Basmala
The Basmala, or bismi-llahi ar-rahmani ar-rahimi--which translates as "In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful!"--is the phrase that opens the Qur'an. It also opens nearly every chapter of the sacred text and features prominently in the daily prayers of a Muslim. The word itself is derived from consonants in the phrase's original Arabic. According to sayings of the prophet Muhammad, a Muslim should recite the Basmala many times in the course of a day, during ordinary tasks, from eating, to entering the house, to writing a letter.