Tafsir Surat al-Fatiha li Ibn Rajab
- Author died
- 795 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Muḥaddith lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Tafsir Surat al-Fatiha (تفسير سورة الفاتحة, Exegesis of Surat al-Fatiha) is a specialized work of Quranic commentary by the Hanbali traditionist and jurist Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d. 795 AH / 1393 CE), dedicated to the exegesis, virtues, and legal rulings of the opening chapter of the Quran .
Title and Attribution
The author did not state an explicit title in the opening text, commencing simply with the heading "Section on the Exegesis of Surat al-Fatiha" (فصل في تفسير سورة الفاتحة) . On the flyleaf of the surviving manuscript, it is titled Tafsir al-Fatiha (تفسير الفاتحة) . Later Hanbali scholars listed and quoted the work under this title or variants thereof :
- Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Hadi mentioned in al-Jawhar al-munaddad that Ibn Rajab authored a one-volume work titled I'rab Umm al-Qur'an (إعراب أم القرآن, Grammatical Analysis of the Mother of the Quran), suggesting it might be the same treatise as al-Fatiha .
- Al-Mardawi cited Tafsir al-Fatiha in al-Insaf—in the chapters on prayer and marriage—and in his legal commentary al-Tahbir on issues concerning the Basmala .
- Ibn al-Najjar cited passages from it in Sharh al-Kawkab al-munir .
Manuscript and Survival
The work has survived in an incomplete state through a single manuscript preserved at Princeton University Library, consisting of twenty-three folios in a legible hand without a named copyist . An inscription on its title page records that it was transcribed from an exemplar salvaged from the destruction and fires that struck Damascus during the invasion of Timur Lang (Tamerlane), leaving parts damaged and burned . The manuscript contains internal gaps and ends abruptly at the beginning of the verse-by-verse commentary with a note stating that the remainder would follow .
Contents and Structure
The preserved portion consists of an extensive introductory framework divided into five distinct chapters (fusul), followed by the beginning of the verse analysis :
- Place of Revelation (mowdi' nuzuliha): Examines three opinions on whether the surah was revealed in Mecca, Medina, or both; Ibn Rajab defends the Meccan provenance using textual proofs from Surat al-Hijr and the historical establishment of the ritual prayer in Mecca .
- Verse, Word, and Letter Count ('adadiha): Establishes that the surah comprises seven verses according to consensus, dismissing anomalous counts (such as six or eight verses); he also counts twenty-five words and 113 letters .
- Names of the Surah (asmaniha): Discusses multiple transmitted names, including Fatihat al-Kitab (Opening of the Book), Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book), Umm al-Qur'an, al-Sab' al-Mathani (The Seven Oft-Repeated Verses), al-Qur'an al-'Azim, al-Salat (The Prayer), Ruqyat al-Haqq (The Ruqyah of Truth), Surat al-Hamd, and al-Shifa' (The Cure), analyzing their linguistic and theological significances .
- Virtues and Characteristics (fada'iliha wa-khasa'isiha): Gathers prophetic traditions regarding its status as the greatest chapter of the Quran and addresses the theological question of the relative superiority among different parts of the Quran (tafadul al-Qur'an) .
- Rulings (ahkamiha): Outlines the legal rulings associated with reciting the surah in prayer .
The surviving text concludes at the start of the commentary on the verse الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ .
Method
The treatise reflects Ibn Rajab's standard methodology: rigorous hadith criticism and selection following the early masters of hadith (a'immat al-hadith al-mutaqaddimin), close grounding in the transmitted statements of the early generations (al-salaf), and frequent citation of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya .
Publication
The text was edited from the Princeton manuscript by Sami ibn Muhammad ibn Jadallah and published by Dar al-Muhaddith (1427 AH / 2006 CE) .
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