Begin with Bismillah

Begin with Bismillah

Imam Khalid Latif | Khutbah Reflection

Opening

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

And peace and blessings be upon the most honored of the prophets and messengers and upon his family and companions.

We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, One, without any partner.

And we bear witness that our master Muhammad is the servant and messenger of Allah.

Opening Praise

In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the universe, the Master of the Day of Judgment. I bear witness and testimony to the oneness of Allah, to His magnificence, His omnipotence, His might, His glory, to His being the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the Giver of life, the Guider of hearts, the Master of the Day of Judgment.

And I bear witness to the fact that Muhammad ibn Abdullah ﷺ is the servant and final messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and upon all those who choose to tread on his path until the last day.

Main Khutbah Body

The Story of Two Shayateen

It is said that on one occasion, Iblis commissions two of the Shayateen to go towards two different individuals.

That one of these Shayateen, as he comes back from the end of his day's work, he is found to be someone who is very content and very satisfied after doing everything that he had done. And the second one looks as if he is in a state of misery.

And as they begin to speak to one another, Abu Huraira رضي الله تعالى عنه narrates the hadith to us. One says to the other that how is it that you are in the state that you were in but I am in the condition that I am in? That you look so satisfied, you look so gratified, but here I am in my situation. What is the difference between us?

The One Who Forgot Bismillah

And the one says to the other that in the course of the day I found myself to be very well fed because the man who I was engaging, the person who I was looking to be whispering to, when he would sit down to eat a meal, he would not eat in the name of Allah. That Bismillah was not something that was wet upon his tongue. So as he ate, I ate with him as well.

And when he sought to drink something, he did not begin, he did not commence in the name of the Divine. And so too as he drank, I drank with him also.

And when he sought to maintain himself physically, when he sought to put oils upon his own body, again he did not invoke the name of the Divine. And so as he oiled his own hair, my hair too as well was oiled. And hence I am in front of you in this way.

The One Who Remembered Bismillah

Every action that he undertook, he did not fail to mention the name of Allah. And so I was not able to eat from the meal that he was eating from. I did not drink from the drink that he drank from. That when he sought to clean himself, he was someone who was cleaning on his own. I could not participate in that as well. Because each and every action that he undertook, he did so in the name of the Divine.

Reference: The general meaning is found in various hadith collections regarding remembering Allah's name before actions

The Question We Must Ask

And we have to ask ourselves on a daily basis: How often do we consciously exert this motivation and intention that the decisions that we are undertaking or the actions that we are making are being done so in the name of Allah?

That over and over and over again in our tradition we find explicit mention where the Beloved of Allah is telling us that when you do something, say Bismillah. Do what you do in the name of Allah. Do what you do in

the name of the Divine. Do what you do with a certain air of consciousness that you are doing it for His sake and His sake alone.

The Prophetic Commands

When you enter into your house, say Bismillah. When you sit down to eat a meal, say Bismillah. When you drink anything, say Bismillah. When you are going into the restroom to relieve yourself, say Bismillah before you seek refuge from the shayateen that are there in that place.

When you are doing anything in the course of your life, say Bismillah before you commence it.

Reference: General meaning from multiple hadith including Sahih Muslim regarding saying Bismillah before various actions

Understanding What We Ask

But how often do we undertake going through any of our daily actions? Are we able to say that that which I have done has been done with a conscious exertion that I have done so in the name of the Divine? And do I even understand what it means when we ask Allah, when we beseech of His help?

All of this is rooted in this phrase Bismillah. And when we add on to it His attributes of Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, it just adds to the impact that we would derive benefit from if we really said it and meant it with an air of sincerity.

Breaking Down Bismillah

The Letter Ba (ب)

If we break it down, we find Bismillah is made up of essentially three different words. And when we add on Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, there are two more words that are added to it.

The Ba )ب( that is there in this Bismillah can give to us three meanings or three reasons if we were to really reflect on them:

1. First: The purpose that this Ba could serve is that it gives us some kind of closeness to the thing that it precedes

2. Second: The Ba denotes that you are seeking the help or the aid of something

3. Third: The Ba is asking or it is invoking an idea of blessing or it is invoking an idea of benediction. You are asking for the Barakah from Allah to be in this action that you are undertaking

The Word Ism )اسم(

The word Ism is something that is very evident for us to understand. That it can be derived from the Arabic:

• Sama yasmu )سَمَا يَسْمُو( - which means to essentially rise or elevate something. That we have the word sama )سَمَاء( for example which refers to the heavens and to the skies, which in the same way we are bringing a certain rise to a thing when we give it its name, we give it its distinction.

• Wasama yasmu )وَسَمَ يَسِمُ( - when we have this word it means to brand or to mark something. And when you give something its name, when you give it its ism, you are giving it its mark, you are giving it its distinction.

The Name Allah )الله(

And then most importantly we have the name Allah himself. That Allah is the name that we give to that which we worship. Allah is what we call the thing that is the object of our worship, the entity that is the only thing that is worthy of being worshipped, that entity that we completely rely upon.

The thing that is the focus of our life. We are not living the egocentric world view, but we have a God-centric world view. And God in our tradition is named Allah.

But we have to understand that as we utter this phrase, it carries this heavy weight. And we have to be able to mention it implicitly or explicitly upon every action that we are undertaking.

The First Revelation

And we can see that when the Prophet ﷺ is put into a certain situation, he too is recommended to have this understanding that by invoking Allah in this way, it will not only give him a certain proximity to Him, it will give him a certain strength because he is calling upon Him for help and aid, and it will also introduce an air of blessing into his life that he is most assuredly in need of.

We all know the story and we've discussed it before that when the beloved of Allah goes to seek solitude in the cave of Hira and his solitude is disrupted by the angel Jibreel عليه السلام he comes to him with the revelation:

"Read! In the name of your Lord who created."

Reference: Quran 96:1

And the Prophet ﷺ says: مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ - "I am not able to read, I am not a reciter."

He is someone who we understand is not able to read or write. Here the angel Jibreel is saying to him "Iqra" - read - something the Prophet can't do. And then he says to him: "Read in the name of your Lord. Iqra bismi Rabbik."

Read in such a way where you understand you are deriving help and aid from the Divine. Read in such a way where you are asking of Allah to be the source of your strength. That you are undertaking this action that you are saying you cannot do and you understand you can do it because you are doing so with the intention of pleasing Allah and you are asking Him to put barakah, blessing, into it.

The Power of Doing Things in Allah's Name

The Prophet ﷺ can't read. It is not to undermine him, it is not to belittle him. It's something that we know he cannot do. And here this creation of Allah is engaging him in this way saying to him: Do this thing that you cannot do. And he says I can't. And the angel says: Do it and do it in the name and that will give you the means by which you understand how you can do it.

We have to be able to take invoking Allah in this way as the means by which we derive certain strength. We understand the value of it because we understand the benefit that it will yield to us if we actually do it.

Conscious vs Subconscious Actions

But more often than not we are exerting an air of subconscious understanding when we carry out actions. I don't rely on my conscious being to understand why I do what I do, but I do everything that I do in such a way where it's just my instinct, it's just my habit that is yielding me the manifestation of my decisions.

Why is it that I get angry? Can I be the person I am and still do the things I do in the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate? Would I be able to do half of the things that I do if I preceded them by this

I wouldn't. But I don't say it. It doesn't come wet on my tongue.

Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim

Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim - these are attributes of the Divine that are so powerful and things that many of us have forgotten. Compassion and mercy - these are the underlying elements, the essential values of our tradition.

And more often than not when we see Muslims on a daily basis, we see harsh and somber and angry individuals, those who are commanding retribution, thinking that they are asking for justice, but in reality they are being more oppressive than even the oppressed.

The Uniqueness of Rahman

Being Rahman is something that is uniquely for Allah Himself. Allah is not a name that you can make plural. It is not a name that you can find in the dual. Allah exists as a name, as a word unto itself. And the word Rahman as well as a word that you can't do those things to because it is a unique attribute that only Allah possesses. It is something that is only for Him. We can't be Rahman.

Rahim - What We Can Be

But Rahim is something that we have the ability to encompass. That even in the Quran, the Prophet ﷺ is being referred to as Rahim.

"There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; he is concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful (Rahim)."

It is something that human beings have the ability to do. It is something that they have the ability to possess.

Rahman vs Rahim

That the distinction that is being made between Rahman and Rahim is that Rahman is a mercy (Rahmah) that is general (Aam) in nature. It is a Rahmah that is for everybody. Everyone can participate in it.

Whether you are young or you are old, whether you are black or white or brown or yellow, whether you are from any part of the world, you are a male or a female, even if you are Muslim or you are not Muslim, the Rahmah of Rahman is something that you have access to.

And Rahim is a kind of mercy - it is something that is specific (Khas). It is something that it has its fulfillment to it, but there is a relationship between it and Allah.

The Hidden Verb

You want to be able to understand what we are asking. To understand that you have in the Arabic grammar a

term that is called Mahdhoof (مَحْذُوف). And what it denotes is that there is a word that is missing but it is implicitly understood. It is something that you know should be there.

There is a verb that needs to happen before Bismillah. And you are the one who supplies that verb. You are the one who puts it into the phrase:

• I sit in the name of Allah
• I stand in the name of Allah
• I speak in the name of Allah
• I do everything I do in the name of the Divine

I have a deep understanding that without invoking Him in this way, there is no blessing in what I do. And if I am not able to do that, I am not going to get everything I can out of it.

Actions We Cannot Do in Allah's Name

And then I want to take it to a different step where I understand those deeds and those actions that I am not able to undertake in the name of the Divine. There are certain things that if I truly exerted an air of consciousness and when I did them, I wouldn't be able to do them because I could not defile and belittle the name of Allah with those filthy actions.

Can I say (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim) before I hit my wife? Before I yell at my child? Can I invoke Allah by His name and by His attributes of mercy and compassion and take the lives of innocents? Can I find myself in a place where I don't own up to the responsibilities that I have been endowed with if I was just in fact saying this thing that I am taught?

The Benefit of Conscious Intention

Many of us don't know why we do what we do. We just do it. And the benefit of us making this explicit intention puts us in a place where we can catch ourselves before we do something we know we shouldn't.

I say Bismillah and then I ask myself: Is the verb that's going to follow something that I can actually couple with the name of the Divine?

I use my mind, I use my brain, I use my aql that Allah has given to me. I move away from my carnal self, I move away from my animalistic self and say that I'm just doing things out of instinct. I'm able to see whether or not I'm living a life that is God-conscious or one where I'm catering to the whims and desires of myself.

Daily Practice

How often do you start any deed or any action with this phrase Bismillah on a daily basis? How often do we remind ourselves of the presence of the Divine in our lives?

And even after we fail to utter, to mention His name in the way that we are supposed to mention it, when we seek forgiveness from Him, are we doing so again with the intention that we're doing it seeking His pleasure and seeking His Rahmah?

Ya Rabb, I forgot to ask of You or think of You or be with You in such a way where when I did that which You did not want me to do. I will not put myself now in a place that when I invoke You for Your mercy, I will forget to do so beginning with Your name.

The Command to Begin with Allah's Name

If the Prophet ﷺ is being told that when you read and when you recite, do so in the name of Allah, and he himself is recommending to us over and over and over again everything that you do when you are doing it, do so in the name of Allah, why is it that we have left it behind?

Our stories, they are meant to start in the name of Allah. Our narrative, the one that we are seeking to cultivate and the one that we are seeking to share with the people, it has to begin in the name of Allah. It doesn't start from any other place.

And when it ends, it also ends with this understanding that we will be standing in front of Him. And this is only a beginning to a series of beginnings that we have to go through before we find ourselves in a place where Inshallah ta'ala we will have only the best in the next world.

But if you're not mindful of Him here, what will you do when you are standing in front of Him there?

The Foundation of Intentions

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

Five words that carry so much importance that they come with an imperative. And the beloved of Allah says: Do this thing in the name of Allah.

He tells us in that foundation:

إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ

"Actions are but by intentions."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 1, Sahih Muslim 1907

Because of their intentions, we are getting a deep understanding of the importance of making an explicit intention before every action so that we can't get caught in a frame of mind.

When somebody asks why did you do what you did to me, we would say that I wasn't in control of myself, I wasn't in a place where I was in control of my emotions. Rather my emotions were controlling me. I wasn't controlling myself. Myself was in a place where it dominated me.

No. I have an understanding that all of my deeds are because of some intention, whether it is implicit or explicitly mentioned. In the best of intentions, that I do what I do for the sake of Allah.

The Test of Our Actions

And when I ask myself: Is this what I'm about to do going to be something that will make Him happy and will obtain His pleasure? If the answer is no, and if it's something that I know is going to be something that will bring not only benefit, it is what I have to go towards. But I have to be able to understand.

And if my actions, my deeds are not being done for this reason, I need to be able to reassess.

There are many people in this world right now where the Muslim world is full of all kinds of atrocities. It is full of all kinds of issues that people are using to justify through our tradition. And this is something that the likes of you and I, we cannot let people believe, especially in the name of Islam.

Starting and Ending with Allah

When you go out on a daily basis, when you wake up in the morning, understand with an air of appreciation, gratitude for everything that you have been given. Start your day off in the name of the Divine.

And when you go to your beds at night, for each and every blessing that you were given to be a part of on that day, but you start with His name, you end with His name, and everything in between goes back to Him.

And at that point, the satisfaction that you were looking for will not be complacency any longer because you are living your life in such a way that you know the entity that you are doing the things that you are doing for looks for a reason to accept from you, doesn't look for a reason to push you away.

Living with Compassion and Mercy

We cannot put qualifications and characteristics of a human being to live in such a way where we look to point out the shortcomings and the flaws and the mistakes of one another. That we put ourselves in a way where we

abuse and we mistreat, we are condescending, we are obnoxious, we are arrogant, and we have forgotten what it means to be compassionate.

But Allah He is Ar-Rahman and He is Ar-Rahim. And we are told to remember this day in and day out, the smallest of actions to the ones that are the most important. And the most important, we have to ask ourselves: What are we in fact doing in His name?

Closing Dua

May Allah guide us and protect us. May He bless us with knowledge that benefits us in our daily lives. And may He guide and bless us all.

وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ وَبِاللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

End of Khutbah