The Opening of Sūrat Fāṭir: Praise, the Originating, and the Completion of Blessing

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 7 October 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Sūrat Fāṭir, and what will make you know what Sūrat Fāṭir is! Every verse of it needs pauses.

Surahs that open with praise

Reflect that in the Qur'an there are five surahs that open with "Praise be to Allah": al-Fātiḥa, al-Anʿām, al-Kahf, Sabaʾ and Fāṭir. In al-Fātiḥa: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ ("Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds"). And in al-Anʿām there is praise of Allah who created the heavens and the earth.^[1] And in al-Kahf: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ﴾ ("Praise be to Allah, who has sent down upon His servant the Book").^[2] Then we find ourselves before Sabaʾ and Fāṭir. In Sabaʾ: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ﴾ ("Praise be to Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and to Him belongs praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware"), so He, glory be to Him, is the owner of all dominion, and people may imagine that they hold ownership in this world. Then comes Fāṭir: How do we properly understand this opening?

Originating and creating

﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا…﴾ ("Praise be to Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, who makes the angels messengers…").^[3] Creation (khalq) is determination, and it is the beginning and the first bringing of things into being, that is, bringing into being from nothing. But the manifestation of this bringing into being perhaps needed something additional, and that is this "originating" (faṭr). So the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, created, prepared and formed, but people's perception of what Allah, blessed and exalted, created is another matter. And he gave an example of this from construction: no one feels anything until, when work begins and some building stands, you say: Add the sign, for it is the sign that identifies what stands there.^[4] So it is as though my perception of my existence in life as one who acts in it comes in agreement with my perception of the descents of revelation that descend from the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, the Exalted. And the discussion of the matter is long, but in brief: in Sūrat Fāṭir is the obligation of praising Allah.

Remember the blessing of Allah

Then He, glory be to Him, says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ﴾ ("O mankind, remember the favor of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? There is no god but Him, so how are you deluded?").^[5] Remember the blessing of Allah upon you: praise be to Allah for the blessing. For while pain and illness are absent you do not feel the blessing, like those who go out every morning and see the sun and perhaps complain of it, and do not realize the effect of the blessing of Allah, blessed and exalted, in it.

And the wise person is the one who weighs the sum of the blessings Allah has given him. For many a person is lacking in money yet abundant in the blessing of children, and many a person is without health yet blazing in intelligence, and many a person cannot advise others but can pray for others, and so on. So the matter was completed: the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, the Exalted, gave every person this "package" of blessings from which no part is lacking, so whatever conditions follow one another upon us, we are in the most complete state at every moment.

I will not prolong this for you. I ask Allah, glory be to Him, the Exalted, to bless us and you, and to preserve for you wellbeing, security and safety. O Allah, amen, O Lord, may Allah reward you with good, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The verse was not recited clearly in the transcript (the wording «والنور» is garbled), so it has not been recorded here; what is meant is the opening of Sūrat al-Anʿām [al-Anʿām: 1]. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The speaker recited up to his words "the Book"; the rest of the verse is ﴿وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجًا﴾ [al-Kahf: 1] ("and has not made therein any crookedness"), and he did not utter it. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: [Fāṭir: 1]; the speaker recited up to "messengers," and the rest of the verse is ﴿أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ…﴾ ("having wings…"), which he did not mention. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: The example of the building and the sign was taken from a garbled English passage in the transcript, and it did not become entirely clear; so only its general meaning has been kept. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: [Fāṭir: 3]; the speaker mentioned the verse in its scattered segments.