The first sentence of the Qur’ān, and therefore, also of the Fatihah or Opening is بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem i.e. In the name of Allah the “Rahman” the Merciful. The above sentence is known as the Basmalah. It is the first ayah (or verse) of the Opening, or in other words the first of the Seven Oft-Repeated-Ones.
The Basmalah appears 114 times in the Qur’ān. It appears at the beginning of 113 of the 114 surahs of the Qur’ān except surah At-Taubah (i.e. Repentance), also called Baraat (i.e. Immunity) as the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not mention the Basmalah when he recited it to his followers. The Basmalah also appears as part of ayah 30 of surah An-Naml (i.e. Ants): إنه من سليمان وإنه بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم i.e. “Verily, it is from Sulaiman (Solomon), and verily it (reads): In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” Part 19: Surah An-Naml: Ayah 30.
Although there is agreement that the Basmalah is part of the above ayah and, therefore, part of the Qur’ān, however, there are three opinions among scholars regarding the Basmalah at the beginning of the surahs:
That it is an ayah in Al-Fatihah and all the other 112 surahs which start with the Basmalah;
That it is an independent ayah revealed for separating surahs and as a blessing;
That it is neither an ayah in Al-Fatihah, nor at the beginning of any other surah. But this is not a strong opinion.
Sunni Muslims normally follow one of four schools of Sunni fiqh (i.e. Jurisprudence), established by four respected imams (or leaders of fiqh): Abu Hanifah, Malek, Ash-Shafii and Ahmed ibn Hanbal. These four imams follow one or another of the above three opinions.
According to the majority of Muslim scholars, the Opening should be read by the imam (leader of prayers) or by a person praying by himself in every rakaa (literally meaning bowing down) during a prayer. The Opening (sometimes followed by another surah or some ayat) is read before bowing down. There are 17 obligatory rakaas in a day spread over five obligatory prayers at specified times during one day, two rakaas at Al-Fajr, four at Al-Dhuhr, four at Al-Asr, three at Al-Maghreb and four at Al-Isha.
Sunni Muslims who consider the Basmalah as part of the Opening read it, while those who do not consider it so may omit reading it. Malek says it should not be read in the obligatory prayers but may be read in the non-obligatory ones. Abu Hanifah and Ahmed bin Hanbal say it should be read before the Opening in every rakaa of any prayer but silently, without it being heard. Ash-Shafii on the other hand says it should be read loudly in the loud rakaas and silently in the silent rakaas. The loud rakaas are the two rakaas of Al-Fajr, the first two rakaas of Al-Maghreb and the first two rakaas of Al-Isha obligatory prayers. The loud rakaas have to be said loudly by the imam but a person praying by himself may choose to say loudly or silently.
The word bismبسم (in the name) appears in the Qur’ān in three ayats (or verses) in the Arabic script form consisting of three letters namely: ba, seen and meem. It appears as باسم , also pronounced bism, in four ayats in the form consisting of four letters namely: ba, alef, seen and meem. In all the first three cases the word is followed by the word Allah. In all the four other cases it is followed by the word ربك (your Lord). Although the two forms of the Arabic word are identical in sound, according to some interpreters, the reason for the shorter form before the word Allah is to enable the reader to reach towards Allah more quickly. This is one of the proofs that the script of the Qur’ān is tawqeefi (i.e. ordained) by Allah.
Muslims believe that the translation of the Qur’ān is impossible because it consists of words of Allah and is both a linguistic and literary miracle. The Qur’ān also contains many scientific facts which were not known to humanity at the time it was revealed, and that is one of the other aspects of the miraculousness of the Qur’ān. In fact, the Qur’ān states clearly in Surah Fussilat:
سنريهم آياتنا في الآفاق وفي أنفسهم حتى يتبين لهم أنه الحق… i.e. “We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Qur’ān) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?” Surah 41(Fussilat): Ayah 53. All translations are, therefore, merely attempts to translate the meanings of the Qur’ān.
Bismillah is translated in many of available translations of the meanings of the Qur’ān as: “In the name of God”. However the word God does not convey the full meaning of the one and only God: Allah. God is a word which has the plural gods, whereas Allah is an Arabic word that does not take a plural. God could be translated into Arabic as ilah, and gods as alihah. Hence it is more accurate to translate Bismillah as “In the name of Allah”. Allah is considered the greatest name of God who has according to one hadith (or saying) by the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 99 names. Moreover, in its essence the name Allah is inherently monotheistic! Some Muslims writing in English prefer to use the word God rather than Allah to avoid the misunderstanding in the mind of some non-Muslims who imagine that Allah is the God of Muslims and/or Arabs only. We hope that we have made it clear that Allah means the “One and Only God” of all beings and everything in existence.
The next word in the Basmalah is Ar-Rahman. Going through more than 30 published translations of the meanings of the Qur’ān, this has been translated as: The Merciful, Most Merciful, The All Merciful, The Mercy-giving, The Source of Mercy, Beneficent, The Beneficent, The Most Beneficent, Compassionate, The Compassionate and Most Gracious, The Infinitely Good. An approximation may be the Source of Infinite Mercy. However, none of these words or phrases fully conveys the meaning of the word which in our opinion is untranslatable, and therefore, like the word Allah, should remain as Ar-Rahman. Ayah 110 of Surah Al-Isra’ in the Qur’ān starts:قل ادعوا الله أو ادعوا الرحمن أيّا ما تدعوا فله الأسماء الحسنى… i.e. “Say (O Muhammad): “Invoke Allah or invoke Ar-Rahman, by whatever name you invoke Him (it is the same), for to Him belong the Best Names…”
It is a word in Arabic which is only applied to Allah and is a word which was not generally known to the Arabs before Islam and the revelation of the Qur’ān. Ayah 60 of Surah Al-Furqan starts: وإذا قيل لهم اسجدوا للرحمن قالوا وما الرحمن i.e. “And when it is said to them prostrate yourselves to Ar-Rahman they say and what is Ar-Rahman?…”
Ar-Rahman has a special place among the 99 names of Allah and comes immediately after it. There is also a surah that is called Ar-Rahman and starts with that very word. That surah is sometimes described as Aroos Al-Qur’ān, i.e. the bride of the Qur’ān. Al-Rahman appears in the Qur’ān 57 times if we do not include its appearance in the 114 Basmalahs mentioned above. Interestingly it appears in Surah Mariyam 16 times where the name of God, Allah appears mostly as Ar-Rahman.
Allah says in many ayat in Surah Al-Furqan a description of those who are the servants of Ar-Rahman:
وعباد الرحمن الذين يمشون على الأرض هونا وإذا خاطبهم الجاهلون قالوا سلاما “And the (faithful) slaves of the Most Gracious (Allah) are those who walk on earth in humility and sedateness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with mild words of gentleness” Surah 25 (Al-Furqan): Ayah 63. Another possible translation would be: those worshippers who tread softly on earth and when the ignorant (or unwise) address them, they reply with a peaceful response.
Musailimah the Liar, one of those who claimed prophethood, was the only person to call himself Rahman and hence he is permanently punished by having the word Liar always attached to his name whenever he is mentioned by Muslims. Musailimah was killed in the Ridda Wars in the days of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, the first Caliph who ruled the Muslims immediately after the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). When the Egyptian poet Mahmoud Abbas Al-Aqqad (1889-1964) wrote in one of his poems a line that says: والشعر من نفس الرحمن مقتبس / والشاعر الفذ بين الناس رحمن i.e. Poetry is obtained (like a flame) from the soul of Ar-Rahman, and the great poet is a Rahman among people, he was strongly criticised as the word Rahman is exclusive to Allah.
The last word of the Basmalah is Ar-Raheem which means The Merciful. The various translations available used some of the following words or phrases: Merciful, The Merciful, Most Merciful, The Most Merciful, The All Merciful, Ever Merciful, Mercy Giving, The Compassionate, The All compassionate and The Dispenser of Grace. Unlike the word Rahman, the word or adjective raheem (merciful) that may be applied to people.
Both the words Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem come from the same root. Rahmah means mercy. In the Hadith Qudsi (i.e. saying of Prophet Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him): “I am Ar-Rahman and I created the rahem (i.e. womb) and derived a name for it from my name, so he who connects with it Allah will connect with him, and he who severs from it I will sever from him”. The reference here is to relatives and the fundamental requirement from Muslims to be good to them and to maintain contact with them.
Ibn Jareer At-Tabari in his interpretation of the Qur’ān says that Allah is Ar-Rahman for all creatures (by providing for them in this world) but He is Ar-Raheem only for the believers in Allah (by giving them guidance). The structure of the word Rahman denotes abundance of rahmah i.e. mercy or the very limit of mercy. Rahman is a name specific to Allah but its bounty encompasses believers and non-believers in this world, whereas Raheem is a name or adjective not specific to Allah as it can describe a person and is a name that can be used by people, but Allah is Raheem for the believers only. The Qur’ān says: هو الذي يصلي عليكم وملائكته ليخرجكم من الظلمات إلى النور وكان بالمؤمنين رحيما i.e. “He it is Who sends Salat (His blessings) on you, and His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive you), that He may bring you out from darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of belief and Islamic Monotheism) And He is Ever Most Merciful to the believers” Surah 33 (Al-Ahzab):Ayah 43.
Muslims are supposed to say the Basmalah before reading the Qur’ān. In one testimony, when the Qur’ān was first revealed to the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) by Archangel Jibreel (Gabriel) (may the peace of Allah be upon him), the first ayah was: إقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق i.e. “Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists)” Surah Al-Alaq: Ayah 1.
Muslims are also supposed to say the Basmalah before they do their ablution (for prayer, or for reading the Qur’ān, etc.), before entering their house, before eating or drinking, before slaughtering an animal for food and even before sex with their spouses. Muslims usually start their public speeches, their letters and many of their actions with the Basmalah, i.e. in the name of Allah. This reminds a Muslim of Allah and that he relies on Him, and that he lives to worship and obey him, and exists in His pleasure. Starting an act in the name of Allah means that you are by default planning to do something that is not supposed to displease Him. According to a hadith mentioned in Tafseer Ibn Katheer كل أمر لا يبدأ فيه ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم فهو أجذم i.e. Any matter not started by the Basmalah is cut off or mutilated. Islam is truly a way of life.
[DR SHIHAB M. GHANEM, Ph.D., is a famous Arab poet based in UAE, and his son WADDAH S. GHANEM, M.Sc., M.B.A., is currently doing a Ph.D. on Al-Basmalah.]