Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ((In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy)).

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. I think we have discussed the benefits of what came before, and we have finished them.
Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: The Basmala is a verse from the Book of Allah Mighty and Majestic, standing alone; it is not part of the surah before it nor of the surah after it. However, it is brought at the beginning of the surahs, except for one surah, which is Surah al-Bara'ah. It is not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he included a Basmala in it, and for this reason the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) left it without a Basmala, because it was not established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for what was said that it was left without a Basmala because it was revealed with the sword, that is a false statement; this is not the reason. If the sword is mercy, then it is spoils of war. It is well known that the sword against the disbelievers is mercy, intended to exalt the word of Allah Mighty and Majestic. Then, as you see, the Basmala is a phrase that contains no verb and no active participle, but rather a preposition and a prepositional noun, a possessive and a possessed, and a description and a described.
The preposition is the letter "ba," the prepositional noun is a name, the possessive is a name, the possessed is the Glorious Name, the described is "Allah," and the description is "the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy." So where is the attachment? Because every preposition and prepositional noun, or circumstantial phrase, must have an attachment, as the compiler of the book on phrases said:
"A preposition must be attached to a verb or its meaning, like the one who ascends
And every superfluous one is excepted, such as the letter "ba," "min," and "kaf," and also "la'all"
So where is the attachment of the Basmala? "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy." The best thing to say is that its attachment is a delayed verb that is appropriate to what was begun with the Basmala for its sake. So now, when we want to read, we say the implied attachment is "In the name of Allah, I read." When we want to perform ablution, we say the implied attachment is "In the name of Allah, I perform ablution." When we want to slaughter, we say the implied attachment is "In the name of Allah, I slaughter." We implied a verb rather than an active participle because the original in action is the verb. We implied it as delayed for two reasons:
The first reason is seeking good by beginning with the name of Allah. The second is to indicate restriction, because if you delay the operator and advance the operated upon, that is evidence of restriction. The well-known rule in rhetoric is that advancing what is due to be delayed indicates restriction. We implied it as appropriate to what was begun with because that is more indicative of the intended meaning. For example, if I said the implied attachment is "In the name of Allah, he began," that is correct, but he began with what? So if we say we imply a specific verb appropriate to what was begun with, that becomes more indicative of the intended meaning. And it is well known that what is more indicative of the intended meaning is clearer in the meaning. This is the grammatical analysis of this Basmala.
As for its meaning, "name" is a singular possessive noun, and every singular possessive noun indicates generality. Have you not seen the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Nimah" (blessing) is a singular possessive noun, but it is not one blessing, because a single blessing can be counted. Rather, it is many blessings, encompassing everything by which Allah bestows upon the servant. If the singular possessive noun indicates generality, what is the meaning of our saying: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy"? Its meaning is: With every name of the names of Allah, I do such and such. With every name, so you are now seeking help with every name of the names of Allah for this action for which you recited the Basmala. As for "name," it was said to be derived from "sumw" (height), because the name elevates the named and clarifies it. It was also said to be derived from "sammah" (mark), as Allah the Exalted said: meaning their mark is on their faces. And whichever it is, the name identifies its named and distinguishes it from others.
And the names of Allah Glorified and Exalted is He, as we have passed through in tawhid (the oneness of Allah), are not limited in number, as came in the authentic hadith: . As for "Allah," it is a proper name for the exalted, sacred Essence, and it is Allah Glorified and Exalted is He. The grammarians said: "And it is the most well-known of the known". This knowledge is the most well-known of the known. They ranked the knowns, as you know, with the pronoun being the most well-known, then the proper names. But this knowledge is the most well-known of them, because it does not allow for sharing in it, whereas other knowns allow for sharing.
And as for His saying: , it is a name of the names of Allah indicating vast mercy. And "al-Rahim" (the Bestower of Mercy) is a name of the names of Allah indicating the mercy that occurs by action. So "al-Rahman" (the Most Merciful) is for the description, and "al-Rahim" is for the action. That is to say, He is Most Merciful who bestows mercy. And thus the benefit of combining them becomes clear. The benefit of combining them is the indication that the mercy of Allah is vast, as in His saying: , because the form "fa'lan" indicates fullness and vastness, just as you say "shuba'an" (sated) and "riyan" (thirst-quenched) and the like. As for , it is with regard to the action, meaning conveying mercy to whom Allah decrees to bestow mercy upon.
And the Basmala has rulings: Among them is that it is sometimes a condition for permissibility, such as the naming upon the slaughtered animal. The naming upon the slaughtered animal is a condition for its permissibility, such that if one leaves the naming, even if by forgetfulness, the slaughtered animal does not become permissible. It may be obligatory but not a condition, as in ablution according to some scholars. The naming in ablution is obligatory, but it is not a condition for validity, because if one leaves it by forgetfulness, his ablution is valid. It may be recommended in every matter of importance, as came in the hadith: or: meaning a matter of importance that one does not begin with "In the name of Allah" is cut off, meaning deprived of blessing. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began with it in his letters to kings and others. And likewise the prophets before him, as came in the Noble Qur'an: