Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani
Tafsir al-Basmala - within "Athar al-Muallimi
- Author died
- 1386 AH
- Editions
- Dar Alam al-Fawa'id lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
Tafsir al-Basmala (Interpretation of the Basmala) is an exegetical treatise by the Yemeni scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani (1313–1386 AH / 1894–1966 CE), dedicated to the precise linguistic, theological, and grammatical explanation of the phrase بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ("In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful") . It was published as part of his collected works (Athar al-Muallimi) within the compendium Majmu Rasa'il al-Tafsir .
Purpose and Composition
Al-Muallimi prefaced the treatise by stating his objective in writing it, noting that although scholars had written extensively on the Basmala and almost every book commentary discusses it, he had not found a treatment restricted solely to fully clarifying its meaning in an accessible way that allows a student to grasp it completely and bring it to mind when reciting it . It is the only treatise among his collection of Quranic exegesis treatises that he opened with an explicit authorial introduction .
Structure and Content
The treatise is organized into eight chapters (fushul) :
- Chapter One: Addresses four matters a person should bring to mind before uttering the Basmala: reciting it in compliance with Allah's command, recalling that it is part of the speech of Allah, intending to express oneself with it, and understanding that the preposition ba' requires an implied grammatical dependency (muta'allaq) .
- Chapters Two, Five, Six, and Seven: Discuss the grammatical and semantic facets of bi-sm Allah, focusing on the meanings of the preposition ba'—such as seeking assistance (isti'anah) versus accompaniment (musahabah)—and its omitted verbal antecedent .
- Chapter Three: The longest section, occupying nearly half of the treatise, in which al-Muallimi analyzes the theological and linguistic connotations of the word ism (name) . He examines classical views, rejecting the opinion of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari that ism here simply means tasmiyah (the act of naming), arguing that it lacks both proof and necessity . He thoroughly analyzes the theological debate concerning whether the name is identical to the named entity (al-ism wa-al-musamma), tracing the stances of the Sunnis, the Mu'tazilites, and the Kharijites . Within this chapter, he engages in extensive critique of Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam and his work Majaz al-Qur'an (al-Isharah ila al-Ijaz fi Ba'd Anwa' al-Majaz) .
- Chapters Four and Eight: Provide a detailed verification (tahqiq) of the Majestic Name (Allah) and the two divine attributes al-Rahman and al-Rahim, including a refutation of the claim that the pre-Islamic polytheists were unfamiliar with the name al-Rahman .
Manuscripts and Publication
The primary manuscript of the treatise is preserved in the library of the Grand Mosque of Mecca (Maktabat al-Haram al-Makki) under collection no. 4693 (microfilm/copy no. 3593), covering folios 42–49 . It is a fair copy (mubayyadah) in the author's hand, containing numerous authorial corrections, strikethroughs, and additions .
In the published edition within Athar al-Muallimi, the treatise spans 69 pages . The editors appended to it an additional draft (musawwadah) on the Basmala that was found embedded in another manuscript of al-Muallimi's commentary on Surat al-Fatiha (Maktabat al-Haram al-Makki, no. 4701), containing discussions on the theological interpretation of mercy (rahmah) and the structural arguments regarding whether the Basmala constitutes an independent verse of the Fatiha .
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