أعوذبِاللَّـهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
[I Seek refuge in ALLAH from Shaitan - the accursed one]
بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
[In The Name of ALLAH, The MOST GRACIOUS - THE MOST MERCIFUL]
This Surah is called Al-Fatihah, that is, the Opener of the Book, the Surah with which prayers are begun. It is also called, Umm Al-Kitab (the Mother of the Book), according to the majority of the scholars. In an authentic Hadith recorded by At-Tirmidhi, who graded it Sahih, Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
Al-Hamdu lillahi Rabbil-`Alamin is the Mother of the Qur'an, the Mother of the Book, and the seven repeated Ayat of the Glorious Qur'an.
|The Reason it is called Umm Al-Kitab(Umm Al-Quran):|
It is also called Al-Hamd and As-Salah, because the Prophet said that his Lord said,
`The prayer (i.e., Al-Fatihah) is divided into two halves between Me and My servants.' When the servant says, `All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of existence,' Allah says, 'My servant has praised Me.'
Al-Fatihah was called the Salah, because reciting it is a condition for the correctness of Salah - the prayer. Al-Fatihah was also called Ash-Shifa' (the Cure).
It is also called Ar-Ruqyah (remedy), since in the Sahih, there is the narration of Abu Sa`id telling the the story of the Companion who used Al-Fatihah as a remedy for the tribal chief who was poisoned. Later, the Messenger of Allah said to a Companion,
"How did you know that it is a Ruqyah?"