المثاني
al-Mathānī
The oft-repeated verses of the Quran, understood as the seven verses of the first surah, al-Fātiḥah.
What it means
Al-mathānī means the repeated ones. The Quran says to Muhammad (peace be upon him), “We have given you seven of the oft-repeated and the great Quran” (15:87). The Prophet is reported to have identified the seven verses with al-Fātiḥah, which he called “the seven oft-repeated and the great Quran” (Sahih al-Bukhari). The Fatiha is recited in every unit of the ritual prayer, so Muslims repeat it many times each day. The Quran also calls itself a book “consistent, oft-repeated” (39:23), using the same root. Commentators explain the title as referring to this repetition, and some add that the Quran repeats its lessons and stories.
Often misunderstood as
The word is sometimes read as “the seconds” or as a general adjective, while the commentators usually refer it to the Fatiha.
What the sources say
Some commentators held that the term in 15:87 meant the seven long surahs of the Quran, but the identification with the Fatiha is the more common.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 26, listed as AL MATHĀNĪ. The definition is restated here.