In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

When the help of God comes,
and victory,

And you have seen the people
enter the religion of God in droves,

Praise your Lord
and seek forgiveness of God:
for God is most forgiving.

The Dawn

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Say,
I take refuge
in the Lord of the dawn

from the evil
of what is created,

and from the evil
of darkness when it is encompassing

and from the evil
of cursers,

and from the evil of the envious when they envy.

Humankind

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Say,
I take refuge
in the Lord of humankind,

the Ruler of humankind

the God of humankind,

from the evil of insidious suggestion

that whispers in human hearts

from demonic and human sources.




Copyright © 1993 by Thomas Cleary

From The Essential Koran, translated by Thomas Cleary (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993). Used by arrangement with HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.