Fatiha

The Quran’s opening sura, or chapter, said to summarize the Islamic holy book’s entire meaning. Muslims recite the seven-verse Fatiha in their daily prayers—whether obligatory or elective—but also recite it for protection, if they have a certain need, or as a prayer over the dead. It is considered an essential legal component of ritual prayer, without which such prayer is actually invalid. Given its integral part of the Islamic faith, most Muslims will have memorized the Fatiha, if nothing else.