Al-basmala (the formula bismillah)

The basmala is the formula "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate", with which the Quran opens and with which the believer begins his acts. Sha'rawi holds that the Quran came down bound to God's name, and that the first word revealed, "read in the name of your Lord" (Al-Alaq 1), makes the reader begin where God intended. ¹

Sha'rawi separates the basmala from praise: the basmala seeks God's power for what a person cannot do, and praise thanks God for what He has done. The divine name in the basmala gathers every attribute of perfection, so one seeks help by it in every act. ^{2 4}

Sha'rawi gives everyday examples in which the believer begins with God's name: food, an examination, entering a home, marriage. He says that whoever remembers the name is ashamed to begin an act that displeases God. He cites a hadith that an important matter not begun with the basmala is cut off, and notes in the footnote that al-Suyuti recorded it and called its chain good. ³

Sha'rawi holds that sin does not bar the basmala: the names "the Merciful, the Compassionate" recall forgiveness, so one may approach God through mercy. ^{4 5}

This is Sha'rawi's reading and is attributed to him. The scan gives no other juristic or exegetical view on whether the basmala is obligatory or a verse of each surah, and none has been checked here. The edition is unverified; page numbers are scan pages and must be checked against a printed copy.