What does Bismillah mean? Some notes based on Zamakhshari’s Al-Kashshaf.

Many of us have read the English translation of Bismillah. It is commonly translated as In the name of Allah or With the name of Allah. The translation gives us a general understanding but do we really understand what Bismillah means? In this article, I will share a few brilliant insights into the rich meaning of this blessed phrase primarily based on the famous tafsir of Imam Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf and also taking a bit from Ibn Ashur’s Al-Tahrir Wa Al-Tanwir and Shaykh Zadah’s commentary on Imam Baydawi’s tafsir.

The first thing to note is that Bismillah is a phrase, not a full sentence – In the name of Allah. To be specific, it is a prepositional phrase. Phrases do not convey complete meanings in and of themselves. For example, if I say To the Masjid it sounds incomplete. There are some assumed words we need to connect this phrase to in order to make complete sense of it. And in order to do that, we need to know the context. For example, if someone asked me Where are you going? and I replied To the Masjid, what I really mean is I am going to the Masjid.

Likewise, Bismillah is a prepositional phrase that needs to connect to an omitted or hidden word. In the context of reciting the Qur’an, the assumed hidden word is aqra’u or I read. In the context of some other action such as eating or drinking Bismillah would connect to akulu (I eat ) or ashrabu (I drink) respectively.

Now the meaning becomes In the name of Allah, I read or I eat or I drink and so on.

Notice that the omitted word is placed after Bismillah, not before, whereas the usual practice is to place the assumed word before the phrase i.e. we are saying In the name of Allah, I read instead of I read in the name of Allah, which is the usual usage.

We learn in the science of Balagha, or rhetoric, that when we change the order of the words or phrases in a sentence and bring forward that which usually comes at the end and delay that which usually comes at the front, it gives the meaning of only and alone creating the effect of confinement and restriction (hasr) i.e. Only in the name of Allah (and no one else), I read or In the name of Allah alone (and no one else), I read.

We see another example of this rhetorical device in Surah Al Fatiha when we say Iyyaka na’budu i.e. Only You, we worship.

This hasr is important for two reasons. Firstly, the blessed name of Allah is given precedence and importance over our actions by bringing it forward. Secondly, the people of jahiliyyah used to invoke the name of their idols when beginning an action by saying In the name of Al-Lat, In the name of ‘Uzza. Even the Qur’an mentions in Surah Al-Shuara, ayah 44, that the sorcerers invoked Pharaoh’s name: And they said, “By the majesty of Pharaoh, we will be triumphant for sure”.

Therefore, it is necessary for Muslims to specify that it is Allah alone in Whose name we begin our actions, and this is achieved by assuming the omitted verb, such as I read, after Bismillah. This is similar to ayah 41, Surah Hud:

With the name of Allah it sails and anchors.

One of the most important discussions in tafsir books on Bismillah is about the word Ba that is used in Bismillah. Ba as a preposition can be used in several different ways. As it is the letter Ba that connects the phrase name of Allah to the verb I read, what does this connection mean? What is the connection between reading and the name of Allah?

Imam Zamakhshari explains two different ways in which the Ba in Bismillah can be understood.

Firstly, it can be understood as the Ba in كتبت بالقلم, I wrote with the pen. The pen is used as a tool to complete the action of writing. Likewise, the name of Allah is the means through which we seek our actions to be completed and counted in accordance with the shar’ and the sunnah of the Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him, as per the hadith: Any matter of importance which is not begun with the name of Allah remains defective.

Secondly, the Ba can be like the Ba in Surah Al-Mu’minoon, ayah 20, تَنْبُتُ بِالدُّهْنِ, [The olive tree] grows with oil. In his tafsir of this verse, Imam Zamakhshari explains that the phrase with oil is in the place of, what is grammatically known as, haal or the state/condition of the subject, object or both while the action happens:

بِالدُّهْنِ في موضع الحال، أى: تنبت وفيها الدهن

So, the meaning would be something like this: [The olive tree] grows while there is in it oil i.e. it grows while in a state of having oil in it. Or simply, it grows with oil.

In terms of Bismillah, the meaning would be rendered thus:

متبرّكا بسم اللَّه أقرأ

Seeking blessings with the name of Allah alone, I read.

So, متبرّكا بسم اللَّه is the haal or state in which I read, أقرأ. Now this way of understanding Bismillah has a profound meaning. If seeking blessings with Allah’s name is my state while I read or eat or carry out any other action, it means that the name of Allah is not merely something that is invoked in the beginning and then forgotten about. Rather, seeking and hoping for barakah with Allah’s blessed name is a constant presence and feature of my action. Therefore, the blessed name of Allah is inseparably attached to my action.

[A note for those more grammatically attuned: In the above case, the Ba is for musahaba/mulabasa and the meaning would be estimated to be: ملتبسا باسم الله اقرأ. As Shaykh Zadah explains, the tabarruk is only assumed in order to explain that the mulabasa is for seeking blessings.]

May Allah grant us the tawfiq to begin every matter of importance with His blessed name.

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