Discussion of the Narrations

The Meaning of Bismillāh

From al-Riḍā (a.s.): “The meaning of one saying bismillāh is: I mark myself with a mark (simah) from among the marks of God Almighty, and it is worship.” The narrator said: I asked him, “What is a mark?” He said: “A sign.”(107)

Note: Just as in the system of creation, man, like other phenomena, is a sign of his Creator, in the system of legislation too, it is necessary for the wayfaring human to place the mark and sign of worshipping God upon himself in his world, so that his spirit may be marked and signed in the worship of his Creator. Such a wayfaring human will truly be a sign of God (āyat Allāh), for the mark of the Worshipped, meaning worship, has appeared in his soul.

The Lexical Root of Allāh and the Meaning of Maʾlūh

From al-Ṣādiq (a.s.): “By God, He is the deity (ilāh) of everything.”(108)

From Hishām ibn al-Ḥakam, he asked Abā ʿAbdillāh (a.s.) about the names of God Almighty and their derivation. He said: “Allāh is derived from ilāh (deity), and ilāh signifies one who is perplexing (ma_ʾ_lūh)...”(109)

From the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): “Allāh... He is the One to Whom every creature turns to in times of need and hardship when hope is cut off from all others besides Him...”(110)

Note: The existential connection of a being that is utter poverty is only to the God who is utter richness. Although this bond is veiled and hidden in normal states, it becomes unveiled and witnessed in states of desperation. In all states, the only refuge for every creature is solely God. In normal states, when grace reaches the needy creature through apparent means and causes, all those intermediaries are channels of grace, not the bestower of grace.

In summary, the monotheism of hope (_tawḥīd al-rajā_ʾ) and the monotheism of seeking refuge (_tawḥīd al-iltijā_ʾ) mean that God is the only One hoped for and the only refuge sought. If there is any difference, it is only at the level of conceptualization, not at that of reality. Just as, by the logical necessity of the invalidity of infinite regress, a thinker arrives at the beginning of the chain of causes, which is God Himself, and then it becomes known that the true cause of every effect is God, and other intermediate causes are His signs—the same applies in the case of hope and seeking refuge. Although when hope is cut off from all besides God, they seek refuge in God, in reality the true support of all hopes and refuges is God.

Bismillāh is the First Verse of Every Chapter

From the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): “The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) used to recite it [bismillāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm] and count it as a verse from it [the chapter]...”(111)

“The basmala at the beginning of every chapter is a verse from it. The end of a chapter was only known by the revelation of the beginning of the next one. God did not reveal any book from the heaven except that it [bismillāh] was its opening.”(112)

Abū Dāwūd narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās who said: “The Prophet (s.a.w.) would not know the end of a chapter until “In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful” (bismillāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm) was revealed to him.”(113)

Note: What is meant is that when a new chapter began, the previous chapter ended. The revelation of “In the Name of God...” (bismillāh...), which is the first verse of the next chapter, was an indication of the end of the previous chapter, not that bismillāh was the final verse of the previous chapter. Otherwise, it would have been necessary for bismillāh... to be revealed for the end of the last chapter of the Qurʾān as well.

The Meaning of the All-beneficent (raḥmānīyyah) and All-merciful (raḥīmīyyah) Mercy

From al-Ṣādiq (a.s.): “The All-beneficent (al-raḥmān) is to all His creation, and the All-merciful (al-raḥīm) is specifically to the believers.”(114)

“The All-beneficent (al-raḥmān) is a specific name with a general attribute, and the All-merciful (al-raḥīm) is a general name with a specific attribute.”(115)

From the Prophet (s.a.w.): “Jesus, son of Mary, said: The All-beneficent (al-raḥmān) is the Beneficent of this world, and the All-merciful (al-raḥīm) is the Merciful of the Hereafter.”(116)

From al-Riḍā (a.s.), who said in his supplication: “...The Beneficent of this world and the Hereafter and their Merciful...”(117)

From the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): “The All-beneficent (al-raḥmān) is the One who has mercy on us by extending sustenance to us.”(118)

“The All-beneficent (al-raḥmān)... is the One who is affectionate to His creation by [providing] sustenance. He does not cut off from them the resources of His sustenance, even if they cut themselves off from obeying Him.”(119)

“...As for the All-beneficent (al-raḥmān), it is the abode for everyone who believes, and it is a name by which none other than the Blessed and Exalted All-beneficent is named. As for the All-merciful (al-raḥīm), He has mercy on the one who disobeys then repents, believes, and does righteous deeds.”(120)

Note: The term Raḥmān refers to the source of infinite mercy: “My mercy encompasses all things.” Therefore, all things and persons, both in the physical and spiritual realms, are recipients of mercy (marḥūm), not Raḥmān itself. For this reason, the name Raḥmān is not befitting for anyone except God. However, since Raḥīm does not necessarily imply infinite mercy, it is possible for a limited being, who is also a recipient of the mercy of Raḥmān, to be an instance of Raḥīm in some respect and forgive some of their lost rights. Nevertheless, the true Raḥīm is God, because all rights and rulings belong exclusively to Him, and if any neglect occurs, it is in relation to the divine rights.

Beginning all Tasks with the Name of God

From the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): “Say ‘In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful’ (bismillāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm) at the beginning of every matter, small or great.”(121)

“The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) narrated to me from God, the Mighty and Sublime, that He said: ‘Every important matter that does not begin with “In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful” is incomplete (abtar).’”(122)

From al-Ṣādiq (a.s.): “Do not omit ‘In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful’ even if poetry follows it.”(123)

“Perhaps one of our Shīʿa neglects to begin his affair with ‘In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful’, so God, the Mighty and Sublime, tests him with something disliked in order to alert him to thank God, the Blessed and Exalted, for it, and to erase from him the blemish of his shortcoming in omitting ‘In the Name of God’...”(124)

Note: Just as the beginning of everything is the Divine who is “The First” (al-Awwal), the fruition of every work is also dependent on beginning it with the name of God. Otherwise, that work will not be in harmony with its own specific reality and will remain incomplete (abtar) without bearing fruit. In this case, God, the Immaculate, awakens some individuals through special trials so that they may rectify the flaw of their negligence and the defect of their omission, unless God has left them to their own devices.

Blessings of the Noble Verse “In the Name of God...”

From al-Bāqir (a.s.):... And it is appropriate to say it (bismillāh) at the beginning of every matter, great or small, so that it may be blessed.(125)

From the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): When a servant intends to recite or do a deed, and he says “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”, then it will be blessed for him.(126)

Note: A task that is begun with the name of God is not only not fruitless and will bear fruit, but it will also be blessed. It will yield results beyond what was expected. The meaning of blessing in everything is the manifestation of God, glory be to Him, with His blessed attribute in it. And wherever the active attribute of God’s blessedness is manifested, it will bear fruit beyond what was anticipated.

From some mursal (transmitted) narrations, it appears that engaging in the recitation of (bismillāh...) is a means of salvation, even if it is not for the purpose of beginning a task. For example, it is narrated from the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) that he said: “Whoever wants God Almighty to save him from the Guardians of Hell, who are nineteen in number, should engage in the recitation of ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful’. For it consists of nineteen letters, so that God Almighty may make each letter a shield and a veil to repel each one of them. For those nineteen flames are a sign of divine wrath...”(127) That they are nineteen is deduced from the verse: “Over it are nineteen [angels].” (74:30)

The Difference between Verbal Names and Their Named Realities

From al-Ṣādiq (a.s.): “... And the name is other than the named... God Almighty has ninety-nine names. If the name were the same as the named, then each of those names would be a god. But God Almighty is a meaning indicated by these names, and all of them are other than Him.”(128)

Note: Just as words, which are names for mental concepts, are distinct from the absolute divine essence, mental meanings are also external to God’s essence. If the mental meaning of divine names were identical to the named entity, aside from the fact that multiplicity of names would necessitate multiplicity of the named, it would depart from divine unity (tawḥīd). It would also entail the impossibility of comprehending the Necessary Being. This is because the mind fully perceives and encompasses the mental concept of names, whereas the unlimited God can never be comprehended by a limited contingent being.

The Existential Influence of Bismillāh

The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: “Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm is a name among the greatest names of God, and the difference between it and the greatest name of God is only like the difference between the pupil of the eye and its white.”(129)

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said: “... The name of God, for it is a name in which there is healing from every illness and aid for every remedy.”(130)

Indication: It became clear in the previous discussions that the content of every name is an existential station, and one can never have a causal effect on the system of existence or subjugate external reality merely through words or conceptualizing mental meanings. Although it may be possible to prepare a receptive ground for receiving grace from higher origins by correctly perceiving the meaning of divine names and having a spiritual inclination towards their instances.

The Greatest Name Among Verbal Names

The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said: “... Indeed, your saying ‘Allāh’ is the greatest name among the names of God, the Mighty and Majestic.”(131)

Indication: Sometimes the expression “greatest” (a_ʿ_ẓam) is used in a relative and additional sense, with consideration and leniency, such as “greater than every great thing”.(132) And sometimes it is used in an essential and real sense, without leniency, such as: “God is greater than to be described”.(133) In such cases, magnification (takbīr) refers back to glorification (tasbīḥ) and transcendence (tanzīh).

The Transcendence of God’s Attributes above all Deficiency

From the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.): “The All-Merciful (Raḥīm) cannot be described as having tenderness (riqqa).”(134)

From al-Ṣādiq (a.s.): “Mercy (raḥma) and what occurs to us from it is pity (shafaqa) and from it is generosity (jūd). God’s mercy is His reward for His creation. For mercy from the servants, there are two things: One of them occurs in the heart—kindness (ra_ʾ_fa) and tenderness for what is seen in the one shown mercy of harm, need, and types of affliction. The other is what occurs from us after kindness and gentleness to the one shown mercy, and our knowledge of what has befallen him... Someone may say: ‘Look at the mercy of so-and-so,’ but they only mean the action that occurred from the tenderness in so-and-so’s heart... What is attributed to God Almighty is the action that occurs from us due to these things. As for the meaning that is in the heart, it is negated from God as He has described Himself. So He is All-Merciful (Raḥīm) without mercy being tenderness.”(135)

“As for anger (ghaḍab) when it is from us: When we get angry, our natures change and sometimes our joints tremble and our complexion changes. Then, after that, we punish and chastise, so it is called anger. This is the well-known speech of people. Anger is two things: one of them is in the heart. As for the meaning that is in the heart, it is negated from God, exalted be His Majesty. The same applies to His pleasure (riḍā), wrath (sakhaṭ), and mercy according to this description.”(136)

Note: The active attributes (ṣifāt fi_ʿ_liyya) of God that are derived from His external actions are external to God’s Essence. Change in what is external to the Divine Essence is not problematic. However, the essential attributes (ṣifāt dhātiyya) that are the origin of the active attributes are immune from any kind of change. The pleasure and anger that occur in humans have a psychological origin and are accompanied by changes in psychological states. However, no kind of change can enter God’s Essence. Since such changes are specific to certain instances and are not included in the comprehensive concept of pleasure or anger, applying these names to God is neither metaphorical nor homonymous.

The Teachings of the Qurʾān in the Bismillāh...

It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), “I am the dot under the _bā_ʾ.”(137)

“Everything in the Qurʾān is in [Sūrah] al-Fātiḥa, and everything in al-Fātiḥa is in ‘In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful’ (bismillāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm), and everything in it is in the bāʾ, and everything in the bāʾ is in the dot, and I am the dot under the bā__ʾ.”(138)

Some exegetes have said that Sūrah al-Ḥamd encompasses all the teachings of the Noble Qurʾān, and the teachings of this sūrah are also contained in the noble verse “In the Name of God, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful”, and the teachings of bismillāh are condensed in its letter bāʾ, and the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) is the dot of the bāʾ of bismillāh.(139)

Some exegetes have considered this statement unreasonable and a kind of exaggeration (ghulūw).(140) And some have considered the encompassing of the teachings of the Qurʾān by the _bā_ʾ of bismillāh to be like the containment of the cosmic system with its earth and heavens in an eggshell, without the egg becoming larger or the cosmos becoming smaller.(141)

In response to these exegetes, it must be said: The Noble Qurʾān encompasses all the truths and secrets of the universe; however, these extensive teachings are not derived only from its outward meanings, but are inferred from the special properties of the letters or the numerous inner dimensions (buṭūn) of the Noble Qurʾān, which are only accessible to the Prophet Muḥammad (s.a.w.) and the pure ʿItra (a.s.). The statement of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), where he said, “The knowledge of the future and the accounts of the past are in the Qurʾān, and I am the speaker of the Qurʾān,” is also an allusion to this reality:

“That is the Qurʾān. So, ask it to speak, but it will not speak. However, I will inform you about it. Indeed, in it is the knowledge of what is to come, the accounts of the past, the cure for your ailments, and the management of your affairs.”(142)

God, the Glorified, mentions another book and a hidden station for the Noble Qurʾān, of which only the revelation and its outward form are accessible to us: “Indeed it is a noble Qurʾān, in a hidden book, none touch it except the purified” (56:77-79). So, this book is in another book, and the reality of the Qurʾān is not limited to its outward aspects.

The way to understand such transmitted teachings is open, and its evidence is also clear. Those who have not been granted the success of understanding such secrets and realities should not engage with them. Rather, they should leave its knowledge to its people, so as not to fall into the abyss of denial.

As for the story of placing the earth in an eggshell, since those who asked about God’s power to do such a thing were not on the same level, the answers given to them vary. In one answer, Imām al-Riḍā (a.s.) says: “God places the heavens and the earth in a container smaller than an egg, and that is when you observe the heavens and the earth by opening your eye.” A man came to al-Riḍā (a.s.) and said, “Is your Lord able to place the heavens and the earth and what is between them in an egg?” He said, “Yes, and in something smaller than an egg. He has placed them in your eye, which is less than an egg, for when you open it, you see the heavens and the earth and what is between them. If God had willed, He could have blinded you to them.”(143)

Such answers are only beneficial for the average among people. In another answer, the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) says: “God is not incapable, but what you have asked is impossible.” It was said to the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), “Is your Lord able to place the world in an egg without shrinking the world or enlarging the egg?” He said, “Indeed God, blessed and exalted is He, is not attributed with incapability, but what you have asked me does not occur.”(144)

The infinite power of God, the Glorified, encompasses everything: “Indeed God has power over all things” (2:20), but impossibilities and absurdities are not things for God’s power to encompass.

Reminder: The critique of the saying attributed to the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.)—that the common script of the time of revelation was the Kufic script which lacked dots—can be answered as follows: Even if we accept both of these premises and concede that vowelization and diacritics were not added by ʿAlī (a.s.) himself, there must have still been special signs to distinguish letters from each other, such as distinguishing “donkey” (khir) from “dragging” (jarr) and “free” (ḥurr). There must have also been a special sign for the letter _bā_ʾ, and it is this specific sign that is intended in the aforementioned ḥadīth, assuming its authenticity.