1.2 – Praise (be) to God, Lord of the worlds

The Quran begins with a prayer addressed to Allah. This short prayer is one of the best-known parts of the Quran to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Its seven verses play a central role in the five daily ritual prayers of the Muslim community.

From this point on, the Quran will mainly speak of God as Allāh. The name Allāh appears in the Quran more than 2,500 times. The translation of A. J. Droge consistently renders Allāh as God. The Quran also gives names for God such as “Lord of the worlds” and al-Raḥmān (1.3). Perhaps not so well known is the fact that in 33 of the Quran’s 114 sūras, the name Allah does not appear.

Allāh is the Arabic word for God. Arabic translations of the Bible also give Allāh for the Hebrew Elohim (e.g., Genesis 1:1) and the Greek Theos (e.g., Matthew 1:23). The fascinating question for readers is what particular concept of deity the Allah of the Quran portrays.

The first sūra is not typical of the book it “opens,” because direct address to Allah is unusual in the Quran. The Muslim belief about the Quran is that all of its words are dictated by Allah through the angel Gabriel to a human messenger. Many passages in the Quran are introduced with the command, “Say!” However, this first sūra is addressed to Allah from people.