Basmala

For other uses, see Bismillah and In the name of Allah (disambiguation).

The basmala on the oldest surviving Quran.
Basmala calligraphy
Calligraphic rendition of the Bismillah
A calligraphic rendition of the Basmala
Mughal-era calligraphy

The Basmala (Arabic: بَسْمَلَة, basmalah; also known by its opening words Bi-smi llāh; بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ, "In the name of God"),[1] or Tasmiyyah (Arabic: تَسْمِيَّة), is the titular name of the Islamic phrase "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" (Arabic: بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ, bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi).[Notes 1] It is one of the most important phrases in Islam and is used by Muslims mostly before starting "good deeds" (for instance, during daily prayer) as well as beginning of most daily actions.[citation needed]

It is used in over half of the constitutions of countries where Islam is the official religion or more than half of the population follows Islam, usually the first phrase in the preamble, including those of Afghanistan,[2] Bahrain,[3] Bangladesh,[4] Brunei,[5] Egypt,[6] Iran,[7] Iraq,[8] Kuwait,[9] Libya,[10] Maldives,[11] Pakistan,[12] Saudi Arabia,[13] Tunisia[14] and the United Arab Emirates.[15]

It is the phrase recited before each chapter (surah) of the Qur'an – except for the ninth At-Tawbah.[Notes 2][16] Muslim disagreement over whether to include the Basmala within the Quranic text reached consensus following the 1924 Cairo Edition, which included it as the first verse (āyah) of Quran chapter 1 but otherwise included it as an unnumbered line of text preceding the other relevant 112 chapters.[17]

The Islamic Basmala appears to be related to earlier variants of the phrase appearing in Arabian inscriptions from the 5th and 6th centuries.[18]

  1. ^ Shelquist, Richard (2008-01-03). "Bismillah al rahman al rahim". Living from the Heart. Wahiduddin. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  2. ^ "Afghanistan Constitution". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Constitution of the State of Bahrain" (PDF). Constitution Finder. University of Richmond. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. ^ "The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh". Laws of Bangladesh. Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Constitution of Brunei Darussalam (as revised 1984)" (PDF). Constitution Finder. University of Richmond. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt 2014" (PDF). Egypt State Information Service. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Iraqi Constitution" (PDF). Republic of Iran - Ministry of Interior - General Directorate of Nationality. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Kuwait Constitution". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Libya's Constitution of 2011" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Maldives 2008" (PDF). Republic of Maldives Ministry of Tourism. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  12. ^ "The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" (PDF). National Assembly of Pakistan. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  13. ^ "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Constitute Project.
  14. ^ "The Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia" (PDF). Venice Commission. Council of Europe. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Constitution of the United Arab Emirates" (PDF). Refworld The Leader in Refugee Decision Support. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  16. ^ Ali, Kecia; Leaman, Oliver (2008). Islam: the key concepts (Repr. ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-39638-7.
  17. ^ William A. Graham "Basmala" Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, Vol. 1
  18. ^ Ahmad al-Jallad (2020). "The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia: Context for the Qur’an", in Mustafa Shah & Muhammad Abdel Haleem (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Quranic Studies. Oxford University Press, p. 123. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199698646.013.44.


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