Bismillah Friday Night Circle

Bismillah Notes

A quick reminder:

“When they board the ship, the invoke God, putting exclusive faith in Him,
but when he delivers them to land, behold, they ascribe partners.” (29:65)

Grammatical Point

The “Ba” or “Be” (meaning, in) in Bismillah, according to the scholars of

Arabic, is related to an implied verb- I begin

Sulayman Balkhi in his Yanabiu'l-Mawadda, reports Ibn Abbas as saying:

"Once on a moonlit night after the Isha prayer, Ali, taking me by the hand led
me to the graveyard of Baqi and said: 'Abdullah! Recite.' I recited the verse
'Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.' The Holy Imam continued telling me the
secrets and mysteries of the Ba of 'Bismillah' until dawn."
(Peshawar Nights, Tenth Session, Part 8. Sultanu'l-Wa'izin Shirazi.)

In a commentary on the Bismillah 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).”

The Holy Prophet (saw) has said, “La salaata illa bi fatihatul kitab wa
bismillahir rahmanir raheem min ayatiha.”
“There is no prayer without Fatihah, and Bismillah is one of it’s verses.”

Abu Hanifa, founder of Hanafi school gave permission to his followers to

recite Bismillah quietly, because the Holy Prophet used to recite Bismillah in
his prayers, yet in his (Abu Hanifa’s) opinion, it was not a part of the surah
itself. (Tafsir Kabir, Abdul Hayy)

Some Sunni scholars, in their justification of discounting Bismillah, divide the

last verse of Al Fateha into two, although this does not make sense with the
mean and construction of the verse.

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer

Bismillah Friday Night Circle

Comprehensiveness of Bismillah

1) Acknowledgement of Allah as Lord and Master

2) Confession of one’s own helplessness
3) Belief in Allah as ever-living, all-knowing, almighty
4) Reliance on Allah as the Supreme Being, seeking His Pleasure and
Mercy
5) Conviction in Allah’s reply of Mercy

Ghafir (The Forgiver) 40:60 And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will
answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will
surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"

High levels of meaning to Bismillah:

1) I seek help (commonly understood meaning)

2) I put on myself Allah’s mark
3) Existence appeared

The question is, “In the Name of Allah…what?” (The verb is missing)
-some commentators say the statement’s comprehensiveness allows
for the person reciting to fill in the blank with his/her own action

2) “Sima” or “Alama”

“Asimu ala nafsi bi simatillah.” Imam ar Ridha (as)

“I realize my relation to Allah.”

ie. Allah is All-Perfect, therefore I am entirely imperfect

Allah is All-Powerful, therefore I am entirely weak
Allah is the Provider, therefore I am the needy
Allah is the Creator, therefore I am the created
etc.

3) Everything is a Sign or Manifestation of Allah(‘s names, signs, etc)

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer

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Al-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:190 Behold! in the creation of the heavens
and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs
for men of understanding,-

(Creation vs. Manifestation)

At this level you are no longer looking at existences as independent realities,

but rather as manifestations of an Ever-Present God.

ex. Traffic light- it is not the colors that are inherently important, rather
it is the reality they represent

Bismillah is not just an isolated beginning, or even the start of a timed

sequence of events, but rather an eternal manifestation of Allah’s Divine
Names/Attributes.

However, we have a disconnect between what is truly real, we know in our

mind, and what our hearts accept as reality.
Imam Khomeini- ex. dark room & dead body (40 Hadith, On Riya’.
Imam Khomeini)

Aim to fix this reality in the heart through reflection and self purification, such
that when we stand for prayer, the heart, mind, and tongue, are intrinsically
connected before the words even reach our lips.

Bismillah must be connected to the Surah you are reciting, in other words if
you start a Surah with Bismillah, you must have that Surah in mind. You
cannot recite Bismillah and then decide which Surah you are going to read.
(Light Within Me, Khomeini) http://www.al-islam.org/lwm/khumayni_2.htm

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer

Bismillah Friday Night Circle

‘Bismillah’ (In the Name of Allah), rather than ‘Befarmaid’:

In the smallest and finest details of affairs of life, Imam was not only
particular about carrying out the compulsory acts and to shun the forbidden
acts, but was just as particular about carrying out the recommended acts that
are in the traditions and customs of Islam. Furthermore, between those acts
that hold no reward or sin and recommended acts, he used to choose the
best and most advisable act, and therefore acted on the recommended acts.
On the whole it can be said his life was an incarnation of perfect Islamic
lifestyle.

For example, going on the tens and hundreds of times that it occurred when
we went to see him, it was necessary that we get permission to enter by
knocking the door. Rather than use the word ‘Befarmaid’, Imam would say,
‘Bismillah.’ Despite the fact that ‘Befarmaid’ was agreeable and common,
Imam used to say ‘Bismillah’ so that while doing dhikr of Allah, he would give
permission to enter and couple the start of the meeting with the name of
Allah.

It is this very Godly way and manner of Imam that led the society in the
direction of the rites and values of Islam. He spread the culture of Islam in
even the most simplest of affairs.

The followers of his method chose the recitation of Takbirs and Salawats
rather than clapping as a method of encouragement and confirmation,
‘Alhamdulillah’ (Praise be to Allah) rather than the foreign word ‘Merci’ as a
method of thanking, and adopted dhikr and praise of Allah and Salawat rather
than foreign acts.

Hujjatul Islam Rahimian

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer