Why Does Surah al-Fatiha Say “Seven Verses” Yet Only Six Are Counted?

Question

Surah al-Fatiha is inscribed “sab‘ ayat” (سبع آيات), meaning “seven verses.” Yet if one counts the verses in Surah al-Fatiha itself, there are only six. Likewise, Surah al-Ikhlas is inscribed as having “four verses,” while after “lam yalid” there also comes “wa lam yulad” — and, if this is counted [as a separate verse], it comes to five verses.

Answer

According to the Hanafis, the Bismillah is not part of al-Fatiha; even without it, the surah is [reckoned as] seven verses. As for Surah al-Ikhlas, there is disagreement in itself regarding it: some count it as four verses, others as five. So it is stated in “Tafsir al-Jalalayn.”

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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