Surah Fatiha 001 | Meaning in English سورة الفاتحة
Surah Al Fatiha English Meaning

Surah Al-Fatiha is narrated in the Hadith to have been divided into two halves between God and His servant (the person reciting), the first three verses being His half and last three being the servant's. There is disagreement as to whether the Bismillah is the first verse of the surah, or even a verse in the first place. The chapter begins by praising God with the phrase Alhamdulillah, and stating that it is God who has full authority over all creations (verse 1/2),that He is Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim or the Most Gracious and Most Merciful (verse 2/3), and that He is and will be the true owner of everything and everyone on the Day of Judgement (verse 3/4).

The final three verses, which comprise the servant's half, begin with the servant stating that they worship and seek only God's help (verse 4/5), asking Him to guide them to the Sirat al-Mustaqim (the Straight Path) of those who God has been bountiful to, and not of those who have earned His anger (verses 5-6/6-7).

Some Muslim commentators believe Jews and Christians are examples of those evoking God's anger and those who went astray, respectively Others view this as an exclusive condemnation of all Jews and Christians from all times. The Noble Quran (Hilali–Khan), which is said to be the most widely disseminated Quran in most Islamic bookstores and Sunni mosques throughout the English-speaking world, defines the two groups as Jews and Christians respectively.

Other Muslim commentators have not interpreted these verses as referring exclusively to a specific group of people, but instead interpret these in the more general sense.