الْفَتَّاحُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Fattah
The Opener and Judge
Al-Fattah is the Judge who opens the truth between people, and the One who opens for His servants what was closed to them in this world and in their religion, in the scholar's words. The Name comes once in the Quran, in 34:26, paired with Al-Alim, and The Clear Quran renders the pair the All-Knowing Judge.
Key verse
﴿قُلْ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا رَبُّنَا ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ بَيْنَنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَهُوَ ٱلْفَتَّاحُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ﴾Say, “Our Lord will gather us together, then He will judge between us with the truth. For He is the All-Knowing Judge.”
The scholar's text
The Solver, The Reliever, The Judge, The One who opens for His slaves the closed worldly and religious matters.
(قُلْ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا رَبُّنَا ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ بَيْنَنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَهُوَ الْفَتَّاحُ الْعَلِيمُ ) 34: 26 سبأ
(Say, “Our Lord will gather us together, then He will judge between us with the truth. For He is the All-Knowing Judge.”) Saba 34:26
It is mentioned 1 time in the Holy Quran
الذي يحل ويفرّج ويحكم، ويفتح لعباده ما انغلق عليهم من أمور الدنيا والدين.
(قُلْ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا رَبُّنَا ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ بَيْنَنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَهُوَ ٱلْفَتَّاحُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ) سبأ 34: 26
ورد في القرآن الكريم مرة واحدة.
The Judge Who Opens the Truth
Fath is opening, and in 34:26 it is used for judging: Allah will gather us, then “judge between us with the truth”, for He is “the All-Knowing Judge”. Al-Baghawi glosses yaftahu as yaqdi, He decides. Ibn Kathir explains the pair as the just ruler who knows the realities of every matter, and al-Qurtubi as the One who decides with the truth and knows the state of His creation. For al-Sa'di it is a judgment that shows the truthful apart from the liar, and the one who deserves reward apart from the one who deserves punishment.
Arabic: الحاكم الذي يفتح بالحق
قال تعالى: ﴿ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ بَيْنَنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ﴾، قال البغوي في ﴿ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ﴾: «يقضي»، وقال ابن كثير: «الحاكم العادل العالم بحقائق الأمور»، وقال القرطبي: «أي القاضي بالحق ( العليم ) بأحوال الخلق»، وقال السعدي: «يحكم بيننا حكما, يتبين به الصادق من الكاذب, والمستحق للثواب, من المستحق للعقاب، وهو خير الفاتحين».
Our Lord, Judge Between Us
﴿قَدِ ٱفْتَرَيْنَا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا إِنْ عُدْنَا فِى مِلَّتِكُم بَعْدَ إِذْ نَجَّىٰنَا ٱللَّهُ مِنْهَا ۚ وَمَا يَكُونُ لَنَآ أَن نَّعُودَ فِيهَآ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّنَا ۚ وَسِعَ رَبُّنَا كُلَّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمًا ۚ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا ٱفْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْفَـٰتِحِينَ﴾We would surely be fabricating a lie against Allah if we were to return to your faith after Allah has saved us from it. It does not befit us to return to it unless it is the Will of Allah, our Lord. Our Lord has encompassed everything in ˹His˺ knowledge. In Allah we trust. Our Lord! Judge between us and our people with truth. You are the best of those who judge.”
Prophets who were rejected used this root when they turned to Allah. Shu'ayb ended his answer to his people with it, and Nuh prayed, “So judge between me and them decisively” (26:118). On Shu'ayb's prayer al-Sa'di says it means: help the one who is wronged and in the right against the wrongdoer who stubbornly opposes the truth. He adds that Allah's opening for His servants is of two kinds, and names first the opening of knowledge: making truth clear from falsehood and guidance clear from misguidance.
Arabic: ربنا افتح بيننا
قال شعيب: ﴿رَبَّنَا ٱفْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْفَـٰتِحِينَ﴾ (الأعراف 7: 89)، قال السعدي: «أي: انصر المظلوم، وصاحب الحق، على الظالم المعاند للحق»، «وفتحه تعالى لعباده نوعان: فتح العلم، بتبيين الحق من الباطل، والهدى من الضلال». وقال نوح: ﴿فَٱفْتَحْ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَهُمْ فَتْحًا﴾ (الشعراء 26: 118).
What He Opens, No One Can Hold Back
﴿مَّا يَفْتَحِ ٱللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا ۖ وَمَا يُمْسِكْ فَلَا مُرْسِلَ لَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ﴾Whatever mercy Allah opens up for people, none can withhold it. And whatever He withholds, none but Him can release it. For He is the Almighty, All-Wise.
The verse in the card (35:2) gives the rule: a mercy Allah opens, no one can hold back, and what He holds back, only He can send. Al-Sa'di draws the lesson: the heart must hang on Allah and need Him in every way, so that no one but He is called on, feared or hoped in. The same root names a promise with a condition: had the people of the towns believed and been mindful of Allah, “We would have overwhelmed them with blessings from heaven and earth” (7:96). Al-Sa'di reads the condition as a faith held truly in the heart and proven by deeds.
Arabic: ما يفتح الله للناس من رحمة
قال السعدي في قوله تعالى: ﴿مَّا يَفْتَحِ ٱللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا﴾: «فهذا يوجب التعلق باللّه تعالى، والافتقار إليه من جميع الوجوه، وأن لا يدعى إلا هو، ولا يخاف ويرجى، إلا هو». وقال تعالى: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَـٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ﴾ (الأعراف 7: 96)، قال السعدي: «لو آمنوا بقلوبهم إيمانا صادقا صدقته الأعمال».
An Opening That Looked Like a Setback
Surah Al-Fath opens with “Indeed, We have granted you a clear triumph ˹O Prophet˺” (48:1). Al-Sa'di says this opening is the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah, made when the idolaters turned the Prophet ﷺ back as he came for umrah. Once people felt safe from each other, the call to Islam spread, anyone who wanted to learn the truth of Islam could reach it, and people entered the religion of Allah in crowds. That, he says, is why Allah called it an opening. What looked like being turned away at the gate was the door.
Arabic: فتح في صورة صلح
قال السعدي في أول سورة الفتح: «هذا الفتح المذكور هو صلح الحديبية، حين صد المشركون رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لما جاء معتمرا»، «وبسبب ذلك لما أمن الناس بعضهم بعضا، اتسعت دائرة الدعوة لدين الله عز وجل، وصار كل مؤمن بأي محل كان من تلك الأقطار، يتمكن من ذلك، وأمكن الحريص على الوقوف على حقيقة الإسلام، فدخل الناس في تلك المدة في دين الله أفواجا»، «فلذلك سماه الله فتحا».
The Day of Decision
The final opening is the one 34:26 begins with: the gathering. Those who denied it asked in mockery, “When is this ˹Day of final˺ Decision, if what you say is true?” (32:28), and the answer was that on that Day believing will not help the disbelievers. Al-Sa'di explains why: when the Day of Decision comes, the matter is over and there is no room left for the test. The door Al-Fattah opens to every servant now is the door of turning to Him while turning still counts.
Arabic: يوم الفتح
قال تعالى: ﴿قُلْ يَوْمَ ٱلْفَتْحِ لَا يَنفَعُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِيمَـٰنُهُمْ﴾ (السجدة 32: 29)، قال السعدي: «ولكن إذا جاء يوم الفتح، انقضى الأمر، ولم يبق للمحنة محل».
From the Sunnah
When any one of you enters the mosque, he should say:" O Allah! open for me the doors of Thy mercy" ; and when he steps out he should say: 'O Allah! I beg of Thee Thy Grace
إِذَا دَخَلَ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَلْيَقُلِ اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ . وَإِذَا خَرَجَ فَلْيَقُلِ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
When it is the month of Ramadan, the gates of mercy are opened, and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained
إِذَا كَانَ رَمَضَانُ فُتِّحَتْ أَبْوَابُ الرَّحْمَةِ وَغُلِّقَتْ أَبْوَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَسُلْسِلَتِ الشَّيَاطِينُ
A du'a with this Name
اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ
O Allah! open for me the doors of Thy mercy
Sahih Muslim 713: what the Prophet ﷺ taught us to say on entering the mosque
Related Names
Questions about Al-Fattah
What does Al-Fattah mean?
The scholar gives four meanings: the Solver, the Reliever, the Judge, and the Opener of closed matters of this world and of faith. Its one verse, 34:26, uses the opening for judgment, which Ibn Kathir explains as a fair ruling made with full knowledge of how things truly are.
How many times is Al-Fattah mentioned in the Quran?
Once, in 34:26, which is also the scholar's count. The root f-t-h comes in many more verses, such as Shu'ayb's prayer in 7:89 and the opening of mercy in 35:2.
Does calling on Al-Fattah guarantee the door I want?
No. What He opens comes by His wisdom: 35:2 ends with the Almighty, All-Wise, and in 7:96 the opening of blessings is tied to faith and mindfulness of Allah. Al-Hudaybiyah shows that the opening He gives may not look like the one people expected.
What du'a uses the meaning of Al-Fattah?
On entering the mosque the Prophet ﷺ taught us to say: O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy (Sahih Muslim 713). The prophets' prayers in 7:89 and 26:118 ask Allah to judge between them and their people with the same word.