The Garden of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

22 Muharram 1447/18 July 2025

All praise is due to Allah, the Cherisher, Sustainer, Nourisher and Provider of the entire creation. May peace, blessings and salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

When we say the Basmalah we are acknowledging something about Allah – that all His qualities are unique to Allah alone and cannot be confused with anyone or anything else.

Islam is not confined to the masjid or the madressa but indeed Islam is a way of life. Each and every single aspect of our lives as Insaan should involve Deen. Our beloved Nabi ﷺ has showed the ummah simple methods which would render all of our daily and worldly affairs as Deen and we will be rewarded for it. Before we begin any important task in our lives it is necessary for us to begin that task with the Basmalah.

Abu Hurairah (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

‏ “‏ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ ذِي بَالٍ لاَ يُبْدَأُ فِيهِ بِالْحَمْدِ أَقْطَعُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏

“Every important matter that does not start with praise of Allah, is devoid (of blessings).” ~ Sunan Ibn Majah 1894

According to scholars of this Hadith, the above narration is a weak Hadith however we do not discard any Hadith rather we make use of the Hadith to understand the importance of starting any activity with the name of Allah.

We learn from the Holy Quran that beginning an action we should begin with the name of Allah and it is a Sunnah of the Ambiya (A.S). When Hazrat Sulaiman (A.S) wrote a letter to the Queen of Shaiba, he began with the Basmalah as mentioned in Surah Naml, verse 30:

إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيۡمَٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Indeed, it is from Sulaiman, and indeed, it reads: ‘In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful”

In Imam Suyuti’s work Ad Durrul Manthur, Ibn Umar (R.A) is reported to have said that surely when Jibreel (A.S) was bringing Wahi to Nabi (S.A.W) he first used to recite the Basmalah.

Within the Basmalah, there are three names of Allah. The first being Allah, this is the personal name of Allah which indicates that all activities or projects can only be initiated by the will of Allah. The second being Al-Rahman (entirely merciful) which is Allah’s attributive name indicates that only Allah can keep that activity intact and safe against destruction. Raheem (especially merciful) which is another of Allah’s attributive names/qualities indicates that only Allah through his supreme mercy can enable a person to derive benefits from that project. So the 3 things we acknowledge with the basmalah is that everything happens by the will of Allah, Allah is the only one that can save our activities from destructions and the Allah is the only one who can place blessings and barakah in our activities and dealings.

Whenever we begin an activity, no matter what it is, whether it is when wearing our clothes in the morning, putting on our shoes or even drinking water we should utter the Basmalah.

May Allah accept our efforts from us and grant us understanding In Sha Allah!