Tasmiyah or basmalah refers to the formula:
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
When beginning a surah at its opening in the ordinary case, the reader recites basmalah after istiʿadhah. These are two distinct devotional phrases: first seeking refuge, then beginning in Allah's name.
The letters, doubled consonants and vowels of basmalah must also be recited accurately rather than approximated from informal everyday pronunciation.