Benefits of Surah al Fatihah (1)

Benefits of the Surah - 1

A man came to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam), embraced Islam then returned to his
people. On his way there were a group of men
who had with them a mad man in iron manacles.
The group said, that they heard that the travelers
friend (i.e. Prophet Muhammad) had something
good with him and so he exorcised the mad man
with Surah al Fatiha, and he was cured. As
reward they gave the traveler 100 sheep. He then
returned to the Prophet and narrated the story.
The Prophet asked if he did anything other than
recite al-Fatiha, he said no. So the Prophet said
that while these people make their livelihoods out
of false incantations (i.e. worshipping false idols)
the traveler earned the 100 sheep through
something lawful; so he could keep the sheep.
[Abu Dawud 3398/a]
Abu Sa’id Ar-Rafi’ bin Al-Mu`alla (radiAllahu
anhu) reported: The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) said, “Shall I teach you the
greatest Surah in the Qur’an before you leave the
mosque?” Then he (salAllahu alayhi wasalam),
took me by the hand, and when we were about to
step out, I reminded him of his promise to teach
me the greatest Surah in the Qur’an. He
(salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, “It is `Alhamdu
lillahi Rabbil Alamin (i.e., Surat Al-Fatihah) which
is As-Sab` Al-Mathani (i.e., the seven oft-
repeated Ayat) and the Great Qur’an which is
given to me.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) reported that
when Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam) asked Ubayy ibn Ka’ab (radiAllahu
anhu), “Do you want me to teach you a Surah the
like of which has not been revealed in the Torah,
the Injeel, the Zabur, nor the Qur’an?”, and also
asked what he recited in his prayers. He replied
Umm-ul Qur’an (Surah Fatihah) the Prophet
(salAllahu alayhi wasalam) proclaimed, ‘By Him in
whose dominion my soul is, nothing like it has
been revealed in the Torah, the Gospel, the
Psalms, or the Qur’an and it is seven of the oft-
repeated verses in the Mighty Qur’an which I
have been given’
[at-Tirmidhi, Al-Hakim says that this hadith is
Sahih on the conditions established by Imam
Muslim (Tafseer Mazhari 1:30)]
Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (radiAllahu anhu) reported
that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam) said ‘Rejoice in the two lights brought
to you which have not been brought to any
prophet before you’: al-Fatihah and the last
verses of Surah al-Baqarah (2: 2854), (said an
angel to the Prophet, blessings and peace be on
him)
[Muslim].
Ambari in his ‘Kitabur-Rad’ through his own
chain of narrators has mentioned from Mujahid
ibn Jabr (rahmatullahi alaih) that Iblees the
accursed of Allah Ta’ala lamented on four
occasions: first when he was cursed; secondly
when he was cast out of Heaven to the Earth;
thirdly when Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam) was given the Prophethood; fourthly
when Surah Fatihah was revealed and it was
revealed in Madinah.
Once the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was
traveling when he disembarked and began
walking alongside a companion. He asked him,
‘Shouldn’t I tell you the best part of the Qur’an?’
then he recited ‘Alhamdu lilahi rabil
alameen’ (Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds).
[Hakim 1/560; Dhahabi]
Abu Saeed al-Khudr’i narrates that while on a
journey we halted at a place. A girl came to us
and said: “The chief of this tribe has been stung
by a scorpion and our men are not present, is
there anybody amongst you who can recite
something upon him to treat him?” Then, one of
our men went along with her although we did not
think that he knew any such treatment. However,
our friend went to the chief and recited something
upon him and the chief was cured. Thereupon, the
chief gave him thirty sheep and gave us all milk
to drink. When he returned, we asked our friend:
“Did you know anything to recite upon him to
cure him?” He said: “No, I only recited Umm al-
Kitab (i.e. Surah al-Fatihah) upon him.” We said
that do not do anything until we reach Madinah
and ask the Prophet regarding this (practice and
reward-whether the sheep were lawful or not for
us). Upon reaching Madinah, we narrated this to
the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam),
whereupon he remarked: “How did he come to
know that Al-Fatihah can be used as a cure?
(Rasulullah said this in astonishment) Distribute
your reward amongst yourselves and allot a share
for me as well.
[Sahih al-Bukhari]
Ibn ‘Abbas said, “While Jibril (alayhis salam) was
sitting with the Prophet, he heard a sound above
him and raised his head. He said, ‘This is a door
of heaven which has been opened today and
which has never been opened before today. An
angel descended from it.’ He said, ‘This is an
angel who has descended to earth who has never
descended before today.’ He gave the greeting
and said, ‘Give the good news of two lights which
you have been given and which no Prophet before
you was given: the Fatiha of the Book and the
end of Surah al-Baqarah (2). You will not recite a
letter of them without being given it.’”
[Muslim, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam an-Nawawi]
Abu Sulaiman says that once a group of
Companions were in an expedition (ghazwa)
when they happened to come across an epileptic
person, who was unconscious. One of the
Companions recited Surah Al-Fatiha and blew in
his ear. The epileptic person immediately cured.
When Sayyidana Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi
wasalam) was informed of this, he said: “It
(Surah Al-Fatiha) is “The Mother of the
Qur’an” (Umm al-Qur’an) and is a cure for every
disease.”
[This narration has been recorded by Ath-Thua’lbi
from Abu Sulaiman, who narrated it from
Muawiya bin Saleh (radhi Allah anhu), Tafseer
Mazhari 1:31]
Sa’ib (radhi Allah anhu) bin Yazeed says that
Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) recited
Surah Al-Fatihah and blew it on me. To safeguard
me against calamities, Rasulullah (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) recited this Surah and put his
blessed saliva in my mouth.
[At-Tabraani narrated this tradition in ‘Al-Awsat’,
Tafseer Mazhari 1:31]
Anas (radhi Allah anhu) said: “When you recite
Surah Al-Fatihah and Surah Al-Ikhlas upon lying
on your bed, you will be safeguarded and should
become fearless of every thing except death.”
[Narrated by Baraa’, Tafseer Mazhari 1:31]
The Prophet said, ‘Whoever mastered the first
seven (chapters or verses) from the Qur’an is a
pontiff’.
[Hakim 1/564; Dhahabi]
The Prophet said, ‘The mother of the Qur’an are
the seven oft repeated verses’
[Bukhari 4704]
It is narrated from Jabir (radhi Allah anhu) that
Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said: “O
Jabir, shall I inform you about the best Surah
revealed in the Qur’an?” Jabir said: “O Messenger
of Allah, please inform me.” Rasulullah (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) said: “It is Fatiha tul Kitab.”
Jabir adds: “And I think that Rasulullah (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) said that Al-Fatiha is a cure for
every diseases.” Jabir is also reported to have
said: “Fatiha tul Kitab is a medicine for every
disease except death.”
[Recorded by Al-Khal’i in his Fawa’id, Tafseer
Mazhari 1:30]
The Prophet said, ‘In the Fatiha of the Qur’an,
there is a cure for all maladies(illnesses)’
[Darimi 3236, also narrated by Ad-Darmi in his
Al-Masnad and Al-Bayhaqi in Shu’bul Imaan,
Tafseer Mazhari 1:30]
Surah Al-Fatihah is equivalent to two thirds of the
Qur’an
[Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Haakim, Tafseer Mazhari
1:31]