Why Didn’t Ibn Mas’ood Include al-Fatihah in his Mushaf?: Tafsir al-Qurtubi

al-Qurtubi mentioned the following in introduction to surah al-Fatihah in his celebrated book of tafsir:

وأجمعت الأمة أيضا على أنها من القرآن . فإن قيل : لو كانت قرآنا لأثبتها عبد الله بن مسعود في مصحفه ، فلما لم يثبتها دل على أنها ليست من القرآن ، كالمعوذتين عنده . ـ

Muslim scholars are also unanimous in their agreement that surah al-Fatihah is part of the Qur’an.

But someone might say: If it were part of the Qur’an then ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood would have included it in his mushaf, but the fact that he didn’t indicates that it isn’t part of the Qur’an, just like surah al-Falaq and surah al-Nas according to him.

فالجواب ما ذكره أبو بكر الأنباري قال : حدثنا الحسن بن الحباب حدثنا سليمان بن الأشعث حدثنا ابن أبي قدامة حدثنا جرير عن الأعمش قال : أظنه عن إبراهيم قال : قيل لعبد الله بن مسعود : لم لم تكتب فاتحة الكتاب في مصحفك ؟ قال لو كتبتها لكتبتها مع كل سورة . قال أبو بكر : يعني أن كل ركعة سبيلها أن تفتتح بأم القرآن قبل السورة المتلوة بعدها ، فقال : اختصرت بإسقاطها ، ووثقت بحفظ المسلمين لها ، ولم أثبتها في موضع فيلزمني أن أكتبها مع كل سورة ، إذ كانت تتقدمها في الصلاة . ـ

The response would be what Abu Bakr al-Anbari mentioned when he said:

… Ibrahim al-Naka’i said: someone asked ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood, “Why didn’t you write surah al-Fatihah in your mushaf?” to which he replied, “If I had written it, I would have written it before each and every surah.”

Abu Bakr al-Anabri commented:

Meaning: The norm for every raka’ah is to begin it with surah al-Fatihah before whatever surah you plan to recite after that. So ibn Mas’ood is saying: I made things more compact by leaving it out and trusted that the Muslims’ memories would preserve it. I did not write it anywhere, for that would have required me to write it before each and every surah since it comes before each surah when praying.

[Jaami’ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an 1/112]

Ibn Kathir also addressed this topic in the introduction to his tafsir by briefly writing:

وقد روى الأعمش عن إبراهيم قال : قيل لابن مسعود : لم لم تكتب الفاتحة في مصحفك ؟ قال : لو كتبتها لكتبتها في أول كل سورة . قال أبو بكر بن أبي داود : يعني حيث يقرأ في الصلاة ، قال : واكتفيت بحفظ المسلمين لها عن كتابتها . ـ

It has been relayed from al-A’mash that Ibrahim said:

Someone asked ibn Mas’ood, “Why didn’t you write al-Fatihah in your mushaf?” to which he replied, “Had I written it, I would have written it before each and every surah.”

Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud commented on this by saying:

Meaning: just as it is recited that way in prayer. Ibn Mas’ood is saying: The memorization of the Muslims made it so that I did not need to write it down.

[Tafsir ibn Kathir 1/103]

Explore more similar articles in our Preservation of the Qur’an Article Index

See also: Ibn Mas’ood and Surahs al-Falaq and al-Nas

See also: What about the Qiraa’ah of ibn Mas’ood?: Makki ibn Abi Taalib

See also: Questions Regarding the Recitation of ibn Mas’ood: ibn Hajr and al-Nawawi