And the Opening Chapter

His statement, “and the Opening Chapter,” means reciting al-Fātiḥah. This is the third pillar, and it is a pillar in both obligatory and voluntary prayers.

Al-Fātiḥah is the surah with which the Noble Quran begins. We have already discussed it at the beginning of the description of the prayer. Its recitation is a pillar required of every worshipper; no one is exempted except one who joins the congregational prayer late and finds the imam bowing, or who catches only so much of the imam’s standing as does not allow him time to recite al-Fātiḥah.

The evidence for this is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “There is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening Chapter of the Book.” (1)

His statement, “There is no prayer,” is a negation. The basic rule regarding a negation is that it negates existence. If that is not possible, then it negates validity; and negating validity is a negation of legal existence. If that too is not possible, then it negates perfection. These, then, are the levels of negation. For example:

If you say, “None exists necessarily except Allah,” this negates existence, since nothing exists necessarily except the Lord of the worlds. Likewise, there is no Creator except Allah.

And if you say, “There is no prayer without ablution,” this negates validity, because prayer may be performed without ablution.