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BISMILLAAH IR RAHMAAN IR RAHEEM – AN

UNFAILING REMEDY FOR ALL ILLS
[Bismillaah ir Rahmaan ir Raheem = In the name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful.]
“By Allaah! Bismillaah ir Rahmaan ir Raheem (In the name of Allaah, Most
Gracious, Most Merciful)! The denizens of this town do not say it!” Thus wondered
`Addaas, a Christian slave, when he heard the formula from the holy tongue of the
Prophet of Islaam, Muhammad ‫صلَّى هللا عليه و‬
‫سلَّن‬. This occurred while the Prophet was
returning from the extremely disappointing Visit musarhad.blogspot.com
and painful journey of Taaif, exhausted with for more articles on Islam.
wounds and worn down with grief. He
entered an orchard to save himself from the
mischief of the hoodlums and to take some rest. This orchard belonged to `Utba and
Shaiba, sons of Rabee`a. The Prophet ‫ صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬sat under the shade of the
grapevines.

A SOUL-STIRRING INVOCATION BY THE PROPHET

When the Prophet felt at peace, he started supplicating to Allaah. The words of
this supplication are quite unusual and out of the ordinary. Never have such words of
supplication been reported from him. The supplication is:
‫ى‬.‫ىر ُّب ى ْيإ ُه ْي َا ْي َا ِت ْي َاى‬ ‫ِت ِت‬
‫س ى َا ْيَاإ َا ى ْيَارَا ُه ى َّلإر ْي َا ى َا ْيَاإ َا َا‬ ‫"َاإلَّل ُهَّل ى ِّنإ ىَا ْي ُه ْي ى إَا ْي َا ى ُه ْي َا ى ُهَّل ِت ى َا ِتلَّل َاى ِت ْي لَا ِت ى َا َا َا إِت ى َا لَا ى َّلإإ ِت‬
‫ْي‬ ‫ْي‬ ‫ْي‬ ‫ْي‬
‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫َّل‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫َّل‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ٍ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬
‫ي؟ى ىإ ْي ى َا ُه ْي ى َا خطً ى َا لَا َّل ىفَا َاَلى َاُهب إ ْي ى َا إَا َّل ى‬ ‫ىب ْي دىَّل َا َاج َّل ُه إ ْي ىَا ْي ى إَا ى َا ُهد ٍّ ى َّل ل ْي َاهُهىَا ْي ر ْي‬ ‫ىرِّنب ْي ى إَا ى َا ْي ى َا لُهإ ْي ؟ى إَا َا‬
‫فَاأ ْيَاإ َا َا‬
‫صلُه َاحى َا لَا ْي ِتهىَا ْي ُهرى ُّبإد ْيإَا ى َا ْيْل ِتخ َارِتةى ِت ْي ىَا ْي ى ُهْيإ ِتز َالىإِت ْي ى‬ ‫ُّب‬ ‫َّل ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ِت‬
‫يىَا ْي َارَا ْي ىإَاهُهى إظلُه َا ُه ى َا َا‬ ‫ىَا ُه ْي ُهذىبِتإُه ْي ِترى َا ْيج ِت َا ى إذ ْي‬.‫َا فَا َا َا ى َا ىَا ْي َا ُهىإ ْيى‬
".‫ىإَا َا ى ْيإ ُه ْيَاب ى َا َّل ى َاْير َا ى َاَاإى َا ْي َالى َاَاإى ُهَّل ةَاى َّلإىبِت َاى‬.‫َا َا َاب َاى‬
“O Allaah! I complain to You the lack of my strength, inadequacy of my schemes, and
my dishonour before the people. You are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy.
You are the Lord of the downtrodden. You are my Lord. To whom will You entrust me –
to a distant stranger who assails me, or to an enemy whom You have given power over
me. If you are not displeased with me, then I do not care. Nevertheless, your security is
much better for me. I seek refuge with the light of Your countenance which enlightens all
darkness and which sets right all the needs of this world and the Hereafter, lest Your
wrath should come upon me. You deserve to be appeased till You are pleased. We have
no strength (to protect ourselves from evil) nor power (to achieve something good)
without You(r help).”

Both the brothers `Utba and Shaiba were watching the mischiefs of the hoodlums
and the Prophet’s ‫ صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬suffering and distress with their own eyes. Their hearts
were, in any case, hearts of a human being, not of a stone or a brick. They became
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overwhelmed with empathy and the feeling of compassion overpowered them. They
called out their Christian servant, `Addaas who appeared before them. He was ordered to
take a bunch of grapes, place it in a tray, present it to the man and request him to eat. The
servant obeyed his masters.

COMMENDABLE ACT, AMAZING QUESTION

Now, an excellent bunch of fresh grapes is before the Allaah’s Prophet ‫صلَّى هللا عليه‬
َّ‫ و سلن‬in the tray. The Prophet had always been grateful to every bounty of the truly
Bountiful, but when he saw this unexpected hospitality in this environment of alienism
and unfamiliarity and this state of severe hunger and thirst, his heart became even more
overwhelmed with the emotion of gratitude. The hands had not even risen towards the
grapes that the words of “Bismillah ir Rahmaan ir Raheem” came upon his tongue. When
`Addaas heard these words from him, his wonder knew no bounds. He pondered how the
camphoric candle1 of the Most Gracious and Most Merciful lighted up in this dark house
of Misbelief and Polytheism. He could no more hide his emotions, and almost
involuntarily he remarked: “By Allaah! The denizens of this town do not say “Bismillah
ir Rahmaan ir Raheem”. Hearing his words of astonishment, the Prophet ‫صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬
enquired: “Where do you belong to?” `Addaas answered that he was a Christian from
Nineva. The Prophet said, “Well, you belong to the town of Allaah’s pious servant
Yoonus bin Mattaa.” “Yes, I belong to that very town, but tell me how ho you know
him?” The Prophet said, “He is my brother being Allaah’s prophet just as I am,” said the
Prophet.

REPLY OF DEVOTION
On hearing this, `Addaas fell upon the Prophet’s ‫ صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬feet
and kissed his holy head and limbs. `Utba and Shaiba, the masters were
observing the incident. One said to the other, “Certainly, he has spoilt our
slave.” When `Addaas returned to them , they asked him, “`Addaas! What
went wrong with you? You started kissing his hands and feet!?” `Addaas
replied, “My Lords! At this time, there is nobody on earth greater than him.
He told me about a fact which none other than a prophet can tell. His act of
saying “Bismillaah ir Rahmaan ir Raheem” also had a great influence on me.
Remembering the Lord’s name before using any bounty of His and proclaiming that He is
the Most Gracious and Most Merciful is not an ordinary event. This indicates the
perfection of a man’s devotion and servitude to Allaah. If my heart got fascinated in the
love and devotion for such an extraordinary man, then what’s there to wonder and
ponder?” After this reply marked with devotion, `Utba and Shaiba could not help keeping
quiet.

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[Camphoric candle: a candle made of camphor whose light is very bright and clear, and is totally
smokeless.]
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THE BLESSING OF BISMILLAAH

It is a fact that in the aforementioned incident, the Christian slave `Addaas truly
appreciated the blessing, significance and essence of Bismillaah. Any heart where the
glory and grandeur of Allaah has found a place and which acknowledges that ‫جو کچھ ہے‬
‫ وہن و گماں ہمارا‬،‫( سب خدا کا‬Whatever is there belongs to Allaah, only doubts and conjectures
belong to us.) would find it impossible to remain oblivious of the significance of the
highly meaningful words of Bismillaah. For such a heart, these words are highly
exhilarating and enrapturing. It is a repertoire of power and strength, fountain-head of
Allaah’s help and assistance, and spate of blessing and bounty.

THE HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF BISMILLAH

In the days of ignorance before the holy Messenger’s arrival, people used to begin
their important works in the names of their idols. To end this custom, the first verse of the
Holy Quran that Gabriel, the Trustworthy, brought had the command to start reading the
Holy Book in Allah’s name:
}1{ ‫ك الَّ ِذي َخلَ َق‬ ْ ِ‫اق َْرأْ ب‬
َ ِّ‫اس ِم َرب‬
Read in the name of your Lord. (Quran 96:1)
Researchers in the field have pointed out that the Heavenly Books other than the Holy
Quran have also begun with Bismillah (In Allah’s name) i.e., Bismillah is the common
object in the beginning of the Holy Quran and other Heavenly Books. However,
Bismillah ir rahman ir raheem (In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful), in
its entirety, is a distinctive feature of the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad’s ( ‫صلَّى هللا‬
‫ )عليه و سلَّن‬Umma. According to some traditions, in early days the Holy Prophet ( ‫صلَّى هللا‬
‫ )عليه و سلَّن‬too used to say (or dictate) BismikAllahumma (In your name, O Lord!) at the
beginning of every important work. When the verse of Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem
came, he adopted these words and thus a noble custom was established.

STARTING EVERY GOOD WORK WITH BISMILLAH

At several places in the Holy Quran, there is instruction to begin every work in
Allah’s name and the Holy Prophet (‫ )صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬is quoted as saying that any serious
work that does not begin with Bismillah remains unfulfilled and unblessed. There is a
Hadith which instructs us to say Bismillah when shutting the home’s door, when putting
off the lamp and when covering a utensil. The Quran and the Hadith repeatedly advise us
to say Bismillah at the times of having a meal, drinking water, going for wudhu, boarding
a vehicle, getting down a conveyance, and slaughtering an animal. Well-informed people
are not ignorant of the fact that Bismillah ir rahman ir raheem appears at the beginning of
every Quranic surah other than Surah Tauba which adds up to 113 times and it also
appears as a Quranic verse (30th verse) in the text of Surah An Naml. It is sunnah
(Prophet’s tradition) to write Bismillah at the start of a written work. However, if it is
feared that the paper may get desecrated then it is advisable to say Bismillah orally for
performing the sunnah and not bring it into writing. But the case of writing Bismillah
with the purpose of teaching or informing about rules regarding Bismillah is an
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exception. In such a case it becomes mandatory for the readers to observe the sanctimony
of such a part of the paper.

THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND BISMILLAH

The grand Mufti, Maulana Muhammad Shafee (1896-1976) has rightly written in
his exegesis of the Holy Book while discussing the philosophy behind Bismillah that:
“By instructing to begin every work in Allah’s name, Islam has turned the course of a
man’s entire life towards Allah such that he renews his oath of fealty at each and
every step, effectively professing that neither my being nor any of my work can come
into existence without Allah’s Wish, Intention and Aid. This one simple command
has turned each and every permissible action and lawful economic and worldly
activity of his into worship. How modest this action is – it neither requires time nor
labour – yet its benefit is magnificently great and alchemic (philosopher’s stone-like)
– that even worldly pursuits become holy. Just imagine how high this simple Islamic
instruction has raised man. So it can be veritably affirmed that Bismillah is a
philosopher’s stone which transforms clay – not copper – into gold.” (Ma’ariful
Quran, Vol. 1, pp. 74-75.)

BISMILLAH – AN EMPOWERING INVOCATION

The renowned exegete and litterateur Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1892-
1977) writes in the beginning of his Quranic exegesis:
A person who begins a work in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful practically announces that my conscience is pure, my intentions are
sincere, my goal is high, I am a devout adherent of Monotheism, sick of
both Polytheism and Atheism. In short, there is no invocation that is more
empowering and more uplifting for a person’s spirits and morale other than
Bismillah. A Bismillah-invoker turns his eyes away from every creation,
fixing his hopes solely upon the Being of Allah and upon his attributes of
Infinite Grace and Mercy. (Tafseer e Majidi, Note no. 8 on Sura Fatiha.)
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Farz obligatory, mandatory

Wajib compulsory
Sunnat Prophet’s tradition, custom
Sunnat e muakkada emphasized custom
Nafl
Mustahab desirable
Afzal highly rewarding, more rewarding
Adab, Aadaab etiquette
Jaiz/mubaah permissible
Makrooh tanzeehi avoidable
Makrooh tahreemi strictly avoidable
Haram forbidden, prohibited

Rooh soul
Nafs spirit
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muhm = (May Allah’s Mercy be upon him) )‫(رحمة هللا عليه‬

muhr = (May Allah’s Mercy be upon her) )‫(رحمة هللا عليھا‬
mutm = (May Allah’s Mercy be upon them) )‫(رحمة هللا عليھن‬

puhm = (May Allah’s Pleasure be upon him) (‫)رضي هللا عنه‬

puhr = (May Allah’s Pleasure be upon her) (‫)رضي هللا عنها‬
putm = (May Allah’s Pleasure be upon them) (‫)رضي هللا عنهن‬
pmd = Prophet Muhammad (‫)صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬
pmd = Prophet Muhammad ‫صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬
thp = the Holy Prophet (‫)صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬
pbuh = (‫)صلَّى هللا عليه و سلَّن‬
puh = ( ‫)عليه السالم‬
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Arabic Words not Translated:

1. aqeeqa
2. azaan
3. Deen, Deeni
4. Dua = litany, formula
5. Hadith
6. iqama
7. kalima
8. khatna
9. salam
10. sunnah
11. surah
12. Surayya = Pleiades
13. Tauheed
14. Ummah

Dr Arthur Elison
Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1892-1977)