"Bismillah"—in the name of the most merciful God. Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures, the Most Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, not of those who go astray.
To which the whole congregation responds:
"God, there is no God but He, the Living, the Ever Living; He sleepeth not, neither doth He slumber. To Him belongeth the Heavens and the earth, and all that they contain. He knoweth the Past and the Future, but no one can comprehend anything of this knowledge but that which He revealeth. His sway extendeth over the Heavens and the Earth, and to sustain them both is no burden to Him. He is the high, the mighty. There is no God besides Him, and "Mohammed Resul Allah" Mohammed is the prophet of God."[5] The Mufti now expounds a chapter from the Koran, and at the end of each of its lessons the whole congregation responds, "Amin!" "So be it."
The "Imaum" ascends the pulpit to preach his sermon. He bases his theme upon the chapter just expounded. He speaks of faith and practice, of faith in God, in his angels, in his Koran, in his prophets, in the resurrection and final judgement, in predestination. "Angels," he says, keep continual watch upon each mortal, one on the right hand, the other on the left, taking note of every word or action. At the close of each day they fly up to heaven to write up their report. Every good action is recorded ten times by the good angel on the right, and if the mortal commit a sin the same benevolent spirit says to the angel on the left: "Forbear for seven hours to record it; peradventure he may repent and pray and obtain forgiveness."
He enjoins a reverence for the Al Koran, and a scrupulous obedience to its precepts. In it are written all the decrees of God, and all events past, present or to come. It had existed from all eternity and was treasured up in the seventh heaven, and its contents were finally revealed to Mohammed by the Angel Gabriel.
He speaks of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, as prophets subordinate to Mohammed, whose life and preceipts are worthy of following.
He speaks of predestination, and says that every event is predetermined by God, that the destiny of every individual and the hour of his death are irrevocably fixed, and can neither be varied nor evaded, by any effort of human sagacity or foresight.
He reconciles fate and free-will by saying: "The outline is given us we color the picture of life as we will."