Great Arab grammarians believe that the Arabic word ‘ism (name)’ is derived from ‘sumuw’ meaning greatness. The All-Compassionate connected the preposition ‘bi (in)’ to ‘ism (name)’ in this phrase to connote that by reciting the phrase, the supplicant wants to beseech Allah. The supplicant should be aware that calling Allah is not sufficient; rather the soul should be purified by seeking forgiveness from the Almighty. In fact calling Allah without purity of mind and sincerity of intention is disrespect. The Almighty is in the highest and the most holy position, while the man is in the lowest place and cannot promote his position, except by making strong connection to Allah. That’s why the Merciful has set ‘bismill¡hi (in the Name of Allah)’ as the mediator phrase between Himself and the human being.
An attentive mystic has stated that the Arabic letter ‘b¡'’ (B) connotes the beginning of mystical treading the path to Allah, and from ‘b¡'’ to ‘s¢n’ (S) which connotes the secret of knowing Allah, there is an endless desert of ignorance. Hiding of ‘alif’ (A) in this vast desert implies that if the seeker does not dissolve his egotism in the light of Allah’s Unity, he will not reach ‘m¢m’ (M) which connotes the ultimate intention.
Some believe that ‘b¡'’ (B) implies Allah’s Beneficence to all the people and especially to the ordinary people; ‘s¢n’ (S) implies the secret of His kindness to the noble, and ‘m¢m’ (M) is indicator of His Mercy to the most special nobles.
The invaluable books ‘Al-K¡f¢’, ‘Taw¦¢d ¯ad£q’, ‘Ma’ani Al-Akhbar’ and ‘Tafs¢r Ayyashi’, it is narrated from Imam ¯¡diq (a.s): “Each of these three letters (in the word ‘bism’) implies one of the Glorious names of Allah; ‘b¡'’ is Allah’s Brightness, ‘s¢n’ is Allah’s Eminence, and ‘m¢m’ is His Magnificence.
It is also stated that ‘b¡'’ implies the Observant, ‘s¢n’ implies the All-Hearing, and ‘m¢m’ implies the Counter. It is as if Allah makes the supplicant aware that: I am the Observant; I can observe your visible and invisible deeds, so avoid hypocrisy in your action, I am the All-Hearing; I can hear the result of your deeds and supplications, so avoid useless speech, and I am the Counter; I can count even your breaths, so beware of every moment.
The glorified word ‘Allah’ is a comprehensive name for the Almighty, which is a combination of all the attributes of Allah. It is believed that three meanings are present in Allah:
- Allah is the Eternal Being.
- Human mind is astonished of knowing and seeking Him.
- The return of all beings is towards Him.
It is said that the Arabic word ‘الله (allah)’ is the Chief name of God and is the basis of His Unity, to the extent that if a disbeliever calls this name sincerely, his belief will be proved. This name is the beginning and end of everything, which is to be upright. Also the strength of risalat (prophet hood) and wilayat is based on this name, as it exists in the Arabic phrase ‘محمد رسول الله (Mu¦ammad is Allah’s Messenger)’ and ‘علي ولي الله (`Al¢ is Allah’s Intimate Servant)’.
Further, if the first letter of the Arabic word ‘allah (الله)’ is omitted, what remains is ‘lill¡hi (لله)’, which means ‘for Allah,’ as in the following Verse:
لِلَّهِ الأَمْرُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمِنْ بَعْدُ.
Allah's is the command before and after. (30/4)
If the first two letters are dropped, what remains is ‘lah£ (له)’, which means (His) remains, as in the following Verse:
لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ.
To Him belongs the kingdom, and to Him is due all praise. (64/1)
If the first three letters are dropped, what remains is ‘huwa (هو)”, which means ‘He’ implying Almighty Allah, as in the following Verse:
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ.
Say: He, Allah, is One. (112/1)
As a result, the name, which has so many features, is Allah’s Chief name, for sure.
The word “رحمن” (the Beneficent) is derived from “رحمت” (Mercy). Great Arab grammarians believe that it is hyperbole. To Islamic scholars, the word means “the giver of general mercy to all the creatures, apart from their service record”. “رحمن” also implies that Allah is inclined to benefit all the creatures and remove detriment from them. Examples of Allah’s blessings are presented in the holy Qur’¡n, chapter Al-Rahman (55).
Arab grammarians believe that the word “رحيم” (the Merciful) is simile adjective, hence it implies continuity; that is the Mercy of Allah is permanent. This kind of Mercy is specific to the believers, for whose virtues and appreciation of Allah’s blessings deserve it. We read in Islamic works that Mercy of the first kind involves Allah’s granting sustenance to all the creatures and humans either believer or disbeliever. The second kind of Mercy involves Allah’s granting spiritual blessings to human beings and also His forgiving the believers in this world and in the Hereafter.
In “رحمانيت” (Beneficence) and “رحيميت” (Mercifulness) the meaning of soundness is involved; one is worldly soundness, the other is heavenly soundness. The second kind of Mercy includes the obedient whose prayers Allah accepts, and the disobedient whose sins He forgives.
Ibn Mub¡rak has stated: “رحمن” is the One who responds if you ask Him, and “رحيم” is the One who becomes wrathful is you don’t ask Him.
An ascetic has said: “The Almighty is “رحمن” in giving sustenance to the creatures and “رحيم” in forgiving the believers’ sins. For making a living, trust Him, not your own trading; but don’t give up trading which is imprudent. For forgiveness of sins, trust Him, not your own deeds; but don’t give up deeds which is against Allah’s will.”
The servant is said to have three states: First, the state of a nonexistent creature who needed existence; second, the state of state of a living creature who needs to be permanent; third, the state of one in the Hereafter who needs Forgiveness. The servant in these three states needs Allah and His attributes, as reflected in these three names:
“الله”, who brings the servant from nonexistence to life;
“رحمن”, who provides the means for the servant to continue life;
“رحيم”, who will forgive the servant’s sins in the Hereafter.
Human being is composed of heart, body, and soul. Human heart finds knowledge and belief from “الله”, his body finds sustenance from “رحمن”, and the soul finds Mercy from “رحيم”. One whose hear, body and soul is associated with these three names of God, is free from everything and everyone except Allah, and grants his mercy to other servants of Allah.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a) is narrated as saying: “One who says “بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم” and “لا حول و لا قوه الا بالله العلي العظيم” ten times a day, is forgiven by Allah, and Allah saves him from seventy diseases, such as leprosy, black leprosy, and paralysis.” The Prophet (s.a) is also narrated who said: “One who recites “بسم الله”, Allah will record four thousand virtues for him for each letter, and forgives four thousand sins of him.”
It is narrated that one who recites “بسم الله” when eating, Satan will not become his mate in eating; but if he begins eating and forgets reciting it, Satan becomes his mate.
”اَللَّهُمَّ إنّي أسْألُكَ بِرَحْمَتِكَ الَّتي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيءٍ
O Allah! I ask you by your Mercy that envelops everything,
Each of the words in this phrase has secret implications, which are presented here.
“اللهم”: is derived from “يا الله” (O Allah); “يا” (O) is omitted and instead, “ميم” is added at the end. This shows that as the Almighty Allah preceded everything in existence, His holy name should precede everything else as well. The supplicant who calls Allah should know that if He had not inclined and permitted, the servant could not utter a single word to praise and ask Allah. The supplicant’s tongue can call Allah only by His strength and Mercy. In fact, as du`¡’ itself is the teaching of Allah, the servant’s utterance of supplication and the acceptance of it are only by Allah’s will too.
“اني اسالك” (I ask you): “اني” means “I”, but it does not mean egoism here. As a matter of fact, “I” in this phrase and throughout the holy Kumayl du`¡’ implies not an independent being, but a servant in need. The supplicant in such a state sees himself as a deprived servant who calls Allah with humility, and perceives Allah as the source of Mercy, Justice, and Forgiveness. That’s why the supplicant asks his demand humbly from the All-Compassionate God.
“برحمتك التي وسعت كل شيئ” (by your Mercy that envelops everything): Allah’s mercy envelops everything, and surrounds the apparent and hidden facets of beings. This embracing Mercy is Allah’s general blessing, by which He brought all the creatures into existence, placed them in their appropriate positions and depending on the creatures’ capacity and faculty, provided them generously with the necessary means to material growth and spiritual development.
In the valuable book, an¢s allayl, we read the following:
Allah’s general Mercy is like the sun; it rises from east, and shines to everything within its beam, not depriving anything from its light, out of stinginess. All the creatures within the sunbeam benefit from the sun to the extent of their capability.
In the same way, all the visible and hidden beings from the largest to the smallest enjoy Allah’s common blessings. Even the smallest creatures, which are not observable via the most developed microscopes, are included in Allah’s realm, and each benefits from His Mercy to the extent possible in order to grow and reach material and spiritual perfection. From the heavens to the earth, from east to west, and from the unseen to the visible, all beings benefit from Allah, the Creator and the Provider. They are not detached from this source of Divine Mercy even for a moment, since if this happens, they will not exist anymore.
The creation of existing beings and giving sustenance to them, the growing of plants, the development of objects, the revelation of signs and miracles, the appointment of prophets, the guidance of the misled, the living of creatures, the descent of the angels, the recreation of the dead, the recompense to the believers, the chastisement of the wrongdoers, the establishment of the Resurrection Day, the heaven and the Hell, the forgiveness of believers’ sins, and every goodness present in the world, are all instances of Allah’s embracing Mercy. Allah’s Magnanimous Mercy is not perceptible by our limited knowledge and partial understanding.
Counting “كل شيء”, or all the living and inanimate beings who are within the realm of Allah’s blessings is not possible. Even if all the angels, jinns and humans become authors, using all the trees on the earth as pens and all the seas as ink, they cannot count but a few of Allah’s creatures. To get a small amount of God’s blessings toward His creatures, it is necessary to study a few cases of these beings, so that we can absorb some rays of Allah’s knowledge.
source : a commentary on Kumayl supplication by prof. Hossein Ansaryan
