Basmala

Basmala (Arabic بسملة) is an Arabic language noun which is used as the collective name of the whole of the recurring Islamic phrase "bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi". This phrase constitutes the first verse of every "sura" (or chapter) of the Qur'an (but one), and is used in a number of contexts by Muslims. It is recited several times as part of Muslim daily prayers, and it is usually the first phrase in the preamble of the constitutions of Islamic countries.

: _ar. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم:"ArabDIN|bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi":"In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"

The Basmala is encoded as a ligature at Unicode codepoint U+FDFD script|Arab|﷽

Name

The word "basmala" itself was derived by a slightly-unusual procedure in which the first four pronounced consonants of the phrase "bismi-llāhi..." were taken as a quadriliteral consonantal root b-s-m-l (ب س م ل). This abstract consonantal root was used to derive the noun basmala, as well as related verb forms which mean "to recite the basmala". The practice of giving often-repeated phrases special names is paralleled by the phrase Allahu Akbar, which is referred to as the "Takbir" (also Ta'awwudh etc.); and the method of coining a quadriliteral name from the consonants of such a phrase is paralleled by the name "Hamdala" for Alhamdulillah.

Occurrence

In the Qur'an, the phrase is usually numbered as the first verse of the first sura, but according to the view adopted by Al-Tabari, it precedes the first verse. It occurs at the beginning of each subsequent sura of the Qur'an, except for the ninth sura (see, however, the discussion of the 8th and 9th chapters of the Qur'an at eighth sura), but is not numbered as a verse except, in the currently most common system, in the first sura (chapter).

The "Basmala" occurs twice in the twenty-seventh sura, at the beginning and in verse 30 (where it prefaces a letter from Sulayman to the Queen of Sheba, Bilqis).

Significance

The Basmala has a special significance for Muslims, who are to begin each task after reciting the verse. Often, Bismillah is preceded by Ta'awwudh. In Arabic calligraphy, it is the most prevalent motif, more so even than the Shahadah. 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 root, R-Ḥ-M "to feel sympathy or pity". According to Lane, "ArabDIN|ar-raḥmān" is more intensive, including in its objects the believer and the unbeliever, and may be rendered as "The Compassionate", while "ArabDIN|ar-raḥīm" has for its peculiar object the believer, considered as expressive of a constant attribute, and may be rendered as "The Merciful".

Alternative Christian meaning

Arabic-speaking Christians sometimes use the word Basmala ( _ar. بسملة) to refer to the Christian liturgical formula "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" ( _ar. باسم الآب والابن والروح القدس, "ArabDIN|bismi-l-’abi wa-l-ibni wa-r-rūḥi l-qudusi"), from [http://www.arabicbible.com/bible/nt/mat/28.htm Matthew 28:19] .

Numerology

The total value of the letters of "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim" according to one Arabic system of numerology is 786. There are two methods of arranging the letters of the Arabic alphabet. One method is the most common alphabetical order (used for most ordinary purposes), beginning with the letters Alif ا, ba ب, ta ت, tha ث etc. The other method is known as the Abjad numerals' method or ordinal method. In this method the letters are arranged in the following order: Abjad, Hawwaz, Hutti, Kalaman, Sa'fas, Qarshat, Sakhaz, Zazagh; and each letter has an arithmetic value assigned to it from one to one thousand. (This arrangement was done, most probably in the 3rd century of Hijrah during the 'Abbasid period, following the practices of speakers of other Semitic languages such as Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldean etc.)

Taking into account the numeric values of all the letters of the Basmala, according to the Abjad order, the total is 786. In the Indian subcontinent the Abjad numerals have become quite popular. Some people, mostly in India and Pakistan, use 786 as a substitute for Bismillah ("In the name of Allah" or "In the name of God"). They write this number to avoid writing the name of God, or Qur'anic verses on ordinary papers, which can be subject to dirt or come in contact with unclean materials. This practice does not date from the time of Muhammad and is not universally accepted by Muslims.

The numerical significance of Bismillah has been elaborated in a book called Beyond Probablity and is based on number 19. [http://www.masjidtucson.org/downloads/bp.pdf Beyond Probability] - God's Message in Mathematics. Series 1: The Opening Statement of the Quran (The Basmalah)

Cultural references

The Iranian authorities permitted an album of songs by the popular music band Queen to be released in Iran in August 2004, partly because the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" contains several exclamations of the word "Bismillah". [Queen album brings rock to Iran, cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3593532.stm
date=2004-08-24
retrieved=2007-03-04
title=Queen album brings rock to Iran
work=BBC News] The lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury was of Indian extraction, born in Zanzibar as Farouk Bulsara to Indian Parsi parents. Arabic language lyrics appear in another Queen song, "Mustapha" on the album "Jazz",

See also

* Kalima
* Shahada
* List of Islamic terms in Arabic
* List of Christian terms in Arabic

External links

* [http://www.masjidtucson.org/downloads/bp.pdf Beyond Probablity] God's Message in Mathematics. Series 1: The Opening Statement of the Quran (The Basmalah)
* [http://www.renaissance.com.pk/aprqur96.html Bismallah] as in Tadabbur-i-Qur'an
* [http://wahiduddin.net/words/bismillah.htm Meaning of Bismillah]

References