It is named Al-Fatihah, the Opening - because it opens the Book and by it the recitation in prayer commences.
It is also named Umm al-Qur'an, the Mother of the Qur'an, and Umm al-Kitab, the Mother of the Book, according to the opinion of the majority. This was mentioned by Anas, however Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin disliked this appellation reasoning that this was the most fitting description for the Preserved Tablet. Al-Hasan also said that the unequivocal verses of the Qur'an comprised the Mother of the Book. However, it is established in Sahih At-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "[The chapter commencing with] 'All praises and thanks are due to Allah the Lord of the Universe' is the Mother of the Qur'an, the Mother of the Book, the Seven Oft Repeated Verses and the Great Qur'an." (i.e. Umm al-Qur'an, Umm al-Kitab, Sab'ul-Mathani and Al-Qur'an al-Adhim)
At-Tirmidhi declared the hadith to be sahih. Al-Bukhari said in the beginning of the Book of Tafsir in his Sahih:
"It is named Umm al-Qur'an because it is the first chapter written in the Qur'anic texts and the recitation in prayer commences with it." 1
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said that it was named so because the meaning of the entire Qur'an is summarised therein. The Arabs named anything that concisely summarises something or comprises the most important part of something Umm, or Mother.
For similar reasons it is also named Al-Qur'an al-Adhim, the Great Qur'an.
It is also named Sab'ul-Mathani, the Seven Oft Repeated Verses, because they are frequently recited and indeed recited in every rak'ah of the prayer.
It is also named Al-Hamd, the Praise because it contains mention of hamd just as Al-Baqarah is named so because it contains mention of the cow. Some scholars also gave the reasoning that Al-Hamd constitutes the heart of Al-Fatihah.2
It is also named As-Salah, the Prayer due to his (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) saying while reporting from his Lord:
"I have divided the prayer between Myself and my servant equally. Therefore when the servant says, 'all praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the universe,' Allah says, 'My servant has praised Me.' ... " 3
It is named the Prayer because its recitation is a condition for the validity of the prayer.
It is also named Ash-Shifa', the Cure, due to what Ad-Darimi reports from Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam):
"The Opening of the Book is a cure to every poison." 4
It is also named Ar-Ruqya, the Spiritual Cure due to the hadith of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari that after he had recited it to cure a person who had been bitten by a scorpion, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said to him:
"And what made you to know that it was a ruqya?" 5
Ash-Sha'bi reports from Ibn Abbas that he named it Asas al-Qur'an, the Foundation of the Qur'an, and that he said, "The foundation of Al-Fatihah is, 'with the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.'"
Sufyan bin Uyaynah named it Al-Waqiyah, the Protector.
Yahya ibn Abu Kathir named it Al-Kafiyah, the Sufficient, because it suffices from everything other than it but anything else does not suffice it, as occurs in the mursal hadith:
"The Mother of the Book suffices for other than it but nothing else suffices it." 6
It is also named Surat as-Salah, the Chapter of the Prayer, and Al-Kanz, the Treasure, as mentioned by Az-Zamakshari in Kashshaf.
