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Chapter Two: The Number of Its Verses
It consists of seven verses, as indicated by the Almighty’s statement, “We have certainly given you the seven oft-repeated verses” (Q 15:87), which the Prophet ﷺ explained as referring to the Opening (al-Fātiḥah). More than one scholar has conveyed the consensus that it is seven, among them Ibn Jarīr (1) and others. Those who count the basmala as a verse make the seventh verse ghayri al-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim (not of those who have incurred wrath), whereas those who do not count the basmala as a verse make the seventh ghayri al-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim wa lā al-ḍāllīn (not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of those who go astray). (2) Āmīn.
Two anomalous views have also been recorded:
- That it comprises six verses; this is attributed to Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī.
- That it comprises eight verses, counting iyyāka naʿbudu (You alone we worship) as an independent verse; it has been reported
(1) Jami al-Bayan, 1:48.
(2) The manuscript has this wording, but the more accurate citation is probably: sirat alladhina anamta alayhim ghayri al-maghdubi alayhim wala ad-dallin (“the path of those You have favored, not of those who incur anger nor of those who go astray,” Qur’an 1:7).
الفصل الثاني: في عددها
وهي سبعُ آياتٍ كما دلَّ عليه قولُه تعالى: ﴿وَلَقَدْ آَتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي﴾ [الحجر: ٨٧]، وفسَّرها النبيُّ ﷺ بالفاتحة, ونقل غيرُ واحدٍ الاتفاق على أنَّها سبعٌ، منهم ابنُ جرير (١) وغيرُه، لكن مَنْ عَدَّ البسملة آيةً منها جعلَ الآية السابعة: ﴿غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾، ومَنْ لم يَجْعلْ البسملةَ آيةً منها جَعَلَ الآية السابعة: ﴿غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾ (٢) آمين.
وفيها قولان شاذّان:
أحدُهما: أنَّها ستُّ آياتٍ، حُكي عن حسين الجُعْفِيِّ.
والثاني: أنَّها ثمانُ آياتٍ، وأنَّ: ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ﴾ آيةٌ، نُقل
(١) «جامع البيان» (١/ ٤٨).
(٢) كذا بالأصل، ولعل الصواب: ﴿صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ﴾.