Ahaadeeth about virtue of Basmalah
Fatwa No: 237052

Question

Assalaamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh Please provide the ahadeeth of the following regarding The Basmalah: 1. When the Basmalah was revealed, the clouds gave way by moving to the East, the winds ceased blowing, the oceans became calm, the creatures prepared themselves to listen…. Allah Ta'ala declared: Anyone who says this Name of Mine upon anything, I will impart Barakah in that thing. 2. Allah Ta'ala said: "By My Honour, Grace and Grandeur, whoever reads The Basmalah and Surah Al-Faatiha jointly once, then you be witness that I shall not burn his tongue and I will save him from the Fire as well as the punishment of the grave and the day of Qiyaamah. 3. Every significant act in which Bismillah is not mentioned is cut off. 4. Whenever Jibreel (Alayhis Salaam) used to bring wahee to Rasoolullah (Sallallaahu-alayhi-wasallam), he used to first recite The Basmalah. Rasoolullah (Sallallaahu-alayhi-wasallam) used to recite The Basmalah before doing any work and advised the Ummah to do the same. 5. Allah Ta'ala has three thousand names…One Name He has kept to Himself. He has condensed all His names into the 3 names contained in The Basmalah. Any person saying The Basmalah, it is as though he has remembered Allah by all His Names. 6. Any du'a which is begun with is not rejected. Because of saying The Basmalah the scales of my Ummah will become heavy on the Day of Qiyaamah…..In the utterances of the Ummate Muhammadiyyah there is such an honourable Name of Allah that if it is placed on the one side of the scale, and the sins of the entire creation is put onto the other side then the side with the virtue will be heavier. 9. There is an attachment between Bismillah and Allah like the closeness between the blackness and the whiteness of the eye. 10. On whatever Allah's Name is taken, it will have blessings. 11. Whoever wants to be saved from the Angels of hell should constantly recite Bismillah. Jazakallahu khayran. Thank you. Much appreciated.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

We have not found any of the Ahaadeeth mentioned in your question regarding the virtues of reciting the Basmalah (saying, ‘Bismillaahi Ar-Rahmaani Ar-Raheem’ –In the Name of Allaah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful) in the Hadeeth books we have at hand. However, we found some of these Ahaadeeth on the websites promoting religious innovations and some of them with a strange chain of narrators filled with unknown narrators.

There are some authentic Ahaadeeth encouraging Muslims to recite the Basmalah at the beginning of their actions. For instance, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Any matter of importance which is not begun with the remembrance of Allaah remains defective.” [Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and others] The same Hadeeth was reported with a slightly different wording; “Any matter of importance which is not begun with the remembrance of Allaah and with Basmalah remains defective.”

Another version of the same Hadeeth reads, “Any matter of importance which is not begun with Alhamdu-lillaah (praise be to Allaah) remains defective.” [Ibn Hibbaan - Al-Albaani graded it Hasan (good)]

We do not know of a reported Hadeeth indicating that the Prophet recited Basmalah before every action. Nevertheless, Muslim jurists recommended reciting the Basmalah at the beginning of all acts be it an act of worship like Ghusl (ritual bath), Wudhoo’ (ablution), Tayammum (dry ablution), recitation of the Quran, or any other (worldly) permissible act such as eating, drinking, or having intercourse with one’s spouse and the like.

Also, it is reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to begin his letters with the Basmalah following the example of Prophet Sulaymaan (Solomon) as reported in the Quran. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it reads: 'In the name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.} [Quran 27:30]

For example, it was reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, wrote to Heraclius, Ceasar of the Byzantine Empire: “In the Name of Allaah, The Most gracious, The Most Merciful. This is a letter from Muhammad, the slave and Messenger of Allaah ...”

Moreover, Jibreel (Gabriel) descended to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and revealed to him the Basmalah at the beginning of each Surah of the Quran and thus, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, knew the beginning and end of each Surah.

In Al-Itqaan, Imaam As-Suyooti wrote, "Abu Daawood, Al-Haakim, Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Bazzaar reported on the authority of Sa‘eed ibn Jubayr that Ibn ‘Abbaas said, ‘The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not know where a chapter of the Quran ended until the Basmalah was revealed to him.’ Al-Bazzaar added, ‘When the Basmalah was revealed to him, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would know that the chapter ended and another chapter started.’ In addition, it was reported on the authority of Sa‘eed Ibn Jubayr through another chain of narrators that Ibn ‘Abbaas said, ‘Muslims did not know the end of the chapters of the Quran except when the Basmalah was revealed to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam; once it was revealed, they knew the end of the chapter of the Quran.’ [Al-Haakim: It is in accordance with the criteria of Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Moreover, Al-Haakim narrated through a different chain of narrators that Ibn ‘Abbaas said, ‘Whenever Jibreel descends to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, revealing to him the Basmalah, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would know that a new chapter of the Quran was revealed.’ [Saheeh (sound)] Ibn Mas‘ood said, ‘We did not know of any separation between two chapters of the Quran except after the Basmalah was revealed.’ [Al-Bayhaqi and others]’' [End of quote]

Allaah Knows best.

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