Text Box: Text Box: M.A.L.I.Muslim American Logic Institute
Text Box: COMTEMPLATING THE MEANING AND POWER OF BISMALLAH By Mubaashir Uqdah Bismillah is an Arabic phrase commonly translated as In the name of Allah or In Allah’s name. Imam W. Deen Mohammed has taught us that it is preferable to translate this expression as With Allah’s Name. The Arabic word Bi means both In and With, however the two words have different connotations. For English speaking people, to say that one comes ‘In’ the name of someone implies that he has been appointed or designated as an official spokesperson. Whereas, to say that one comes ‘With’ someone’s name implies that you are using the name of that person to validate or support what you are saying or doing. We have not been appointed by Allah as official spokespersons for Him, but we have been taught to use Allah’s word as a criterion to guide and judge our actions and thoughts. So, we come with Allah’s word supporting our effort (Inshallah), but we do not come as the voice or authority of Allah. So, Imam Mohammed recommends we use the word With to translate this expression. Whenever we pray, the phrase Bismillah is recited. Bismillah is placed at the beginning of every Sura in the Qur'an, except one. Lecturers begin their talks with this phrase. This phrase is pronounced before we eat and when we take the life of animals for sustenance. Have we ever wondered what this phrase actually means and what makes it so important? Why must the phrase Bismillah be pronounced before taking an animal’s life in order for the food to be Halal? How does saying a phrase make food Halal? Is there something magical in the words? There are some who see Bismillah as a prayer, and because we believe that Allah answers prayers, it is believed that these words do have power. Why did Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) put this phrase at the beginning of each Sura? Why does this phrase have such a prominent place in the Qur'an? What are we thinking when we begin our activities with Bismillah? What is the meaning of the message, “In Allah’s Name or With Allah’s Name?” Most of us use this phrase with the understanding that it is the Muslim way to begin everything with Allah in our consciousness. We begin our affairs and actions with His name to keep us aware that He sees all we are doing and this awareness helps us keep our behavior upright and correct. Beginning our activities with His name also reminds us that without Allah’s assistance and permission, we could not successfully carry out our own plans and desires. We also begin with Allah’s name, because it is our spirit to please Him by our actions and some believe that we please Him when we start with Him in mind. Let’s take a closer look. We are taught that Allah means, ‘The G-d.’ If Allah means G-d in the Arabic language, then what is G-d’s name? We must answer this question, if we are to understand what it means to act with Allah’s name and to gain real power from it, beyond the magical. In my view, the answer to this question is in the attributes that follow the phrase. We say, “With Allah’s Name,” then there is a comma or pause, then we begin reciting His attributes, “The Merciful Benefactor, The Merciful Redeemer.” But, we need not stop at the second attribute. We can continue reciting all 99 attributes of Allah, because Allah says in Sura 59:24 that He has the most beautiful names. The names referred to in this verse are Allah’s attributes. These are His names and we are told that we can call Him by any of those names or attributes. For Muslims, names are attributes. Our names have meanings and these meanings are characteristics. A name is an identifying label and in Al-Islam things are identified by their characteristics. When we say, ‘With Allah’s Name, we undertake this task,’ we are saying With Allah’s Attributes we undertake this task. With Allah’s Attributes of Mercy and Compassion, we make this food Halal. With Allah’s attributes of Knowledge and Power we do our work. With Allah’s attributes of Generosity and Peace, we help the poor. Whatever we are doing, do it on the basis and according to the patterns of Allah’s attributes! Bring the attributes of Sight and Hearing into our efforts. Bring the attributes of Strength and Gentleness into our tasks. Bismillah is living our life according to the Sunnah of Allah, and the Sunnah of Allah is found in the patterns (Fitrah) in creation, and in the patterns of creation we find the Attributes of G-d. To act with the name of G-d is to act in accord with the patterns of His attributes and thus, in accord with the patterns of the creation out of which we were made and out of which this Deen (Religion) was evolved. This is being in harmony with nature. Let me assume for a moment that you agree with me that the affect of Imam W. Deen Mohammed’s commentary on our perception of Al-Islam has allowed us to achieve a deeper understanding of the meaning of Bismillah. What can we do with this deeper understanding? Hasn’t this been our major problem? We know we have received a profound body of knowledge, but we are struggling with how to apply that profound knowledge in order to transform our physical reality into forms that are reflective of that knowledge. Let us use this concept of Bismillah as an example of how we transform the knowledge of Bismillah into the power of Bismillah. The ideas inherent in our knowledge of Bismillah; of the attributes of the Creator, can be used as tools to work on and with the creation to help construct New Africa; the new culture, the new mind, and the new community that Imam Mohammed predicts will evolve from our ummah. The example I put forth is brief and it is not comprehensive. Hopefully, it will be instructive. We start this example at the beginning of creation. Al-Alim (The All-Knowing) knows that He is going to make a creation. Al-Khaaliq (The Creator) begins the act of creation. In order to fulfill the act of creation, Al-Jaamee (The Gatherer) must gather all of the elements and components needed for the project. Al-Mussawwir (The Shaper; The Fashioner of Form) must take these elements and components and shape them into the forms of creation. Ar-Razzaaq (The Provider) gives the created forms everything they need to be themselves and Ar-Rahman (The Merciful Benefactor) adds mercy and compassion to the created forms by building benefits into them. We stop this example here. Allah has formed creation—that is, created things, with His attributes. We now turn to creation; more precisely, a created thing—for example, an oak tree. We start this example at the beginning of the oak tree’s creation; a seed. Before it can become an oak tree, it must know that its destiny is to become an oak tree. Al-Alim put this knowing in the seed in the form of its DNA. The seed uses Al-Khaaliq to start the process of creation. Having knowledge of self or a blueprint of self, the seed uses Al-Jaamee to gather the things it needs to grow and fulfill its destiny. So it gathers earth, air, light, and water (moisture) into itself, because it needs these components to complete the project of its creation. It must now use Al-Mussawwir to shape or fashion itself into the form of an oak tree. So, the seed grows roots, a stem which evolves into a trunk, and it fashions branches and leaves for itself. This oak tree must provide for itself everything it needs to be itself. So it uses Ar-Razzaaq and stretches its roots far and wide, reaches up high with its branches and leaves to obtain what it needs. It uses Allah’s attribute of Ar-Rahman and takes the benefits from the sunlight, the water, air and earth into itself and it grows to fruition and achieves its destiny; it becomes what was in its DNA; what was in its knowledge or plan to become. Finally, we turn to you and I; the human being. We observed Allah’s Sunnah (His way-Sura 33:63) or pattern as He formed the creation with its Fitrah (Patterns). We observed how the oak tree follows Allah’s Sunnah (Sura 17:77) as it unfolds its own creation. Now you and I must follow Allah’s Sunnah (Sura 35:43, 48:23) as we seek to create ourselves and our world; unfolding our own creation. For this example, we say that we want to create New Africa or a new culture. Have we used Al-Alim to know what New Africa is? Have we conceptualized and defined the details of the new culture that we say we must create? Where is our roadmap; our blueprint, our process and procedures that define what is called New Africa, the new culture? Allah knows what He will make. The oak tree knew what it would become, because its blueprint; its roadmap was in its DNA. How can we not follow the Sunnah of Allah and the Sunnah of creation? After we conceive the blueprint and roadmap of New Africa’s new culture, we must use Al-Khaaliq and begin the effort of creating it. We must take action. If we do not begin striving towards our conception, it will never come to be. The very moment we act, forces align with us to assist in the task of creation. These forces help us use the attribute of Al-Jaamee to gather the elements and components we need to build the new culture of New Africa. Our struggle and striving is to gather these parts of the blueprint; the pieces of the puzzle. We MUST get what we need or we cannot assemble the new culture of New Africa. As we acquire the components, we must use Al-Mussawwir to arrange the components, shape, fashion, organize the parts into the forms as designed by the blueprint. Ar-Razaaq will provide the means for us to fashion the culture into its beautiful and productive forms. Ar-Rahman, out of His mercy, showers us with benefits as we work to create the new culture of New Africa. This attribute also embeds benefits for those who receive this new culture. The benefactor or the factors of benefits are bestowed upon the builders of New Africa and its inhabitants. When we form the methodology of creating formulas that consist of applying Allah’s attributes, the patterns of creation, and the revelation of the Book, we can create that awesome culture called New Africa; we will be able to manifest our thought in four dimensions, visible for all to see and having a potent impact on our society. We will see the power of Bismillah in the concrete of our world and the concrete will be music in motion.

M.A.L.I. Magazine:

Applying Teachings of Imam W.D. Mohammed

By Mubaashir Uqdah