Tasmiyah/ Al-Basmalah: First things first...

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

ب + اسم >>>   In the name

The word ism with root letters و م  س means a sign. Our names are signs that point to us. Names form our identity.

Interestingly, the word Bismi – doesn’t say anything about starting something. It simply says – “in the name of…” There is also no mention of any particular action like reading the Quran, eating etc. Allah ﷻ just made it simple and left it as “bismillahi…” This makes it comprehensive. We can say Basmalah anytime and for any good action in which we are seeking the blessings of Allah ﷻ. It will be meaningful in every time and situation.

The word الله is the special name of Allah ﷻ

Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem are the two attributes of Allah ﷻ. Raham refers to the inner lining of a mother’s uterus which cares for all needs of the child during pregnancy. The words that rightly come to our mind when we hear the word Rahma are love, protection, constantly caressing, caring without needing anything in return.

Allah ﷻ could have used any of His attributes here of power, strength punishment etc., but He used both His attributes relating to His rehmat. This is His exceeding love for us.

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“If the believer knew what is with Allah of punishment, none would hope for Paradise, and if the disbeliever knew what is with Allah of mercy, none would despair of (attaining) Paradise.”
(Reference: Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3542)

Quran contains 114 surahs and Basmalah comes in the Quran 114 times. It comes at the beginning of every other Surah except Surah At-Tawbah. Basmalah also comes in the middle of Surah An-Naml 27:30.

إِنَّهُ مِن سُلَيْمَانَ وَإِنَّهُ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it reads: 'In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

One of the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ is mentions that before him no one other than Sulayman AS received an ayah like Bismillah. Both Torah and Injeel (Old and New Testament) did not have anything like Basmalah.

According to one narration, Quraysh were getting exceedingly frustrated with the dawah of Islam and the majesty of the Quran. They appointed a renowned poet and writer, Ibn-e-Muqaffa to write a few verses that could compete with the ayaat of the Quran. He stayed in seclusion working on his project while the Quraysh took care of all the needs of his family. After a few months, they went to check in on him and his progress. He confessed that he could not even write anything to the weight of Basmalah, let alone the whole Quran and he took his shahadah and became a Muslim.

When we say the Basmalah, it reminds us that we are doing something with the permission of our Master. It reminds us that we can not do anything and nothing or no one can help us without the permission of Allah ﷻ. We should inculcate the habit of saying Basmalah. It gives us barakah, protects us from shaytaan and reminds us to stop ourselves from doing things that might not be pleasing to Allah ﷻ. 

For more about Al-Basmalah, please watch this video,