Ali Quli Qarai, The Qur’ān with a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation (2005)
1. Sūrat al-Fātiḥah 1
1 In the Name of Allah,
the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.
2 All praise belongs to Allah,2
Lord of all the worlds,
3 the All-beneficent, the All-merciful,
4 Master 3 of the Day of Retribution.
5 You [alone] do we worship,
and to You [alone] do we turn for help.
6 Guide us on the straight path,
7 the path of those whom You have blessed 4
— such as 5 have not incurred Your wrath,6
nor are astray.6
1 That is, ‘the opening’ sūrah. Another common name of the sūrah is ‘Sūrat al- Ḥamd,’ that is, the sūrah of the [Lord’s] praise.
2 In Muslim parlance the phrase al-ḥamdu lillāh also signifies ‘thanks to Allah.’
3 This is in accordance with the reading mālik yawm al-dīn, adopted by ‘Āṣim, al-Kisā’ī, Ya‘qūb al-Ḥaḍramī, and Khalaf. Other authorities of qirā’ah (the art of recitation of the Qur’ān) have read ‘malik yawm al-dīn,’ meaning ‘Sovereign of the Day of Retribution’ (see Mu‘jam al-Qirā’āt al-Qur’āniyyah). Traditions ascribe both readings to Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq (‘a). See al-Qummī, al-‘Ayyāshī, Tafsīr al-Imām al-‘Askarī.
4 For further Qur’ānic references to ‘those whom Allah has blessed,’ see 4:69 and 19:58; see also 5:23, 110; 12:6; 27:19; 28:17; 43:59; 48:2.
5 This is in accordance with the qirā’ah of ‘Āṣim, ghayril-maghḍūbi, which appears in the Arabic text above. However, in accordance with an alternative, and perhaps preferable, reading ghayral-maghḍūbi (attributed to Imam ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib (‘a) as well as to Ibn Mas‘ūd and Ubayy b. Ka‘b among the Companions, and to Ibn Kathīr al-Makkī, among the seven authorities of qirā’ah), the translation will be: ‘not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor those who are astray.’ (see Mu‘jam al-Qirā’āt al-Qur’āniyyah)
6 For further references to ‘those who incur Allah’s wrath,’ see 4:93; 5:60; 7:71, 152; 8:16; 16:106; 20:81; 42:16; 48:6; 58:14; 60:13.
7 For further references to ‘those who are astray,’ see 2:108, 175; 3:90; 4:116, 136, 167; 5:12, 60, 77; 6:74, 77, 125, 140; 7:30, 179; 14:3, 18, 27; 15:56; 17:72, 97; 19:38; 22:4, 12; 23:106; 25:44; 28:50; 31:11; 33:36, 67; 34:8; 36:47; 38:26; 39:22; 40: 34; 41:52; 42:18; 45:23; 46:5, 32; 60:1.
