Fatiha

FATIHA. - In Arabic "the opening," "the initial." It is the first chapter (sûrah) of the Quran, and the only one that makes an exception to the general criterion according to which the sûrahs of the sacred book are ordered, that is, that of length (the longest at the beginning, the shortest at the end).

In fact the f. is composed of only 7 verses: it has the form of a brief prayer. It is rather ancient (second Meccan period), if not, as some believe, the oldest sûrah of the Quran. It could be called the Muslim Pater noster, because it is recited very often, both as a single prayer and as part of the canonical prayer. Here is an integral translation of it: "Praise to God, Lord of the worlds, merciful and element, master of the day of Judgment. To you we adhere, to you we invoke help; guide us on the right path, the path of those whom you have favored, with whom you are not angry and who have not lost the way." Alessandro Banzani