Dictionary

basmala en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbæsˌmɑlə/
• /ˈbɑs-/

Etymology

From Arabic بَسْمَلَة (basmala)

Meanings

1. (countable) The prepositional phrase بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم (bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm, “In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate”).
   • But only Kufa and Mecca counted the basmala in al-Fatiha as verse 1, whereas the readers of Basra, Damascus and Medina did not count the basmala as a separate verse but achieved the number of seven verses by subdividing other... 2006, Oliver Leaman, The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 116:
   • The basmala, also known as the tasmiya, is an Arabic word for the phrase bi- smillah ir-rahman ir-rahim, “In the name of God most compassionate, most merciful.” This is the first verse of the Quran; it begins all of its chapters but one (Q9)... 2009, Juan Eduardo Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 94:
2. (uncountable) The act of uttering Bismillah.

Forms