سورة الإسراء

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Ali said: I went to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him). The Imam (peace be upon him) said بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful] and then said: "Do you know what verse was revealed concerning بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ?" I said: "No!" He said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had the most beautiful voice among people in reciting the Quran. He (peace be upon him and his family) used to pray in the courtyard of the Kaaba with a raised voice, and Utbah ibn Rabiah, Shaybah ibn Rabiah, Abu Jahl ibn Hisham and a group of others would listen to the sound of his recitation. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) would repeat the verse بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ often and recite it with a raised voice. They would say: Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) repeats the name of his Lord a great deal; he indeed loves his Lord very much. So they would say to others who were standing and hearing the voice of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): whenever he says بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ and finishes it and begins the other verses, inform us so that we too may come and hear his voice. Then Allah revealed this verse; وَ إِذَا ذَکَرْتَ رَبَّکَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ وَلَّوْاْ عَلَی أَدْبَارِهِمْ نُفُورًا [And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran — بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ — they turn their backs in aversion]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amr ibn Shimr said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "I lead my tribe in congregational prayer and I recite بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful] aloud [in the prayer]. [Is this correct]?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Yes! It is correct. Recite بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ aloud, for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) used to do so." Then he continued: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had one of the most beautiful voices among people in reciting the Quran. When he stood at night to pray, Abu Jahl and the other polytheists would come and listen to his recitation. As soon as he said بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ, they would put their fingers in their ears and flee, and when he finished saying the Bismillah, they would come back and listen. Abu Jahl kept saying: 'Ibn Abi Kabsha [a name the polytheists gave to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) out of enmity] keeps repeating the name of his Lord — truly he loves his Lord.'" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said here: "Although Abu Jahl was a liar, in this matter he spoke the truth. And for that reason Allah revealed: وَ إِذا ذَکَرْتَ رَبَّکَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ وَلَّوْا عَلی أَدْبارِهِمْ نُفُوراً [And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran they turn their backs in aversion], and what is meant [by mentioning the Lord] is بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) used to recite بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful] openly and raise his voice with it, and when the Quraysh heard it they would flee. So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed concerning this: وَ إِذا ذَکَرْتَ رَبَّکَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ وَلَّوْا عَلی أَدْبارِهِمْ نُفُوراً [And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran they turn their backs in aversion], where what is meant is بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ itself.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): When the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) prayed together with the people, he would recite the verse بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful] aloud, and the hypocrites who were standing behind him (peace be upon him and his family) would move away from the rows of prayer, and when the recitation of the verse was finished they would return to their places and say to one another: "Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) mentions the name of his Lord a great deal; he must love Him very much." So Allah revealed this verse: وَ إِذَا ذَکَرْتَ رَبَّکَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ [And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): أَکِنَّةً means a covering; وَقْر means deaf.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): If the hypocrites — may Allah curse them — had known what punishment was decreed for them for abandoning these verses whose interpretation I have explained to you, they would have dropped them along with what they [already] dropped of it. But the decree of Allah the Exalted, whose Name is blessed, is carried out in establishing the proof upon His creation, as He has said: "Say: 'The conclusive proof [and decisive argument] belongs to Allah [a proof that leaves no excuse for anyone].'" (al-An'am/149). He covered their eyes and placed coverings upon their hearts from pondering that, so they left it as it was and were veiled from confirming the ambiguous one by refuting him. So the fortunate ones remain firmly aware of it, and the wretched are blind to it and go astray.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Allah bestowed upon me the favour of [revealing] Surah al-Hamd from the treasure of Paradise, in which is بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful], the very verse concerning which Allah says: وَ إِذا ذَکَرْتَ رَبَّکَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ وَلَّوْا عَلی أَدْبارِهِمْ نُفُورا [And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful] — this verse is more deserving than any other verse to be recited aloud. So when reciting it, raise your voice. This is the verse concerning which Allah said: وَ إِذَا ذَکَرْتَ رَبَّکَ فِی الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ وَلَّوْاْ عَلَی أَدْبَارِهِمْ نُفُورًا [And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) recited the Quran during his tahajjud and night vigil, because of the beautiful voice which he (peace be upon him and his family) had, the Quraysh would listen to his voice, and whenever he recited: بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful], they would flee from him.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza al-Thumali said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Satan stands beside the imam of the congregational prayer and asks him: Has he mentioned his Lord? If he says yes, he places his tail between his legs and leaves, and if he says no, he mounts upon the imam's shoulders and becomes the imam of the people until the prayer is finished. I asked: "May I be your ransom! What is the meaning of mentioning the Lord?" He said: "It means reciting بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful] aloud."