The next words in the basmala are “ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ” and “ٱلرَّحِيمِ “ . “ٱلرَّحِيمِ” is also one of the proper names of Allah (SWT), or, as said before, an Ism ul-A’zam. It cannot and may not be used for any other entity. It is also a word that describes one of the powerful attributes of Allah (SWT), and that is his rahmah. Rahim also means “the one of mercy,” so is there a difference between these two words? Regarding this, the Ulama of hadith and tafsir have explained a few things; one is that there is a rule in the Arabic language that whenever there are more letters in the Arabic word, it indicates further meaning or more meaning. Al-Rahman has more letters than Al-Rahim, so there is more being implicated in Al-Rahman and it is more extensive. How is this? Regarding this, some Mufassireen have written that Al-Rahman is the one whose mercy encompasses all that exists in this world and the hereafter. This mercy is, like the hadith of the prophet (SAW) says, “Allah (AWJ) has divided his mercy into one hundred portions; one portion of that mercy is used for all of the systems of this world.” In fact, it is in one hadith that it is also from that one percent that, when an animal gives birth to a baby and the baby is stumbling around and the cow is about to crush the baby with its weight, and it senses that the baby is there, and it moves its foot back – this act also comes from that one percent. It is from that one percent that all mothers have mercy for their children and all the acts of sympathy occur in the world and everyone who is looking after anyone in the world does so from that one percent. The ninety-nine other portions, or percent, will be reserved for his slaves on the Day of Judgement, they will be needing it the most. This is what Al-Rahman means. Another meaning is “the one whose mercy is accessible to those who believe in him and those who do not believe in him.” There are many people who openly reject the existence of Allah (SWT), or they associate partners with Allah (SWT), but they are still being sustained and he is giving them happiness and bounties. It is because of the mercy that is in Al-Rahman. He showers his mercy in the believers and non-believers. By extension, it is the mercy that extends to those who obey him and those who disobey him. Allah (SWT) has mercy on those who are obedient to him, but he also has mercy to those who are not, and this is why he does not destroy them right away. Otherwise, he could implement a system that a moment a person commits an act of disobedience, right away, they are caught and punished for it. The mercy that Allah (SWT) has had with this Ummah is far greater than the mercy he has had with previous Ummahs. This is why, in one hadith, the prophet (SAW) calls this Ummah, “The Ummah that has the special mercy of Allah (SWT).” In that hadith, the prophet (SAW) mentions so many things that the prophet (SAW) has given to us, whether it is in the form of concessions like tayammum. The issues of tahara were very difficult, and if a person got najasa on their body or their clothing, they had to scrape the skin off in order to cleanse their body and cut their clothing off in order for them to be purified. People had to pray only in the designated places of prayer. For this Ummah, Allah (SWT) has made the whole earth a masjid. You can pray wherever you want to pray.
The mercy of Allah (SWT) that is indicated in Al-Rahman is very broad and it extends beyond and beyond. It is his rule that was written on his throne, and it has been with Allah (SWT) before he created the heavens and the earth. “My mercy will always be quicker than my anger.” This is the mercy indicated in Al-Rahman. Al-Rahim is also mercy, but this is that special mercy that Allah (SWT) gives to those that are obedient to him and the rahmah that Allah (SWT) gives to people in this world and the hereafter. When we open the Qur’an to see who Allah (SWT) shares this with, there are many different things in the Qur’an that tell us how to unlock the doors of the rahmah of Allah (SWT). For example, “Who gets the rahmah of Allah? It is very near to the person of Ihsan, who strive to protect whatever they do for the sake of Allah (SWT).” This is the rahmah of Rahim – the exclusive, special mercy of Allah (SWT). We need both mercies. Look how beautiful this kalimah is – the basmala. We are invoking Allah (SWT). Not much detail was gone into the “ba” of “bismillah,” but one of them was the “ba” of “isti’ana.” There are over a dozen usages of this letter “ba,” and this particular usage is to take the help of something. When we say “bismillah,” we take the help of Allah (SWT) through his name. We want the name of Allah (SWT) and his help to be with us until we complete that task. This is why, when the Ulama used to hear about someone who spoke on matters of knowledge when they were not equipped for that knowledge and did not have the ample knowledge to speak, the great Ulama used to say, “He does not even know the ‘ba’ of ‘bismillah’.” This “ba” is so profound that we could have lectures of a few hours just on this usage of “ba”.
There are many things – the apparent knowledge that you can read in a book and the understanding of that knowledge, then the application of that knowledge. This knowledge is an ocean, and the basmala is an indication of that. Now, the thing is to implement it. In all of those matters where, first, the prophet (SAW) has taught us, we need to make sure we recite the basmala. Entering the masjid, before entering the bathroom, before eating, before doing anything good – recite the basmala. Even for children – before sitting down in class, before doing homework, before listening to the teacher, say “bismillah.” Any good thing we should start with “bismillah.”. The prophet (SAW) used to recite the basmala very frequently, and he would not leave any occasion in life where he would not do the zikr of Allah (SWT) by reciting the basmala. When you get up, do you need the help of Allah (SWT)? Absolutely, so say bismillah. When you sit down, you still need the help of Allah (SWT), so say bismillah. So, whenever doing anything of importance where you need the help of Allah (SWT), say bismillah. Our day is filled with too many useless terms and statements that we utter, and if we were to take stock of them and stop using them and replace them with good words, out days would be filled with the zikr of Allah (SWT). May Allah (SWT) give us tawfiq.
