page_title: Al-Fatiha
hierarchical_section_title: Al-Fatiha
caption_attribution_description: English: Dimensions of Written Surface: 15.4 (w) x 15.5 (h) cm Script: naskh This Qur'anic fragment contains the first chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Fatihah (The Opening). Recited at the very beginning of the Qur'an, this surah proclaims God as Gracious and Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgment, and the Leader of the straight path. The illuminated upper and lower panels contain a text, outlined in gold ink to let the plain folio show through, stating that this surah is the opening of the Holy Book (Fatihat al-Kitab al-'Aziz) and contains seven ayahs revealed in Mecca. These illuminated cartouches contain gold vine and flower motifs interlacing on a blue background. In the right margin appear two gold and blue decorative roundels and one semi-roundel in the center. The text itself is written in the cursive script called naskh, and each verse is separated by an ayah marker consisting of a gold six-petalled rosette with blue and red dots on its perimeter. Both the script and the illumination are typical of Qur'ans produced in Mamluk Egypt during the 14th and 15th centuries. Above the first two ayah markers on the first line of text immediately after the initiatory bismillah appears the word la ("no") in red ink, indicating that the reciter must not stop at the places indicated. Finally, this fragment is particular in several ways: there are four extra verse markers at the very end of the surah, a mistake that has been rectified partially by the addition of the exclamatory, terminal praise amin ("Amen") between the last correct verse marker and the first additional marker. The spaces between the last three verse markers on the lowermost line remain empty.
context_page_description: Al-Fātiḥah is the first chapter of the Quran. Its seven verses are a prayer for the guidance, lordship, and mercy of God. This chapter has an essential role in Islamic prayer. The primary literal meaning of the expression "al-Fātiḥah" is "The Opener," which could refer to this Surah being "the opener of the Book", to its being the first Surah recited in full in every prayer cycle, or to the manner in which it serves as an opening for many functions in everyday Islamic life. Some Muslims interpret it as a reference to an implied ability of the Surah to open a person to faith in God.
context_section_description: Al-Fātiḥah (Arabic: الْفَاتِحَة‎, The Opening or The Opener. George Sale translates simply as The Preface, or Introduction) is the first chapter (sūrah) of the Quran. Its seven verses (āyāt) are a prayer for the guidance, lordship, and mercy of God. This chapter has an essential role in Islamic prayer (salāt). The primary literal meaning of the expression "al-Fātiḥah" is "The Opener," which could refer to this Surah being "the opener of the Book" (Fātiḥat al-kitāb), to its being the first Surah recited in full in every prayer cycle (rakʿah), or to the manner in which it serves as an opening for many functions in everyday Islamic life. Some Muslims interpret it as a reference to an implied ability of the Surah to open a person to faith in God.
caption: A 14th- or 15th-century manuscript of the chapter
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