is counted as the first verse; in this numbering the surah has seven verses.
In the hadith
- The Prophet ﷺ said that there is no prayer for a person who does not recite the Opening of the Book. (Sahih al-Bukhari 756; Sahih Muslim 394)
- He described it as the greatest surah in the Quran, "the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Quran" that he was given. (Sahih al-Bukhari 4474)
- In a hadith qudsi, Allah says He has divided the prayer between Himself and His servant into two halves, and answers each verse of Al-Fatihah as it is recited. (Sahih Muslim 395)
Read Surah Al-Fatihah in Arabic with English translation
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴿١﴾
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٢﴾
Alhamdu lillaahi Rabbil 'aalameen
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴿٣﴾
Ar-Rahmaanir-Raheem
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
مَٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ ﴿٤﴾
Maaliki Yawmid-Deen
Master of the Day of Judgment,
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ﴿٥﴾
Iyyaaka na'budu wa lyyaaka nasta'een
Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ ﴿٦﴾
Ihdinas-Siraatal-Mustaqeem
Show us the straight path,
صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ﴿٧﴾
Siraatal-lazeena an'amta 'alaihim ghayril-maghdoobi 'alaihim wa lad-daaalleen
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
Arabic text: Uthmani script (Tanzil). English translation: Marmaduke Pickthall (1930, public domain). Transliteration: English transliteration from the Al Quran Cloud API, in a simple English spelling (it writes the Arabic letter dhal as “z”, while the duas on this site write it as “dh”). Audio: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. A translation conveys the meaning of the Quran; it is not the Quran itself.
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