Adapted from Tafsir Ibn Ashur

Themes and Purpose:

Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, also known as the "Source of the Book," serves as a preface to the Quran that gathers its core purposes into a single prayer. It establishes Allah's praise and attributes, affirms His exclusive right to be worshiped and relied upon, and culminates in a plea to God for guidance to the Straight Pathwhich stands in stark contrast with the paths of those who went astray.

Context of Revelation:

Era: This surah is Makkan according to the vast majority of scholars.

Time: It was revealed very early, after al-ʿAlaq (no. 96) and al-Muddaththir (no. 74). It has been said that it was the first surah to be revealed in full. Some scholars have determined that it  was revealed when prayer (ṣalāh) was first instituted. It was placed first in the Quran by prophetic command to serve as the preface to the Book.

Name and Ayah Count:

Name: The surah has over twenty names by which it is known, but three names in particular are found in authentic ḥadīths:

1. Fātiḥat al-Kitāb (The Opener of the Book): Its most famous name, established by the ḥadīth, "There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opener of the Book."The surah is called the “Opener” because, by prophetic instruction, it was placed at the head of the Quran as its opening chapter. It does not mean that it was the first to be revealed.
2. Umm al-Qur’ān (The Source of the Quran): This name also appears in authentic ḥadīths, such as: “Every prayer in which Umm al-Qur’ān is not recited is defective.” The word umm signifies an origin, foundation, or source. The surah is called Umm al-Qur’ān because: it stands at the beginning of the Quran Secondly, because it gathers within itself the roots of the Quran’s purposes and themes: comprehensive praise of Allah and affirmation of His oneness and the Hereafter, the core of commands and prohibitions in “You alone we worship,” and promise of reward and punishment in “the path of those You have blessed, not of those who incurred anger nor of those who went astray”. Thirdly, because it alludes to the full range of Quranic knowledge and guidance in creed, wisdom, stories, law, and ethics. Recited in every rakʿah, it continually renews the servant’s awareness of these overarching aims and urges them to seek their detailed elaboration in the rest of the Book.
3. Al-Sabʿ al-Mathānī (The Seven Oft-Repeated Ayahs): It has been named such because it consists of seven ayahs and is recited in every single unit of prayer.

Ayah Count: The surah consists of seven ayahs by agreement of the reciters and exegetes. In the Madinan enumeration, the Basmalah is not counted as a verse, and anʿamta ʿalayhim marks the end of a distinct verse. In the Makkan and Kufan enumeration, the Basmalah is counted as a verse, and anʿamta ʿalayhim is counted as part of a verse, not the end of one.

It has been reported that al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī held that it comprises eight ayahs, counting both the Basmalah and anʿamta ʿalayhim as independent ayahs. It has also been reported from others that it consists of six or even nine ayahs. These, however, are anomalous views and have not been accepted as valid by the scholarly community of reciters and exegetes.

Surah Overview:

• Theology and Praise: Establishing the praise of Allah, His attributes of perfection, His Lordship over creation, His mercy which manifests in His legislation, and His absolute sovereignty over the Day of Judgment. [2-4]
• Worship and Law (Sharīʿah): Summarized in “You alone we worship”, which encompasses all acts of devotion and law. [5]
• Spiritual Sincerity (Ḥaqīqah): Summarized in “You alone we ask for help”, which is the foundation of true faith and trust in Allah. [5]
• Guidance and Ethics: The comprehensive prayer “Guide us to the Straight Path”, which covers sound belief, worship, character, and worldly transactions. [6]
• History and Stories: The contrast between “The path of those You blessed” and “Those who earned anger or went astray” alludes to the stories of past nations, both the righteous and the misguided. [7]

Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

Name

This Surah is named Al-Fatihah because of its subject matter. Fatihah is that which opens a subject or a book or any other thing. In other words, Al-Fatihah is a sort of preface.

Period of Revelation

Surah Al-Fatihah is one of the very earliest Revelations to the Holy Prophet. As a matter of fact, we learn from authentic traditions that it was the first complete Surah that was revealed to Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him). Before this, only a few miscellaneous verses were revealed which form parts of Alaq, Muzzammil, Muddaththir, etc.

Theme

This Surah is in fact a prayer that Allah has taught to all those who want to make a study of His book. It has been placed at the very beginning of the Quran to teach this lesson to the reader: if you sincerely want to benefit from the Quran, you should offer this prayer to the Lord of the Universe.

This preface is meant to create a strong desire in the heart of the reader to seek guidance from the Lord of the Universe Who alone can grant it. Thus Al-Fatihah indirectly teaches that the best thing for a man is to pray for guidance to the straight path, to study the Quran with the mental attitude of a seeker searching for the truth, and to recognize the fact that the Lord of the Universe is the source of all knowledge. He should, therefore, begin the study of the Quran with a prayer to Him for guidance.

From this theme, it becomes clear that the real relation between Al-Fatihah and the Quran is not that of an introduction to a book but that of a prayer and its answer. Al-Fatihah is the prayer from the servant and the Quran is the answer from the Master to the servant's prayer. The servant prays to Allah to show him guidance and the Master places the whole of the Quran before him in answer to his prayer, as if to say, "This is the Guidance you begged from Me."