The Koran

“The Opening”

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe,

the Merciful, the Compassionate,

the Authority on Judgment Day.

It is You whom we worship

and You whom we ask for help.

Show us the upright way:

the way of those whom You have favored,

not of those with whom You have been angry

and those who have gone astray.

“The People”

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Say: I take my refuge in the Lord of the people,

the King of the people,

the God of the people,

from the evil of the furtive whisperer

who whispers in the breasts of the people

of the genies and of the people.

— two passages from The Koran

The Koran is the central religious text of Islam. It means “the recitation” and is believed to be a revelation from God to the prophet Mohammad, verbally dictated to him by God through the angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years, beginning in 609 AD and concluding in 632 AD, the year of the prophet’s death. Muslims hold that while the Old and New Testaments of the Bible have been incorrectly communicated by their believers, the Koran is the only book that has been guarded from distortion or corruption by God.