Bismillah Meaning: In the Name of Allah, Word by Word

Bismillah (بِسْمِ اللَّهِ) means “in the name of Allah.” Muslims say it before eating, drinking, leaving the house and starting anything that matters, so that the thing is begun with Allah and for Him. It is the short form of bismillahir rahmanir rahim, “in the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,” the line that opens every surah of the Quran but one.

Below you can hear both forms and copy them in Arabic. You will see what each word means, why bismillah is written without one of its letters, and which form to say when. The questions people ask most are answered too: why Surah At-Tawbah has no bismillah, what 786 has to do with it, and why Freddie Mercury sings it in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Bismillah in Arabic: copy and paste

Tap or click a box to select it, then copy.

Bismillah, with vowel marks:

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim, with vowel marks:

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Without vowel marks, the way you would type it in a message:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In English letters you will see bismillah, bismilah, bismi Allah, and for the full line bismillahir rahmanir rahim, bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim or bismillahirrahmanirrahim. All of them stand for the same Arabic.

What bismillah means, word by word

Bismillah packs three parts into what sounds like one word.

The sentence is left unfinished on purpose. Arabic grammarians say the verb is understood from whatever you are doing. Before a meal it means “in the name of Allah I eat.” Before a trip, “in the name of Allah I set off.” So one short phrase fits every action, and the action completes it.

The full line adds two of Allah’s names, both from the root r-h-m, mercy:

Translators reach for different English: Most Gracious and Most Merciful, Compassionate and Merciful, All-Merciful and Mercy-Giving. None quite holds the Arabic, which is why many teachers explain the two names rather than translating them.

Why bismillah is written without an alif

The word for “name” is spelled with an alif at the start, and normally keeps it after bi. You can see it in the first verse ever revealed, “Recite in the name of your Lord who created,” where the same phrase is written in full:

In bismillah the alif is dropped from the writing, and the letters run straight from the ba to the sin. Scholars of the Quran’s spelling explain it by how often the phrase is said and written: it became one word on the page as it is one word on the tongue. When a child learning to read notices the gap, they have found one of the Quran’s spelling habits, not a mistake.

How to pronounce bismillah

Say bismillah in three beats: bis-mil-lah. Press play at the top of the page to hear it at an easy pace.

The full line is a verse of the Quran, so we play it in a reciter’s voice rather than a machine’s. This is Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil al-Husary, whose teaching recitation goes slowly enough to follow:

When to say bismillah

The meal is the one children learn first, and the Prophet taught it to a child. A boy eating with him was told to mention Allah’s name, eat with his right hand and eat from what was in front of him (Sahih al-Bukhari 5376). In another hadith he said that when Allah’s name is mentioned on coming in and at the meal, Satan finds no place to stay and no supper. Where it is forgotten, he finds both (Sahih Muslim 2018a). Children like that one: a name said at the door keeps an unwanted guest out. What to say when the meal is over, with audio and a card for the table, is on our page on the dua after eating.

If you forget to say bismillah before eating

Say it when you remember, in this form (Jami at-Tirmidhi 1858, graded sahih by Darussalam):

Bismillah when leaving the house

Bismillah or bismillahir rahmanir rahim?

Both are right. They belong to different moments.

The full line appears in the Quran 114 times: at the head of 113 surahs and once inside a verse. That verse is in Surah An-Naml, which is why people ask which surah has bismillah twice. The Queen of Sheba describes a letter she has received from Sulayman:

And the ark: Nuh told the believers to board “in the name of Allah,” which is where the bismillah for setting off on a journey comes from.

Translations: Sahih International, from Quran.com.

Is bismillah part of Surah Al-Fatiha?

In the mushaf most of the world reads (the Hafs reading), yes: it is numbered as verse 1 of Al-Fatiha, and the surah has seven verses counting it. The schools of law have long differed on the rest. The Shafi’is count it as a verse of Al-Fatiha and recite it aloud in prayer. The Hanafis count it as a verse of the Quran set between surahs, part of none of them, and say it quietly. The Malikis leave it out of obligatory prayer. Each family follows its own teacher here, and all of them agree the line itself is Quran.

The Prophet himself did not know where one surah ended and the next began until bismillahir rahmanir rahim was revealed, which marked the break (Sunan Abi Dawud 788, graded sahih by al-Albani).

Why Surah At-Tawbah has no bismillah

Surah 9, At-Tawbah, is the only surah that opens without it. Ibn Abbas asked Uthman why, when the Quran was compiled, no bismillah was written between Al-Anfal and At-Tawbah. Uthman said the two surahs were alike in content. The Prophet died without saying whether At-Tawbah was part of Al-Anfal, so they were placed side by side with no line between them (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3086, graded hasan by Darussalam). Other scholars add that the surah opens with a stern declaration, which does not sit with a line about mercy.

So when you start reading at the beginning of At-Tawbah, most teachers say to seek refuge (a’udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim) and begin without bismillah. If you start in the middle of any surah, bismillah is allowed but not required; a’udhu billah is the part that is asked of you.

What does 786 mean?

Give each letter of bismillahir rahmanir rahim its old Arabic number value and the total is 786. The system is called abjad: ba is 2, sin is 60, mim is 40, and so on. In South Asia it is often written at the top of letters, wedding cards and shop signs in place of the words.

Many scholars discourage it: the Prophet and his companions wrote the words, a number is not the name of Allah, and writing 786 does not count as saying bismillah. If you want to begin a letter with it, write the words.

Why does Freddie Mercury say bismillah in Bohemian Rhapsody?

In the opera section of Queen’s 1975 song, one side of an argument sings “Bismillah! No, we will not let you go.” It is used as an exclamation, a cry of “in God’s name!”, in a scene full of borrowed words like Scaramouche, Galileo and Beelzebub. Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara to a Parsi family of Zoroastrian faith, raised in Zanzibar and India, where he would have heard the word all around him. The song made bismillah familiar to millions of people who had never met a Muslim, and that is why so many of them search for what it means.

Can non-Muslims say bismillah?

The phrase is Arabic, and Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Arabic-speaking Christians call God Allah too. Their prayers open with a formula of their own: “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” In Islam, bismillah is worship: saying Allah’s name over an action asks His blessing on it. Anyone who hears a Muslim friend say it before a meal now knows what is meant.

It does not mean “thank you” or “good luck.” After a meal, or when something good happens, Muslims say alhamdulillah, “all praise is for Allah”; to thank a person, see thank you in Arabic.

Teaching bismillah to children

Bismillah is usually the first Islamic phrase a child learns, and one of the easiest to keep going. None of this needs you to read Arabic.

1. Start with the meal. Say it aloud before every meal, before anyone takes a bite. Within a week or two your child will be reminding you.
2. Add the forgotten form. When someone forgets, nobody is in trouble: say bismillahi fi awwalihi wa akhirihi together. A child who learns there is a way back is less anxious about getting it wrong.
3. Tie it to the door. Bismillah on the way out, and as you come in. The hadith about Satan with no supper and no bed makes a good story for a five-year-old.
4. Explain the meaning once. “We’re starting this with Allah’s name, so we remember He gave it to us.” That sentence does more than any lecture.
5. Use the full line for the Quran. When they start reading or memorising a surah, it opens with bismillahir rahmanir rahim, so the short form and the long form each have their place. Our short surahs to memorize each start with it, and every verse can be heard in al-Husary’s voice.

Print our free Islamic phrases printable (PDF) to keep it in sight: bismillah is on it with the Arabic, the meaning and when to say it, beside the other everyday phrases. A copy by the kitchen table does most of the reminding for you.

For more phrases with audio, see our Islamic phrases page, what inshallah means, astaghfirullah and the daily duas for kids.

Questions about bismillah

What is the true meaning of bismillah?

“In the name of Allah.” It is three parts: bi (in, with), ism (name) and Allah. The verb is left unsaid and taken from what you are doing, so before a meal it means “in the name of Allah I eat.”

Why do Muslims say bismillah?

To begin an action with Allah and for Him, asking His blessing on it and remembering that the food, the trip or the work comes from Him. The Prophet taught it for meals, coming and going from home and closing up at night, and the Quran opens every surah but one with it.

When should I use bismillah?

Before eating and drinking, entering and leaving home, getting into a car, getting dressed, starting study or work, and before going into the toilet (not inside). Use the full bismillahir rahmanir rahim when you begin reading a surah of the Quran.

Which surah has bismillah twice?

Surah An-Naml (27). It opens with bismillah like the others, and verse 30 quotes it again inside the letter Sulayman sent to the Queen of Sheba.

Should I say bismillah before every surah in salah?

Most Muslims say it before Al-Fatiha and before the surah that follows, quietly or aloud depending on their school. The Malikis leave it out of obligatory prayer. Follow what your teacher or masjid follows.

Should I say bismillah before ayatul kursi?

Ayatul kursi is verse 255 of Al-Baqarah, from the middle of a surah. Seeking refuge with a’udhu billah is enough; adding bismillah is allowed but not required.