Basmala

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Bismillah and In the name of Allah (disambiguation).
The basmala on the oldest surviving Quran.
Bismala calligraphy
Calligraphic rendition of the Bismillah
A calligraphic rendition of the Bismillah
Mughal-era calligraphy

The Basmala (

prayer) as well as beginning of most daily actions.[citation needed
]

It is used in over half of the constitutions of countries where Islam is the official religion or more than half of the population follows Islam, usually the first phrase in the preamble, including those of Afghanistan,[2] Bahrain,[3] Bangladesh,[4] Brunei,[5] Egypt,[6] Iran,[7] Iraq,[8] Kuwait,[9] Libya,[10] Maldives,[11] Pakistan,[12] Saudi Arabia,[13] Tunisia[14] and the United Arab Emirates.[15]

It is the phrase recited before each chapter (

Quran chapter 1 but otherwise included it as an unnumbered line of text preceding the other relevant 112 chapters.[17]

The Islamic Basmala appears to be related to earlier variants of the phrase appearing in Arabian inscriptions from the 5th and 6th centuries.[18]

Name

The traditional name for the phrase in

Tasbih
.
The word basmala was derived from a slightly unusual procedure, in which the first four pronounced consonants of the phrase bismi-llāhi... were used to create a new
verb forms, meaning "to recite the basmala". The method of coining a quadriliteral name from the consonants of multiple words in a phrase is also used to create the name '"Hamdala" for Alhamdulillah, instead of the traditional name of Tahmid.[19] The same procedure is also used to create the term Hawqala
.

Use and significance

Thuluth simple script

According to

Lane
, ar-raḥmān has the more intensive meaning, taken to include as objects of "sympathy" both the believer and the unbeliever, and may therefore be rendered as "the Compassionate"; ar-raḥīm, on the other hand, is taken to include as objects the believer in particular, may be rendered as "the Merciful" (considered as expressive of a constant attribute).

In the Qur'an, the Basmala, is usually numbered as the first verse of the

Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba
.

The Basmala is used extensively in everyday Muslim life, said as the opening of each action in order to receive blessing from God.[21] Reciting the Basmala is a necessary requirement in the preparation of halal food.

In the Indian subcontinent, a Bismillah ceremony is held for a child's initiation into Islam.

The three definite nouns of the Basmala—

triliteral root R-Ḥ-M
, "to feel sympathy, or pity".

Around 1980, IRIB used it before starting their newscasts.

Hadith

Thuluth script

There are several

ahadith
encouraging Muslims to recite it before eating and drinking. For example:

Jabir reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (saw) saying, "If a person mentions the Name of Allah upon entering his house or eating, Satan says, addressing his followers: 'You will find nowhere to spend the night and no dinner.' But if he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says (to his followers); 'You have found (a place) to spend the night in,' and if he does not mention the Name of Allah at the time of eating, Satan says: 'You have found (a place) to spend the night in as well as food.'"

— From Muslim

Aisha reported: "The Prophet said, "When any of you wants to eat, he should mention the Name of God in the beginning (Bismillah). If he forgets to do it in the beginning, he should say Bismillah awwalahu wa akhirahu (I begin with the Name of God at the beginning and at the end)".

— From
Abu Dawud

Umaiyyah bin Makshi reported: "The Prophet was sitting while a man was eating food. That man did not mention the Name of God till only a morsel of food was left. When he raised it to his mouth, he said, Bismillah awwalahu wa akhirahu. The Prophet smiled at this and said, "Satan had been eating with him but when he mentioned the Name of God, Satan vomited all that was in his stomach".

— From
Abu Dawud and Al-Nasa'i

Wahshi bin Harb reported: "Some of the

Sahaba of the Prophet said, 'We eat but are not satisfied.' He said, 'Perhaps you eat separately.' The Sahaba replied in the affirmative. He then said, 'Eat together and mention the Name of God
over your food. It will be blessed for you.'

— From
Abu Dawood

A tradition ascribed to Muhammad states:[22]

All that is contained in the revealed books is to be found in the Qur’an and all that is contained in the Qur’an is summed up in the

surat al-fatihah
("The opening one") while this is in its turn contained in the formula Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim ("In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful").

A tradition ascribed to

Imam Ali states:[22]

The basmalah is in essence contained in the first letter, Ba, and this again in its diacritical point, which thus symbolizes principal Unity.

Tafsir

Basmala calligraphy

In a commentary on the Basmala in his

Tafsir al-Tabari
, al-Tabari writes:

"The Messenger of Allah (the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that Jesus was handed by his mother Mary over to a school in order that he might be taught. [The teacher] said to him: 'Write "Bism (In the name of)".' And Jesus said to him: 'What is "Bism"?' The teacher said: 'I do not know.' Jesus said: 'The "Ba" is Baha’u'llah (the glory of Allah), the "Sin" is His Sana’ (radiance), and the "Mim" is His Mamlakah (sovereignty)."[23]

Numerology

the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
".

Gematria

According to the standard

Al-Buni. Sündermann (2006) reports that a contemporary "spiritual healer" from Syria recommends the recitation of the basmala 786 times over a cup of water, which is then to be ingested as medicine.[25]

It has also become common to abbreviate the phrase by typing "786", especially in online communication, and especially among South Asian Muslims.[citation needed]

Unicode

In

ligature at code point U+FDFD ﷽ in the Arabic Presentation Forms-A
block.

Unicode
encoding utf-8 sign name unicode transcription Arabic English
﷽ ﷽ Arabic Ligature Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem Bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm بسم اللّٰه الرحمن الرحيم In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

This is the widest character currently in

The Unicode Standard
.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ pronounced [bis.mi‿l.laː.hi‿r.raħ.maː.ni‿r.ra.ħiː.m]
  2. ^ a b See, however, the discussion of the eighth and ninth suras at Al-Anfal (the eighth sura).

References

  1. ^ Shelquist, Richard (2008-01-03). "Bismillah al rahman al rahim". Living from the Heart. Wahiduddin. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  2. ^ "Afghanistan Constitution". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Constitution of the State of Bahrain" (PDF). Constitution Finder. University of Richmond. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. ^ "The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh". Laws of Bangladesh. Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Constitution of Brunei Darussalam (as revised 1984)" (PDF). Constitution Finder. University of Richmond. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt 2014" (PDF). Egypt State Information Service. Egypt State Information Service. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Iraqi Constitution" (PDF). Republic of Iran - Ministry of Interior - General Directorate of Nationality. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Kuwait Constitution". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Libya's Constitution of 2011" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Maldives 2008" (PDF). Republic of Maldives Ministry of Tourism. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  12. ^ "The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" (PDF). National Assembly of Pakistan. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  13. ^ "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Constitute Project.
  14. ^ "The Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia" (PDF). Venice Commission. Council of Europe. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Constitution of the United Arab Emirates" (PDF). Refworld The Leader in Refugee Decision Support. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  16. ISBN 978-0-415-39638-7
    .
  17. Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an
    , Vol. 1
  18. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199698646.013.44
    .
  19. ^
    ISBN 0-85331-585-X
    , p. 263.
  20. ^ "The reason behind that At-Tawbah is the only Surah without Basmala". quranonline.net. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  21. ^ "Islamic-Dictionary.com Definition". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  22. ^
    ISBN 1933316500
    . p. 36.
  23. ad-Durr al-Manthúr, vol. 1, p. 8, also records this tradition and gives a list of other scholars who have cited it including Abú Na’ím al-Isfahání in Hilyat al-Awliya’ and Ibn ‘Asákir in Taríkh Dimashq
    ."
  24. ^ a b Shah & Haleem (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp581, 587-88
  25. ^ Katja Sündermann, Spirituelle Heiler im modernen Syrien: Berufsbild und Selbstverständnis - Wissen und Praxis, Hans Schiler, 2006, p. 371.

Further reading

External links

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