THE VIRTUES OF SURAH FATIHAH

Hadhrat ‘Abdul Malik bin Umair (Radhiyallaho anho) Reports that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said, “In surah Fatihah there is a cure for all ailments.”

The virtues of surah Fatlhah are found in many ahadith. It is reported in one hadith that a Sahabi was offering nafl salaat, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam called him, but since he was offering salaat he did not respond. After completing the salaat he went to Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam who asked him why he did not respond as soon as he was called. He submitted that he could not do so because he was offering salaat. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam asked if he did not read the following verse in Qur’an:

“Respond to the call of Allah and His Messenger whenever they call you.”

The greatest surah in the Quran

Then Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said, “I shall tell you of a surah which is the greatest, the most virtuous in the Holy Qur’an. It is surah AI-Hamd (The first surah of the Qur’an), which has seven aayaat. These are the ‘Sab’ul Mathaani’ and represent the Grand Qur’an.” It is said by some Sufia that whatever there was in the earlier Divine Books is condensed in the Glorious Qur’an, and the contents of Qur’an are condensed into ‘surah Fatihah; and that which is in surah Fatihah is found in Bismillaah and that which is in Bismilaah is to be found in its first letter … (ba). It is explained that … (ba) is a co-ordinating conjunction and stands for uniting. Surely the ultimate aim is to effect union of a devotee with Almighty Allah.

Some ‘Sufia’ have gone still further and have said that whatever there is in … (ba) is to be found in its dot, which signifies the Unity of Allah-a thing which is indivisible as a dot…

Some scholars are reported to have said that the verse­

“We worship Thee and we seek Thy help”,

is prayer for fulfilment of all our objectives, both worldly and spiritual. According to another hadith, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam is reported to have said, “By Him Who is in possession of my life, a surah like this one has neither been revealed in the Torah nor in the Bible, nor in the Psalms, nor even in the rest of the Qur’an.

A cure for all maladies

The Mashaa’ikh have stated that the reading of surah Fatihah with firm belief and faith cures all maladies, whether spiritual or worldly, external or internal. To use its writing as an amulet, and also licking its writing is useful in the treatment of diseases. It occurs in Sihaah (the six authentic books of Hadith) that the Sahabah used to read surah Fatihah and blow upon those bitten by a snake or a scorpion, and even on the epileptic and on the mentally deranged. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam had also approved of this.

Read it before you sleep

There is another riwaayat to’ the effect that Rasulullah (Sallallaho· alaihe wasallam) recited this surah and blew on Saa’ib bin Yazeed and applied his saliva on the spot (where some pain was felt by the latter). According to another hadith, it is said that if, at the time of going to sleep, one reads surah Fatihah and surah Ikhlaas and blows on himself he will be immune from all dangers except death…

According to one riwaayat, surah Fatihah is equivalent  to two-thirds of the Qur’an in reward. It is also reported that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam has said, “I have. been given four things from the special treasure of the Arsh, from which nothing has ever been given to anyone before. These are surah Fatihah, Aayatul Kursi, the concluding ayaat of surah Baqarah and Surah Kowthar.” Hadhrat Hasan Basri (Rahmatullah alaih) reports the saying of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam that whoever reads surah Fatihah is like one who reads the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and the Glorious Qur’an.

It is reported in one hadith that the devil lamented, wept and threw dust on his head on four occasions; first when he was cursed; secondly when he was cast out of Heaven unto the earth; thirdly when Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) was given the Nubuwwat and fourthly when surah Fatihah was revealed.

A cure for pain

It is reported from Sha’bi (Rahmatullah alaih) that once a man came to him and complained of pain in his kidney. Sha’bi (Rahmathulla alaih) advised him to read Asaasul Qur’an (the foundation or the QUr’an) and blow on the aching spot. When he inquired what was meant by “Asaasul Qur’an,” Sha’bi replied, “Surah Fatihah.”

It is written in the established practices of the mashaa’ikh that surah Fatihah is the Isme A’zam (The Most Glorious Name of Allah, and it, should be read for the achievement of all our objectives. There are two ways of reading it:

One method is to read this surah forty-one times for forty days in the interval between the sunnat and fardh rak’aats of the Fajr salaat. The meem of Bismillaahir rahmaanir raheem should be read jointly with the laam of Alhamdu liIlaahi. Whatever the ob jective may be, it will, insha-Allah (if Allah wills), be ful filled. In the treatment of a patient or of one who is bewitched, it should be recited and blown on water to be used for drinking.

The second method is to read it seventy times between the sunnat and the fardh rak’aat of the Fajr salaat on the first Sunday of a new moon, after which the number is reduced by ten every day until the course ends with a reading of ten times on the seventh day. Then this weekly course should be repeated, so as to complete four weeks. If the purpose is achieved at the end of the first month, well and good, otherwise this course should be repeated for the second, and, if necessary, for the third month.

Treatment of chronic diseases

The surah is also written with water of roses, musk and saffron, on a porcelain dish, then the writing is washed off and the wash-water is given to the patient for drinking for forty days. This is a sure treatment of chronic diseases. To read it seven times and then blow on the patient is similarly an accepted treatment for toothache, headache and pain in the stomach.

Illumination on the Day of Judgment

All these points have been briefly quoted from the book ‘ Mazahir-e-Haq’ Muslim Sharif contains a hadith in which Ibn ‘Abbas (Radhiyallaho anho) narrates that once Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam was sitting among us and said, “In Heaven” a door ” has been opened today which was never opened before, and out of it has descended an angel who had never descended before. The angel said to me, “Receive the good news of two ‘anwaar’ which have not been bestowed upon anyone else before. One is surah Fatihah and the other is the concluding portion of surah Baqarah i.e. its last ‘ruku’ (section of the Qur’an)” These two surahs have been called ‘noor’, because on the Day of Judgement these will travel in front of their readers (illuminating their path).

Source: Fazaail e A’maal