The Power of Bismillah

The Power of Bismillah Whilst growing up we are pushed to recite Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim before starting any task or chore and especially before eating. But how many of us understand the meaning behind the phrase? Even for those of us who know the translation, when saying it, how much sincerity is there in our utterance. Firstly it is vital to remember that Allah needs to be remembered daily. Allah is self-sufficient, humans are not. Humans without the remembrance of Allah are like fish without water, we can not live without invoking him. Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim is a phrase often said to contain the true essence of the entire Qur’an. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “The world will cease to exist, doomsday will start, when the name of Allah is no longer mentioned”. In other words, the primary reason behind our existence today remains because of the very few still invoking the name of Allah on a daily basis, every act and thought is in accordance with his divine will. The phrase shown in the above picture is pronounced Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, it is an exquisite phrase which has a profound insight and offers deep inspiration however only so if understood correctly. The common translation is: “In the name of God, most Gracious, most Merciful”. This phrase, in its magnificence is truly an ideal to be expressed with utmost sincerity and gratitude, but I can see how it may fail to capture our hearts. So let’s look deeper into the meaning. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, Any important work that does not begin with Bismillah is imperfect. Bismillah The common translation for bismillah is “In the name of Allah”, It’s an expression that really does not make much sense at first sight. To understand it better, it has the connotations of with the blessings of, under the governance of, with the support of, or for the glory of (Allah). In each of these cases, In the name of indicates that one is submitting to, beginning by or glorifying Allah, the most High. Now, let’s take a deeper look into the Arabic roots of the word bismillah. The term bismillah, is a combination of three word