[Surah] Fatihat al-Kitab

[Interpretation of His saying: In the name of Allah]

[The First Aspect]

1 - ‘Ali ibn Tahir narrated to us, [from] Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’—meaning Abu Kurayb—al-Hamdani, [from] ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id—meaning al-Zayyat—al-Kufi, [from] Bishr ibn ‘Umarah, from Abu Rawq, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: The first thing Gabriel revealed to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was that Gabriel said to him: "Say: 'In the name of Allah' (Bismillahi), O Muhammad." He says: Read by the mention of your Lord, stand and sit by His mention.

And the second aspect:

2 - My father narrated to us, [from] Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibnat ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman, [from] my father, from Juwaybir, from al-Dahhak, regarding His saying: "In the name of Allah" (Bismillahi), he said: The ba’ (b) is from the Splendor (Baha’) of Allah; the sin (s) is from the Radiance (Sana’) of Allah; and the mim (m) is from the Kingdom (Mulk) of Allah. And "Allah" (Allah): O God of creation.

3 - ‘Isam ibn Rawwad ibn al-Jarrah al-‘Asqalani narrated to us, [from] Adam, [from] Abu Hilal al-Rasibi, [from] Hayyan al-A‘raj, from Abu al-Sha‘tha’ Jabir ibn Zayd, regarding His saying: "In the name of Allah" (Bismillahi), he said: The Greatest Name of Allah is Allah. Do you not see that in the entire Qur’an, He begins with it before every other name?

His saying, the Almighty and Exalted: The Most Gracious (al-Rahman)

4 - ‘Ali ibn Tahir narrated to us, [from] Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’—meaning Abu Kurayb—al-Hamdani, [from] ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id—meaning al-Zayyat—al-Kufi, [from] Bishr ibn ‘Umarah, from Abu Rawq, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: The first thing Gabriel revealed to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was that Gabriel said to him: "Say, O Muhammad: 'In the name of Allah' (Bismillahi)." He says: Read by the mention of your Lord, and stand and sit by His mention, "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious" (Bismillahi al-Rahman). He said: He says: "The Most Gracious" (al-Rahman) is the form fa‘lan (excessive in meaning) derived from mercy (rahmah), and it is from the speech of the Arabs.

5 - My father narrated to us, [from] Ja‘far ibn Musafir, [from] Zayd ibn al-Mubarak al-San‘ani, [from] Salam ibn Wahb al-Jannadi, [from] my father, from Tawus, from Ibn ‘Abbas, that ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) about "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" (Bismillahi al-Rahman al-Rahim), so he said: It is one of the names of Allah, and the distance between it and the Name of Allah is only like the distance between the black of the eyes and their white.