Tafsir Fatiha

The Power of BASMALA

by : Shaykh Kabbani

Towards the Understanding of  The Eternal

Muhammad RasulAllah

The Basmala

Fact:

• 19 letters

• Abjad Value or 786 adds to 21

“Bismillah ir-rahman  ir-raheem”. Some scholars say that this phrase is a verse (ayah) that was revealed by itself. Other scholars say that it is a part of the Fatiha. For this reason some schools of thought connect Bismillah ir-rahman  ir-raheem with the Fatiha when they pray. Others do not connect it but instead recite it separately. They do not consider it part of the Fatiha.

 Shaykh Isma`il al-Haqqi says:

“Kullu `uloom bil kutub al arba`a wa `uloomuha fil Qur’an.” - “It is said that all the knowledge that Allah gave to humanity in this universe is found in the four holy books: az-Zabur (Psalms), the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel or New Testament), and the Holy Qur’an”.  

• “Wa `uloomul Qur’an bil Fatiha.

• Wa `uloom ul-Fatiha bil-basmala.

• Qad `awda Allah jam`iyyal ‘uloomi fil Ba bi Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem.” – “and the complete knowledge of the Holy Qur’an is contained in the Faatiha.

• And all the knowledge in Fatiha is contained within the Basmala (Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem).

• And all the knowledge in the Basmala is contained in the letter ‘ba’  (harful ba).

• The wisdom of the other three holy books is in the Holy Qur’an, the Essence of which is in the Fatiha whose meaning is contained in the Basmala.”

 BA- And the Bahr Qudra- Spinning Universes Oceans of Power

It is said that all the knowledge that Allah (swt) revealed was placed in the ‘ba’, the first letter of Bismillah ir-rahman  ir-raheem.

Allah said, “Bee kaana wa yakoon” - “In Me, i.e. through My Power, all came to be and all is continuing in existence.”

• Bi is formed from two letters ‘Ba’ {2}and ‘Ya’.{10}{ = 12 or Completion reflection is 21 in Akhira }

• And He said, “Bee kaana ma kaan wa bee yakoon ma yakoon.”

The letter ‘Ba’ is like a ship with the dot, ‘nukta’, under it.

•  ‘Ya’ refers to Allah (swt). With Me (“Bee”) what will be, will be – whatever happens, happens, and what was, was. { Come back to the Bahr Qudra}

• That is a small understanding of the saying that all knowledge is contained within the ‘Ba’. That is why the first letter of the Holy Qur'an is the ‘Ba’.

Shaykh al-Haqqi says, “The existence of all the universes and all within them is in the ‘Ba’.” This is because the ‘Ba’ is with Allah (swt).” It is He who brought that letter.  With that ‘Ba’ He created all the universes. Someone said, “Maa nadharru shayan illa wa r`aytullaha feeh” - “I never look at something without seeing a sign of Allah (swt) there.”

Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem 

• Shaykh al-Haqqi says, “Wa `allam anna ar-Rahmata min siffat idh-dhaat wa huwa iraadatuhu isaal ul-khair wa daff`u sharr” – “Let it be known that ar-Rahmah, Mercy, is from the Attributes of the Essence.

• Allah (swt) desires that goodness (khair) reaches His servants, and that the evil (sharr) be kept away from them.” That is why He swt said if the believer wants evil to be kept away from him, he should recite, “A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem.” When he says “A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem”, he is expelling Shaytan from his heart and approaching Allah (swt).

• He continues this by saying Bismillah ir-rahman  ir-raheem.

Every deed ( ‘amal) that the believer wishes to perform should be begun by saying,  “A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem”. It is a request from his Lord for refuge,

• istighaatha (seeking a means)

• and madad (support).

• He is seeking refuge in Allah (swt) from Shaytan ir-Rajeem. Allah (swt) removes Shaytan ar-Rajeem by opening for the believer “Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem.

• The reality of the knowledge contained within the ‘Ba’ will be opened. When doing anything, great or seemingly insignificant the believer should start with this phrase.

• For example when about to take a drink of water, the believer should say, “A`udhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem, Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem”. After this Shaytan is unable to remove baraka from his water.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Nuaym that Wahb ibn Kaysan said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was brought food while his stepson Umar ibn Salama was with him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, 'Say "Bismillah," and eat what is in front of you.'

Grandshaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani says:

“Without preceding an action by ‘Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem’ no good can come of it. Therefore Shaytan attempts to interfere with the believer’s reciting it seventy times in order to spoil it. For to forget ‘Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem’ is to forget Allah, and without Allah’s remembrance no action has a foundation or a support.”

The greatest sign of Allah’s (swt) Mercy (rahmah) is the creation of the universes and humanity - khalqil makhlooqaat.

• From His Mercy, which is connected to His Essence, is the attribute ar-Raheem and the creation of al-khalq (all of creation, among which are human beings).

• If Allah (swt) was not Raheem, then mankind would have been unknown.

• When He creates something, it becomes known. He wants creation to know about Him. He said, “I created the creation so that they might know Me.”

• If mankind had not been created he would not know Allah (swt). From His Essential attribute of Mercy (siffatur Rahmah adh-Dhaatiyyah) the description of His Mercy is the creation of human beings. By creating him, He made mankind reach what is known. Without creating mankind, He would have stayed as unknown. From His Rahmah He created mankind. { ALR-HM-N}

The Prophet (s) said, `Inna lillahi `edur Rahma. ‘ata Wahidatan minha li `ahl id-dunya wad dakhala tis’an wa tis’eena `ilal `aakhira yarhamu bi naa’imat “Allah (swt) has 100 Mercies. He gave one mercy to all creations in dunya and left ninety-nine mercies for the hereafter in order to forgive His servants.” All life exists by means this single mercy. There is so much happiness present in dunya from only a single mercy that one can only imagine what the remaining ninety-nine left for `aakhira and the Judgment Day are like.

 The entire nation of Muhammad (s) (`ummatun Naby (s) jami’an) will be protected by these ninety-nine mercies. As long as people say, “La `ilaha `illallah, Muhammadan Rasool Allah” and establish prayer, give poor-due, fast Ramadan and make the pilgrimage if they are able they will be in Paradise under those ninety-nine mercies. This blessing is from Allah’s attribute of Mercy.

 Allah described two types of mercy in “Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem”. They are the general one and the private one (ar-Rahmat al-‘aama wal-khaasa). The general mercy is for everyone, and the private one is for a select few. In `aakhira Allah (swt) will forgive the people of Islam (`ahlul-Islam) and send them to paradise. He will put them there by saying “Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ar-Raheem”.

Shaykh al-Haqqi relates “Qaalu lillahi ta’aala thalaathatul `aalaf ism. Alfun ar-rawaha malaa`ika.” – “It is said that Allah (swt) has 3,000 names. One thousand of them He gave the angels to know.” They describe the greatness of His Mercy. Within every name there is a Rahmah with which Allah (swt) will bless His servants on Judgment Day. Wa `alf, ar-rafahul `anbiya. One thousand He gave to `anbiya (prophets). Three hundred in each of the Holy books (the Taurat, the Injil and the Zabur) and ninety-nine in the Holy Qur`an.

One name He left for Himself and no one knows this name. He placed all these attributes within three names: Allah, Ar-Rahman, and Ar-Raheem.

That is why Bismillah is followed by ar-Rahmaan  ir-raheem.

Shaykh al-Haqqi says, “Faman `aalimaha wa qaalaha fa kaannama dhakarallahu ta’aala bi kulli `asma`I” – “Whoever learned the Basmala and repeated it, it will be as if he had called upon his Lord by all three thousand of His Names.” (Anyone who repeats Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem it is as if he has called upon his Lord by His three thousand Names). This is why Muslims should teach it to their children and teach them to repeat this phrase when beginning any action.  

It is related that the Prophet (s) said, “The night that I ascended to Paradise, the four rivers of Paradise were beneath me:

• one from water;

• one from milk;

• one from wine and

• one from honey.

• I asked Jibril (as), ‘Ya Jibril (as), from where do these rivers come, and where do they go?’

He said, ‘All of them go to your Pond, Nahr ul-Kauthar, but I do not know where they come from. If you want to know, Ya Muhammad (s), ask your Lord, and He will teach you.’ I asked, ‘Ya Rabbi, from where do they come?’ An angel came and greeted the Prophet (s) and said, ‘Ya Muhammad (s), close your eyes.’ Then he said, ‘Open your eyes.’

The Prophet said, “I opened my eyes, and found myself by a tree,

• with a white dome of pearl,

• and a door of red gold.

• I saw all of universes that Allah has created, with the jinn, animals and human beings and that dome was able to carry them all, and it was able to carry still more.

• The dome was made from a single pearl. A normal pearl is so small that it must come from a big ocean. Allah (swt) showed me that all these universes that were put on that dome were like birds sitting on a mountain. I saw the four rivers coming from under that dome.

“When I began to return , the angel said to me, ‘Why don’t you go inside?’ I replied, ‘How can I go inside when the door is locked and I don’t have the key for it?’ The angel said, ‘Ya Muhammad (s), the key to that lock is <<Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem>>, so say it.’

So I approached, and I said, ‘Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem’, and the lock opened.

• I entered and saw four rivers coming from the four sides of the dome.

• Written on the top of each side of the dome was ‘Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem’.

• The river of water was flowing from the letter ‘mim’ of Bismillah.

• The River of Milk was flowing from the ‘Ha’ of Allah (swt).”

• “I saw the River of Wine coming from the ‘Mim’ of the word ar-Rahman.

• I saw the River of Honey, coming from the ‘Mim’ of the word ar-Raheem.  [ Together is Mhmm Muhamma ]

I knew then that the source of these four rivers is the Basmala from Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem. Allah said, ‘Ya Muhammad (s), if your ummah comes to Me and asks Me with a a pure heart, without arrogance, and they begin with Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem I will allow them to quench their thirst from these four rivers.’”

• The milk mentioned here symbolizes innocence as the letter ‘Ha’ denotes Hu and refers to the absolute unseen, the absolute innocence that no one knows [except the Prophet].

• That is why the Prophet (s) said, “Human beings are born innocent.” Like a child submitting to his father. If one surrenders to Allah (swt) like a child surrenders to his parents, Allah will grant him everything.

• The wine here represents…Sustenance Food ,Water The air we breath.

• The honey represents… Shifa and  Shafa Healing and Intercession for day of accounting

• The water represents…. Life

A hadith relates that a du’a will never be rejected by Allah (swt) when it begins “Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem”.[10]

Wa fil hadeethy ‘aydan ‘an an Naby (s), Man rafa’a firtaasa minal ardi maktooban ‘alayhi Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem `ijlaalan lahu wa ismihi ‘an anludanna `askaya ‘indallah minas Siddeeqeen, wa khaffafa ‘an waalidayhi wa `in kaana mushrikeen. “If anyone sees a paper on the floor with Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem written on it, and takes it and puts it in a safe place, and shows respect for the Name of Allah (swt) he will be raised to the level of Siddiqeen (trustworthy) and even if his parents were polytheists (mushrikeen), their punishment will be reduced because of that.”[11]

It was also said by the great scholar Shaykh Ahmad Boony in Nataa`ib `Ishaar that `inna shajaratun wujooda qara`at ‘an Bismillah ir-rahmaan  ir-raheem. Wa `innal ‘aalama kullahu qaa`imun biha”– “The tree of existence for everything came from ‘Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem.’ And indeed all the universes exist (or continue in existence) by means of ‘Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem’.”