Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Before "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy," it was established that the Basmalah is a distinct verse from the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. It is used either as a separator or at the beginning of a surah, except in Surah al-Bara'ah, which does not have a Basmalah because it was not revealed with a Basmalah between it and Surah al-Anfal, so it was left out. It has been established for us that the preposition and the noun in the genitive case are connected to an omitted word, because every preposition and noun in the genitive case must be connected to something, as the preposition and noun in the genitive case are a dependent element, and every dependent element must have a governor. Therefore, every preposition and noun in the genitive case must have a connection, meaning something to which it is connected. Likewise, the adverb of time or place. The connection is either a verb or something with the meaning of a verb. Here, the connection is estimated to be a verb because that is the original state of governance. Therefore, nothing other than a verb governs like a verb except under conditions. And anything that does not complete its governance except under conditions is so because the original state is the absence of governance. Pay attention now: every preposition and noun in the genitive case must have...
The student : ......
The Shaykh : What are the reasons?
The student: .....
The Shaykh : Because the preposition and the noun in the genitive case are a dependent element, and every dependent element must have a governor. The connection is either a verb or something with the meaning of a verb. Here, we estimate it to be a verb. Why? Because verbs are the original state of governance. Therefore, non-verbs, such as nouns and verbal nouns and their like, do not govern like a verb except under conditions. However, a verb governs without conditions. We estimate it to be delayed; we estimate the verb to be delayed relative to the preposition and the noun in the genitive case for two benefits:
The first benefit: seeking good by beginning with the mention of the name of Allah.
The second benefit: indicating restriction. We estimate the governor to be delayed considering these two benefits. We estimate it to be a specific verb, so we say, for example, at the beginning of recitation, the estimation is "In the name of Allah, I recite." At the time of ablution, the estimation is "In the name of Allah, I perform ablution." At the time of eating, "In the name of Allah, I eat," and so on. We only estimate it to be specific because it is more indicative of the intended meaning. It is permissible to estimate it to be general, so we could say the estimation is "In the name of Allah, I begin" or "In the name of Allah, I start." However, the specific is preferable. So now we have three things: it must have a connection, it must be delayed, and it must be specific. And we have understood the reasoning. Here, "In the name of Allah" is a singular noun in the genitive case, so it is general. Thus, the meaning is "I begin with every name of the names of Allah." It was appropriate to mention "the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy" rather than other names, because the Basmalah is used for seeking assistance, and the most appropriate thing for seeking assistance is mercy. Therefore, these two noble names were appended to the Name of Allah. "Allah" is originally "Al-Ilah," which is the most accurate statement regarding it. The hamzah was deleted due to frequent usage, just as the hamzah was deleted from "al-nas" (people), whose original form is "anas," and the hamzah was deleted from "sharr" (evil) and "khayr" (good), whose original forms are "asharr" and "akhayr." As for "al-Rahman," it is a name of Allah indicating the vastness of His mercy, Glorified and Exalted is He. "Al-Rahman" is in the form of "fa'lan," which indicates vastness and fullness. Look at that in words like "ghadhaban" (angry), "ndaman" (intoxicated), "sakran" (drunk), "atshan" (thirsty), and "riyan" (sated), and you will find that this form indicates what? It indicates vastness and fullness. For this reason, some of the Salaf said: "Indeed, al-Rahman is a general mercy for all creation". As for "al-Rahim," it indicates the action, meaning that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, bestows mercy with His vast mercy. "Al-Rahim" indicates the action, which is conveying mercy to the one who is mercied. "Al-Rahman" indicates the attribute, which is Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, being described with this vast mercy. Good.
The student : ......
The Shaykh : What are the reasons?
The student: .....
The Shaykh : Because the preposition and the noun in the genitive case are a dependent element, and every dependent element must have a governor. The connection is either a verb or something with the meaning of a verb. Here, we estimate it to be a verb. Why? Because verbs are the original state of governance. Therefore, non-verbs, such as nouns and verbal nouns and their like, do not govern like a verb except under conditions. However, a verb governs without conditions. We estimate it to be delayed; we estimate the verb to be delayed relative to the preposition and the noun in the genitive case for two benefits:
The first benefit: seeking good by beginning with the mention of the name of Allah.
The second benefit: indicating restriction. We estimate the governor to be delayed considering these two benefits. We estimate it to be a specific verb, so we say, for example, at the beginning of recitation, the estimation is "In the name of Allah, I recite." At the time of ablution, the estimation is "In the name of Allah, I perform ablution." At the time of eating, "In the name of Allah, I eat," and so on. We only estimate it to be specific because it is more indicative of the intended meaning. It is permissible to estimate it to be general, so we could say the estimation is "In the name of Allah, I begin" or "In the name of Allah, I start." However, the specific is preferable. So now we have three things: it must have a connection, it must be delayed, and it must be specific. And we have understood the reasoning. Here, "In the name of Allah" is a singular noun in the genitive case, so it is general. Thus, the meaning is "I begin with every name of the names of Allah." It was appropriate to mention "the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy" rather than other names, because the Basmalah is used for seeking assistance, and the most appropriate thing for seeking assistance is mercy. Therefore, these two noble names were appended to the Name of Allah. "Allah" is originally "Al-Ilah," which is the most accurate statement regarding it. The hamzah was deleted due to frequent usage, just as the hamzah was deleted from "al-nas" (people), whose original form is "anas," and the hamzah was deleted from "sharr" (evil) and "khayr" (good), whose original forms are "asharr" and "akhayr." As for "al-Rahman," it is a name of Allah indicating the vastness of His mercy, Glorified and Exalted is He. "Al-Rahman" is in the form of "fa'lan," which indicates vastness and fullness. Look at that in words like "ghadhaban" (angry), "ndaman" (intoxicated), "sakran" (drunk), "atshan" (thirsty), and "riyan" (sated), and you will find that this form indicates what? It indicates vastness and fullness. For this reason, some of the Salaf said: "Indeed, al-Rahman is a general mercy for all creation". As for "al-Rahim," it indicates the action, meaning that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, bestows mercy with His vast mercy. "Al-Rahim" indicates the action, which is conveying mercy to the one who is mercied. "Al-Rahman" indicates the attribute, which is Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, being described with this vast mercy. Good.