RationalWiki:Annotated Quran/Al-Fatihah

A prayer of praise to Allah

1:1

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
(1:1) This is obviously a prayer to Allah of praise. Did Allah inspire Muhammad to praise him? This verse says that Allah is "beneficent, merciful." Is Allah good to unbelievers?

1:2

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
(1:2) Praise only Allah and no one else. Allah is the absolute rulers of the worlds. By "Worlds," does Muhammad mean the physical world and the spiritual world, or does he mean there are other planets like Earth with sentient beings?

1:3

The Beneficent, the Merciful.
(1:3) Is he good to unbelievers? And if this is truly inspired by Allah or His angel, why does he need to repeat that he is "Beneficent" and "Merciful"?

1:4

Master of the Day of Judgment.
(1:4) Allah is the person, being, entity(?) who calls to account the deeds of the righteous and the wicked and gives either reward or punishment. When is this "Day of Judgment"?

1:5

Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.
(1:5) written by the scribes of Muhammad; We are subject to Allah and should request help from Him.

1:6

Keep us on the right path.
Compel us to continue to worship you; make us remain Muslims.

1:7

The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray.
"The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors" refers to the Muslims. "Those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down" are probably the Jews who have suffered at the hands of the Palestinians and several other peoples, the polytheists, and the atheists. "Those who go astray" are most likely the Christians.
(6-7) Compel us to worship you as Muslims, not to apostatize to Judaism or Christians, become polytheists, or cease to believe in you.

Sources

Shakir, from quran.com (6/11/2014, 4:44 pm)