The basmalah is the complete expression:
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Translation: “In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
It is distinct from istiʿādhah: the first seeks refuge from Satan; the second invokes Allah's name in beginning the reading. The conventional shorthand “bismillāh” refers here to the whole formula, not simply its first two words.
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The complete basmalah
Istiʿādhah, Basmalah and the Rules of Joining and Pausing
The basmalah is the complete expression:
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Translation: “In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
It is distinct from istiʿādhah: the first seeks refuge from Satan; the second invokes Allah's name in beginning the reading. The conventional shorthand “bismillāh” refers here to the whole formula, not simply its first two words.