Commentary on the Opening Verse of the Holy Quran (Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim)
by Dr. Basharat Ahmad (Taken from Dr. Basharat Ahmad’s commentary on the 30^th Part of the Quran – ‘Anwaar-ul-Quran’.)
Translated by: Anonymous

Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim (With the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful)

This is in line with the Hadith (tradition of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) where it is written that an angel appeared to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, while he was engaged in his usual worship of God, at the cave of Hira. The angel said, "iqra," i.e., "read." The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied, "I do not know how to read." The angel repeated the same words and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, repeated his answer. And so it happened three times. The fourth time the angel said, "Iqra bismay Rabbay-kalazee Khuluq," i.e., "Read in the name of your Lord who creates." [Note: The Holy Quran, 95:1.] Then the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, started reciting. So it is clear that the verb implied before "With the name of Allah." is "iqra," i.e., to read/recite with the name of Allah. This verb is not explicitly stated, because when a person recites the Quran, the use of the word "iqra," which is a command, would be in opposition to demands of excellence in linguistic style. The worshipper at the time of recitation is fulfilling the order, therefore, the implied verb is ‘aqrau’ i.e., "I read." The subtlety in this is that when the revelation descended from God, because the sentence reflected a command of God, so the implied verb was "iqra," i.e., "Read" (imperative). Similarly, when the worshipper recites the Quran, then he is at that time fulfilling the commandment of God, so the implied verb would be understood to be "aqrau," i.e., "I read/recite with the help of the name of God."

Another advantage of keeping the verb implicit is that when a person recites ‘bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim’ at the beginning of any work, then whatever he is going to do would be consider implied in the sentence. So, this call for God’s help is not restricted to the recitation of the Holy Quran, but is asked for at the beginning of each and every work, thus God’s help is asked for in that work. Thus, in the Hadith [Note: Tradition/saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.] "kul amr la yabd fihi bismilla hir-Rahman nir-Rahim fa howa ajzam," i.e., "any work started without reciting ‘bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim’ is without blessing, and certainly if any person starts his work by asking for the help of God, then his work will be blessed.

‘Ar-Rahman’ (the Beneficent) is He whose generosity is so great that before the birth of man and without any effort or labour on man’s part, the entire resources required for his sustenance were provided. While ‘Ar-Rahim’ refers to the mercy which is granted repeatedly and these attributes manifest themselves time and again and have an excellent and improving effect on each person’s actions.

It is stated in the Hadith, that God, Most High, is the ‘Rahman’ (Beneficent) of this world and the ‘Rahim’ (Merciful) of the hereafter. This is because Rahman, before the birth of man, merely out of his beneficence provided the entire resources for the sustenance and progress of man. So this entire world is a manifestation of the attribute Rahman. The attribute Rahim rewards man for good works and this is fully manifested in the hereafter.

The initial resources are provided to man through the manifestation of the attribute Rahman and when man, through effort, takes advantage of these resources, the results achieved are decided through the manifestation of the attribute Rahim. Land, water, fire, the sun, the moon, rain, etc., exist due to the stipulation of the attribute Rahman. Man’s labour of ploughing and watering the land, is rewarded manifold through the necessary stipulation of the attribute Rahim, so that each seed sown can be returned seven hundred fold. In the same way, eyes, ears, hands, feet, intelligence and knowledge, are all manifestations of God’s attribute Rahman (beneficence). When man utilises these resources and gets excellent results, this is necessary stipulation of the attribute Rahim.

So, when a person starts a work by reciting Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim he acknowledges and thanks God, Most High, for the blessings which God provided merely out of the demands of his attribute Rahman. On the one hand man, is asking God’s help for knowledge, provided as a manifestation of the attribute Rahman, of the right path to achieve his objective, and on the other hand, he is asking God’s help, provided through the attribute Rahim, that the work he carries out may produce excellent results.

For example, when a surgeon recites Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim, before an operation, then at that time his recitation is a prayer of help from God. He acknowledges God’s attribute of Rahman which has provided him eyes, ears, hands, feet, instruments and medicine, and he uses them. But, furthermore, he seeks God, through the attribute Rahman, to provide him with the correct knowledge and lead him on the correct path, so that he can achieve his purpose. From God’s attribute Rahim, he seeks help that the results of the application of his surgical knowledge are successful.

Similarly, at the time of reading the Quran, when a person recites Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim, he acknowledges this blessing of God, that merely due to God’s attribute of Rahman (beneficence) a blessing such as the Quran was granted. As the Quran itself states: "Ar-Rahman alam al-Quran" (The Beneficent; Taught the Quran) [Holy Quran, 55:1-2]. Now at the time of acquiring knowledge from the Quran, he seeks from the attribute Ar-Rahman that he may acquire the true knowledge of the Quran, which when acted upon would lead to achieving his purpose in life; and from the attribute Ar-Rahim he seeks help that his good actions would produce excellent results. In other words, from the attribute Rahman he seeks excellence in knowledge and from the attribute Rahim he seeks excellence in deeds. It is apparent that in this call for help, both this world and the hereafter are included.

To be successful in the world, it is essential to possess correct knowledge, for without correct and complete knowledge, no action, whether for the world or the hereafter, produces effective or correct results. And, unless the results of deeds are correct and complete, there can be no success in the hereafter. The Quran completely possesses the principles and guidance by which man, by acting upon, can achieve the goodness of this world and the hereafter. So at the time of the recitation of the Quran, the prayer and call for help to God, that man utters, in the form of Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim, means that from God’s attribute Rahman he seeks such a complete knowledge of this perfect Book of God, that acting in accordance with this knowledge would lead him to inherit the goodness of this world and the hereafter. From the attribute Rahim, he seeks that his deeds be of such perfection that from them would be produced excellent and better results.

This is also the summary of the first chapter of the Quran -- Al-Fatihah. The call for help in Bismillah (With the assistance of the name of Allah) possesses the essence of ‘iya ka nabadu wa iya ka nastaeen’, which means, ‘Thee do we worship and Thee do we ask for help’. The attribute Rahman possesses within itself the prayer, ‘ihdinas sirat al-mustaqeem’ which means, ‘show us the correct path’. And, it is apparent that this correct path is found through the correct and complete knowledge which is necessarily the stipulation of the attribute Rahman. The attribute Rahim keeps within itself the blessing of the prayer ‘siratul alazina an’umta alaihim’, that is make our deeds and actions so perfect, that we may become part of those people who are blessed by God. So when any person at the time of recitation of the Quran, or at the time of any other work, requests from God, the perfect knowledge of the correct path and for the ability to achieve excellence in deeds, and requests that these actions may reap successful results, it is apparent that such a person has found the purpose of the Quran. He is blissful in this world and he is assured of success in the hereafter. This is because, the Quran was revealed so that mankind could achieve excellence in both knowledge and deeds, and it is on this excellence of knowledge and deeds that success in this world and the hereafter is based.

So, in this Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim not only is there a summary of the chapter Fatihah, but in essence there is also a summary of the whole Quran. Whoever recites Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim, asks for complete and correct knowledge, as well as perfection in deeds, which produce excellent results. In other words, he asked for knowledge of the Quran and good deeds, and further requested perfection in these. One who receives the correct and complete knowledge of the Quran, and furthermore is blessed with excellence in works, is successful and achieves goodness in this world and the hereafter.