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Before eating

At the start of a meal

Arabic

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ

Transliteration

Bismillāh.

English

"In the name of Allah."

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5376

Context

If you forget at the start, say: Bismillāhi fī awwalihi wa ākhirih — In the name of Allah at its beginning and its end.

In the library's own words

Where the scholars teach this duʿāʾ.

  1. "This is agreed upon in both major collections. The hadith for audible recitation of "Bismillah" is recorded by al-Daraqutni and al-Hakim, who authenticated it from Ibn Abbas. The hadith leaving out the audible recitation is recorded by Muslim from Anas: "I prayed behind the Prophet, peace be upon him, Abu Bakr, and Umar, and I did not hear any of them recite 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' aloud."

    — Imam al-Ghazali, Book 4: The Book of Prayer

  2. "and we have certainly made the Quran easy to remember, so is there any who will remember? And he the exalted began with Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Indeed we sent Noah to his people saying, Warn your people before there comes to them a painful punishment. He said, O my people, indeed I am to you a clear warner, that you should worship Allah, fear him, and obey me. He will forgive you of your sins and delay you for a specified term. Indeed the time set by Allah when it comes will not be delayed if you only knew. He said, My Lord, indeed I invited my people night and day, but my invitation increased them not except in flight. The people placed their"

    — Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā

  3. ""If you release your trained dog and mention the name of God upon it, then eat." This was reported repeatedly, and slaughtering with the recitation of Bismillah was well-known. All of this strengthens the evidence for its stipulation, but since it was authentic that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "A believer slaughters in the name of God whether he mentions it or not," And since it's possible for this to be a general statement necessitating that the verse and all related reports be interpreted away from their apparent meanings, it could also be specific to the one who forgets, leaving the apparent meanings intact."

    — Imam al-Ghazali, Book 14: The Lawful and the Unlawful

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