What is Salat ul-Fatih? – Meaning & Videos

Reciting Salat ul-Fatih—the Benedictions of the Opener (or Victor)—is said to open the doors of sustenance, happiness, health and wisdom, and remove negativity that sometimes surrounds people

On this page, you’ll find the meaning and translation of Salat ul-Fatih and eight YouTube versions of it, including two recitations by Shaykh Nazim al Haqqani, and two videos for learning the words.

This blessed salutation on the Best of Creationﷺ is something often recited by Shaykh Nazim and Shaykh Mehmet Adil ar Rabbani.

Salat al-Fatih emphasizes four great traits of Prophet Muhammadﷺ: opening (al-Fath), sealing of what was before (al-Khatm), victory (al-Nasr), and guidance (al-Hadi).

Allahumma salli ‘ala sayidina MuHammadin al-faatiHi lima ughliqa
O Allah, send blessings on our master Muhammad, who opened what was closed,

Wal khaatimi lima sabaqa
Who sealed all that went before;

Naasiril Haqqa bil Haqq
The helper of Truth by the Truth,

Wal haadi ‘ila siratikal mustaqeem
The guide to Your straight path,

Wa ‘ala aalihi haqqa qadrihi wa miqdaarihil ‘adheem
And on his family, may these blessings be equal to his immense position and grandeur.

Shaykh Abu Abdullah Mohammed al-Bakri Siddiqi of Egypt (d. 994/1585), who is said to have received the prayer, stated that one recitation is worth the reward of 600,000 ordinary prayers.

Reciting this durood is a known Sufi practice in the Naqshbandi tariqat, and especially for the Tijanis of North and West Africa.

In Tunis, Salat ul-Fatih is recited 50 times every day after Asr as part of a group practice at Al-Zaytuna Mosque and several other mosques and zawiyas..

Here’s Maulana Shaykh Nazim al Haqqani reciting Salat ul-Fatih, 99 times in a 34-minute loop.

In a different recording, Shaykh Nazim recites it 313 times.

The next video (sounding a bit unconventional at first) is a good one for contemplation and meditation. It repeats Salat ul-Fatih for one hour, with falling rain and a drum beat in the background.

Here’s a recitation from Tunisia.

Here’s a group recitation of Salat ul-Fatih from Morocco:

Next up is 100 repetitions from Algeria.

Hide your secrets,
Keep silence,
Be in Wudhu always,
Lower your gaze,
Salātul Fātiḥ should be your wealth,
Seek Allāh alone in everything.

– Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse

Here’s a video to learn Salat ul Fatih with a slow recitation, and a second learning video, both of which provide transliteration and a French translation.