
Likely the work of a practicing student, the same passages of the Qur’an are repeated over and over again on both sides of this board: certain verses of the first chapter, called The Opening—al-Fatihah—and chapter 112 in its entirety. Chapter 112—al-Ikhlas—has different names in English: Sincerity, Purity of Faith, The Unity, The Oneness of God. The translation of its four verses goes as follows: “Say, ‘He is God the One / God the eternal / He begot no one nor was He begotten / No one is comparable to Him.’” It is a short declaration of God’s absolute oneness, and its importance is such that it is declared, in Muslim tradition, to be equal in value to one third of the whole Qur’an. SIDE A: In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy. Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy, Master of the Day of Judgment. It is You we worship; it is You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those You have blessed, those who incur no anger and who have not gone astray. Amen. Say, “He is God the One, God the eternal. He begot no one nor was He begotten. No one is comparable to Him.” [Repeated] SIDE B: [Same as SIDE A]