118 - The special merit of the Opening surah, al-Fātiḥah

1. I was praying in the mosque when God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) called me, but I did not answer him.  

2. I said: ‘Messenger of God, I was praying’.  

3. He said: ‘Has God not said: “Believers, respond to the call of God and the Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life?”’ (8: 24)  

4. He then said to me: ‘Before you leave the mosque, I shall teach you a surah, which is the greatest surah in the Qur’an’.  

5. He then took me by the hand. When he was about to go out, I said to him: ‘Have you not said: I shall teach you a surah, which is the greatest surah in the Qur’an’.  

6. He said: ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds (1: 2) It is the seven oft-repeated verses and the sublime Qur’an I have been given’.