Bismillah as a tool for way out (Muhammad Imran Ishaq, Ubqari Karachi)

Having learnt about the special edition of Ubqari, it came into my mind that I should share some of the miraculous effects ofBismillah in the beginning as everything started with Bismillah ends in blessing. The Bismillah means ‘In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, and the most Merciful.

Bismillah is a part of Quran:

Bismillah is a part of Quran as it comes in Surah Naml(ayah 30)and it is also recited before allSurahs except Surah Tauba.

Injunction to start everything withBismillah:

Before Islam, during the days of ignorance, the people would start everything while saying the names of their idols. So in order to eliminate this evil practice, the first ayah of the Holy Quran revealed on our Prophet ﷺ by the Archangel HadhratJibrail عليه السلام  was اقراء بسم ربک to begin with the name of your Nourisher(96:1). AllamaSuyyuti رحمة الله عليه  has mentioned that even the other Holy books besides Quran would also start with Bismillah but some other scholars have the  opinion that this distinction is only for Quran and Ummat-e-Muhammadiya علي صاحبها الصلوات والتسليم ( QurtabiRooh-ul-Mu’aani)

According to a Hadith, even a good deed without Bismillah remains boon less. Another Hadithconcerning the night’s etiquettes suggests that Bismillah should be recited upon closing the gates, on turning off the lights, on covering the pots. Moreover it is also recommendedin various ahadiths& Quran to recite Bismillah before taking meal, drinking water, doing ablution(Wudu) riding on the vehicles and getting off.(Mu’arif-ul-Quran V1, P74)

 According to anotherHadith, Hadhrat Ayesha رضى الله عنها narratedthat our beloved Prophet ﷺ once was taking his meal along with his blessed companions when there came a bedouin and finished the whole meal in just two bites and went away. Then Holy Prophet ﷺ commented that his meal would have been sufficient enough for all of you, if he had had recited Bismillah. It is also mentioned in Tafsir-e-Kabir that HadhratNuh عليه السلامrecited just half of Bismillah  سْمِ اللہِ مَجْرٖىھَا وَمُرْسٰىہَا  and got rid from the destruction of a giant global flood. Therefore how come he, whorecites the whole of that,would remain deprived of best of both the worlds.

The Prophetic tip of Blessing in meals:

Another Hadith states that some companions complained to the Prophet ﷺ that even after eating full meal, they would feel like hungry. The belovedProphet ﷺ asked them if they eat their meals individually or together. They replied that they take their meals individually. Upon this the Beloved Prophet ﷺ recommended for them to eat together and reciteBismillah in the beginning to get blessing in food.

Bismillah as a gateway of Blessings:

Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz رحمة الله عليه mentioned that Bismillah is a gateway of blessings. This acts like an entrance when we begin our recitation of the Holy Quran so we get through that gateway. It is recommended to be recited in the beginning as it contains two magnificentcharacterises of the Almighty Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem(Al-Rahman means the one who brings down the big bounties and Al-Raheem means he does so again and again). That’s why it is prohibited to be recited before Surah Tauba as the starting ayahas of that Surah mention the Wrath of Allah Almighty and that’s not an occasion to join the mercy and blessings of Allah Almighty (Khutbat-e-Ehtasham Vol.1, p68)

The logic behind reciting of Bismillah:

Recitation ofBismillah in the beginning of everything is a clear proofof Islam asa logical way of life. We are asked to invoke three wordsi.e. Allah, Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem and these three represent three authorisations without which nothing can be fulfilled. Hence, the word Allah represents Creator of all the worlds so when we begin something, we need resources for that e.g. we need crops to eat, land to build houses on, water to drink etc. So it has been necessitated to remember the Allah Almighty who has created this all in the best proportion and without these resources it would have never been possible to even think about anything.

Then even these resources are just useless if you don’t have the ability to benefit from them. So we call our Lord with His name Al-Rahman. We are required to ask for the second authorisation so not only we get the resources but also able to utilise them efficiently. Then what would happen if all this could not produce any useful output. Therefore in order to acquire effectiveness and desired results, we need to have the third authorisation i.e. Al-Raheem which is necessary for the effective output.

 Therefore we learnthat the input converted into the quality output requires Almighty’s Blessing in three forms. i)Availability of resources. ii) Efficiently processing them iii) Effectuive output and all these three objectives can be achieved through the three miraculous names of the Almighty. That shows a logical sequence of our Islam. I pray to Allah Almighty to grant us ability for the good deeds (Khutbat-e-Ehtasham p78)