The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 9
AL-FATIHAH 2. "All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,2 CH. 1 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَلَمِينَ "6:2; 6:46; 10:11; 18:2; 29:64; 30:19; 31:26; 34:2; 35:2; 37:183; 39:76; 45:37. goodness, even the invoking of His names proves a blessing. Says the Quran (55:79): Blessed be the name of thy Lord, the Owner of Majesty and Honour. The Holy Prophet sometimes healed people by invoking the various names of God. Therefore, the word (name) has been added in order to remind the Faithful that to remember the names of God is to merit a blessing. 3. The use of the word "name" further indicates that God is hidden and can be known only through His names, i. e. attributes. By reciting Bismillah, a believer seeks the help of God through His attributes of Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raḥīm. 4. Again, the inner meanings of the Quran are a guarded treasure and nobody can have access to them, except under proper authority. The person who begins a recitation with the formula, In the name of Allah, says, as it were, to the guardian angels of this spiritual treasure, "I am approaching it in the name of Allah, so open to me the treasures of the inner meanings of the Quran. " To the one who approaches the Quran in such a spirit, the treasures will indeed be opened. The verse, None shall touch it except those who are purified (56:80), likewise, shows that only the pure in spirit can find access to the deep secrets of the Quran. 5. Another reason for introducing the word "name" in Bismillāh is to 9 draw attention to the prophecy of Moses (Deut. 18:18-20) to which reference has already been made. 2. Important Words: J (Al) is more or less like the definite article 'the' of the English language. It is used to convey a number of senses one of which is that of totality. So would mean, all kinds of praise. (praise). They say i. e. he praised him. Thus means 'praise'. There are four words in Arabic which are used, in varying significance, in the sense of praise or thankfulness; viz. ,, and. Of these God has here chosen the last. Shukr, when used about man, expresses recognition of and thankfulness for benefits received, whereas Ḥamd not only embodies the idea of thankfulness but also makes reference to the intrinsic qualities of the object of praise. Thanā indicates an idea of publicity, the root meaning of the word being repetition. The emphasis in Thanā is more on publicity than on personal experience. Madḥ gives a somewhat similar meaning as Ḥamd but whereas Madḥ may be false, Hamd is always true. Says the Holy Prophet: ¿i. e. "Throw dust in the faces of those who praise falsely. " Again Madḥ may be used about such acts of goodness over which the doer has no control, but Ḥamd is used only about such acts as