The Opening

#1 Sura Fatiha, (1: 1-7)

One must begin, as always, at the beginning:

Lavish illumination surrounding the Sura Fatiha in ink, gold and lapis on paper to a leather-bound Qur’an, Kashmir, late 18th/early 19th century. In the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession no. 2009.294

In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to God, the Maintainer of all beings.
The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
The Lord of the Day of Judgement.
You alone we worship, and You alone we seek for help.
Guide us to the right path:
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour,
not the path of those earning anger, nor of those going astray.