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. Rasm: "" |290x290px]] of the ''Bismllah ''|alt=Calligraphic rendition of the Bismillah]]
The (; also known by its opening words ; بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ, "In the name of God") is the titular name of the phrase “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, Rahim” (, ). It is one of the most important phrases in Islam and frequently recited by Muslims before performing daily activities and religious practices, including Salah. The Basmalah should not be confused with the Tasmiyah (), which refers specifically to saying (بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ) alone. The Basmala is usually used at the start of the recitation of verses or from the Qur'an, while the Tasmiyah is commonly used at the beginning of daily activities, such as eating, traveling, or slaughtering animals.
The Bismillah is used in over half of the of countries where Islam is the state religion or more than half of the population follows Islam, usually the first phrase in the preamble, including those of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In the Quran, it is recited before each chapter ( surah), except for the ninth chapter At-Tawbah.See, however, the discussion of the eighth and ninth suras at Al-Anfal (the eighth sura). Scholarly debates regarding its inclusion in the Qur'anic text reached consensus with the 1924 Cairo Edition, where it was included as the first verse ( āyah) of Al-Fatiha and remained an unnumbered line preceding each of the 112 other chapters.William A. Graham "Basmala" Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, Vol. 1
Historically, the Islamic Bismillah appears to be related to earlier variants of the phrase appearing in Arabian inscriptions dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries.Ahmad al-Jallad (2020). "The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia: Context for the Qur’an", in Mustafa Shah & Muhammad Abdel Haleem (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Quranic Studies. Oxford University Press, p. 123. .
In the Qur'an, the Basmala, is usually numbered as the first verse of the Al-Fatiha, but, according to the view adopted by Al-Tabari, it precedes the first verse. Apart from the ninth sura ("At-Tawba"), Al-Qurtubi reported that the correct view is that the Basmala ignored at the beginning of At-Tawba because Gabriel did not refer to the Basmala in this surah. Another view says that Muhammad died before giving a clarification if At-Tawba is part of Quran 8 ( al-ʾanfāl) or not. It occurs at the beginning of each subsequent sura of the Qur'an and is usually not numbered as a verse except at its first appearance at the start of the first sura. The Basmala occurs as part of a sura's text in verse 30 of the 27th sura ("An-Naml"), where it prefaces a letter from Sulayman to 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. 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— Allah, ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim—correspond to the first three of the traditional 99 names of God in Islam. Both ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim are from the same triliteral R-Ḥ-M, "to feel sympathy, or pity".
Around 1980, IRIB used it before starting their newscasts.
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 Al Bukhari and 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 At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood
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 Dawood 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:Titus Burckhardt (2008) 1959. An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine. World Wisdom Inc., Bloomington IN, USA. . p. 36.
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:
The basmalah is in essence contained in the first letter, Ba, and this again in its diacritical point, which thus symbolizes principal Unity.
It has also become common to abbreviate the phrase by typing "786", especially in online communication, and especially among South Asian Muslims. License plates, phone numbers, and serial numbers on currency containing 786 have garnered a particularly high price in South Asia and Dubai. Businesses in Myanmar have displayed 786 to indicate that they are owned by Muslims.
| ﷽﷽ | 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 |
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