The Benefits of Reciting “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmaani ‘r-Raheem”
Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
12 January 2018 Feltham, London, UK
Jumu`ah Khutbah at Centre for Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (CSCA)
[Khutbah opening du`a.]
All of us are running for one cause in this life, dunya, and we forget the Hereafter. It is something the human being remembers very well, but doesn’t act on. Everyone wants to go to Paradise, is it not? Paradise opens its doors, if we can say it like that, to those who are interested. For those who are not interested, what is the benefit of opening the door of Paradise for them?
Allah (swt) wants us to think about Akhirah and to be min al-muttaqeen, to have taqwa. We don’t need `ilm, sorry to say that; you don’t need `ilm because Allah said in the Holy Qur’an:
وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللّهُ وَاللّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Fear Allah and Allah will teach you (Surat al-Baqara, 2:282)
`Ilm ar-Rabbani, `Ilm al-Haqqani bring us to love of Sayyidina Muhammad (s), and will lead us and resolve all our problems. When Allah (swt) says “ittakullah”, He says it from within shafaqah, pity for Ummat an-Nabi (s). He said, “I will teach you `ilm: if you are interested you will get it, but ittaqullah, have taqwa.” We say, “We want `ilm but we don’t need taqwa, books are enough for us, we read books.” If you read eight-million books it will not change anything, you will still lose, because you don’t have taqwa! Ittaqullah is what Allah wants. “I will give you `ilm, I don’t need your `ilm! I will give you what you don’t know, what no one ever knew about! I will open for you My Treasures.”
Khazaaʾin Allah laa tanfadh, Allah’s Treasures are never empty. We are running to a book that fades in twenty years, but `Ilm ar-Rabbani, what Allah gives never fades, it is forever! He gave us every good gift that no other Nation received: the Holy Qur’an, and a master, a messenger, that can put us at the shore of the ocean! Don’t keep yourself at the beginning, but take one step at a time and more and more will open. When you read Holy Qur’an, at that moment you will see a difference between reading with and without taqwa. With taqwa means that Allah (swt) loves you.
Prophet (s) said:
من أراد أن ينجيه الله تعالى من الزبانية التسعة عشر ، فليقرأ “بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم” فإنّها تسعة عشر حرفاً ، ليجعل الله كل حرف منها جُنّة من واحد منهم
Whoever wants Allah ta’ala to save him from the nineteen angels of Hellfire, let him read “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmaani ‘r-Raheem,” for they are nineteen letters, and may Allah make each letter a barrier from each of them. (Qurtubi and Ibn Katheer Tafseer narrated from Ibn Masʿood)
If someone is interested in Allah saving him from the nineteen angels responsible for Hellfire, Allah will save him, but have taqwa, which begins with saying “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem”. According to Sunnat an-Nabi (s), you cannot eat, dress, shower or do anything without first saying “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem”, which is essential for everyone. Many recite it and many don’t, but it is part of taqwa, the biggest part of which is love of Prophet (s) and love of Allah (swt).
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say (O Muhammad), “If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surat Aali-‘Imraan, 3:31)
If you really want taqwa, follow Sayyidina Muhammad (s), it is very simple. Who brought the Holy Qur’an to us? It is Sayyidina Muhammad (s), not this or that author; it comes from Heavens. So when you read Allah’s Heavenly Words, what great happiness and enjoyment come to your heart when you read “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem”? It is a jewel with which Allah will save Ummat an-Nabi (s). Fal yaqra “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem” li-yajʿal allahu ta’ala bi kulli harfin minha junnah min waahid minhum. If you say “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem”, Allah will make an impenetrable barrier between you and your enemies and you will be successful at that time.
How can you get that? It is very simple, and it is happening in the Far East, in the Sub-continent and the Middle East a little bit: people are sending their kids to learn Tahfeezh al-Qur’an. One night I was listening to a Tahfeezh al-Qur’an competition in Indonesia, where you cannot find any household without at least one person who memorized the Holy Qur’an. SubhaanAllah! Suddenly, at ten o’clock a young boy not more than seven years of age came to recite Holy Qur’an. He wore a turban, and was happy to announce that he is Naqshbandi. He began to give an extraordinary lecture for people forty, fifty, sixty years old. It was astonishing how he had memorized that knowledge and spoke extemporaneously without preparing. He was reading and said he can continue from any part of the Qur’an. How happy his father and mother will be when he saves them from dunya because they have a son like that! It is also supported by the Hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas (r):
فإن المعلم إذا قال للصبي قل بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم فقال الصبي بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم كتب الله براءة للصبي وبراءة للمعلم وبراءة لأبويه من النار
If the teacher says to the child, “Recite Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem,” Allah will grant innocence from the Hellfire for the child, for the teacher, and for the parents. (Qurtubi Tafseer)
When the teacher begins to teach, for sure he will begin with the child saying “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem”, then immediately Allah orders the angels to write innocence from Hellfire for the teacher and the child’s parents; Hellfire cannot touch them. That is how a child saves his parents from Hellfire. Compare yourself to that child: how far we are from the Reality of Islam and Sunnat an-Nabi (s)!
When they heard the Revelation from Prophet (s), Allah gave the Sahaabah the ability to become like photocopy machines so it would never disappear. They recited it to Prophet (s) just as Sayyidina Jibreel (a) revealed it to him.
من قرأ بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم كتب الله له بكل حرف أربعة آلاف حسنة ، ومحا عنه أربعة آلاف سيئة ، ورفع له أربعة آلاف درجة
Whoever recites “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem” four-thousand rewards are written for each letter, and four-thousand sins are removed, and he is raised four-thousand ranks. (Daylami)
And then the four-thousand hasanaat are multiplied by ten, four-hundred for every letter. Are we doing that? We are not. It might be that some people do it, but the majority are not. Wa muhyi ʿanhu arbaʿata alaaf sayyiʾat, and Allah will order the angels to erase four-thousand sins from his record.
Today they have security records for everything, including your books, papers, money, wealth; various vibrations pass through the walls and TV, recording whatever people have in their homes. If you want to have that for safety, do so, but what kind of safety is it? You are focusing on dunya, not Akhirah, but our important matter is Akhirah
This is a long Hadith so I will summarize it. On the day of Mi`raaj, when Prophet (s) was moving to the Divine Presence by Allah’s order, he saw a massive white dome. It had one door made of gold, one made from honey. If the whole dunya and all jinn and ins were to sit on that dome, they would look like small birds. Prophet (s) proceeded and saw that the door had a lock. He could not go inside.
He wanted to go back, then he heard a voice say, “Yaa Muhammad, where are you going? I created this dome for you.”
He said, “Yaa Rabbee, I don’t have a key, it doesn’t open.”
Allah said, “Say, ‘Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem’ and it will open.”
He said, “Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem,” and it opened.
O Muslims! We have to know there are many, many Ahadeeth of Prophet (s) that can give you happiness in life because you repent. Repent, don’t feel shy, Allah is waiting! Repent, say, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadu ‘r-Rasoolullah,” and you will not lose anything. When you fall into sin or a mistake again, never mind, it happens. Repent again, all the way until the Day of Judgement.
[Closing du`a.]
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