“In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate”: this simple invocation begins virtually every action of a Muslim. We say this phrase when we begin anything for the first time, or when we repeat our daily routines; we say it when we wake, when we wash, before we eat, as we leave the home, when we pray and when we read our sacred scripture, the Qur’an.

As with most religious invocations, its meaning is deep and layered: it is at once simple enough for infants to learn, yet profound enough to absorb the minds and hearts of scholars and saints. To begin “in the name of Allah” carries the idea of orienting our lives around the One and Only God, the Divine Creator, the Source of all and Final Destination of every atom in existence. It means that we should live our lives in conscious awareness of the One, All-Seeing Being, Who is also aware of us, of all that we do, of all thoughts and feelings we harbor, in open and in secret. This All-Aware, All-Encompassing One is “closer to you than your own jugular vein”, and thus can be invoked for mercy and support at any and all times; yet as a Just Reckoner, He will also ask us to account for our use of the gifts He has bestowed on us.

“Allah”, in the simplest sense, is the Arabic word for God, or more precisely “the God”, and is a term used by Arabic speaking members of both the Muslim and Christian communities. “Allah” is a unique word in Arabic, a word which cannot be made into gender or plural derivatives. And as Arabic is a Semitic language, it shares many terms and root words with its two Semitic language cousins, Hebrew and Aramaic. Hence the term “Allah” is based on the same root as the Hebrew term Elohim, signifying “God” in the Torah (or Old Testament). “Allah” is also based on the same term for God in Aramaic, Alaha, the word used by Jesus (peace be upon him) when invoking his Lord.

Although Muslims also use the word “God”, they understand the term “Allah” to carry special significance and blessings. In addition to its linguistic uniqueness, admitting no gender or number, Allah is also the only term that encompasses the meaning of all of the “Most Beautiful Names of Allah”, the 99 attributes of Allah given in the Qur’an. Each of these Most Beautiful Names describes an essential quality of Allah, such as the Loving, the Patient, the Creator, the Guide, the Forgiver, the Just, the All-Knowing. The particular name, however, which is given pre-eminence over the other beautiful attributes, is ‘Ar-Rahmaan, the Most Merciful.’  Although Allah is the “One Who Subdues Wrong and Restores Right,” He has said about Himself, “My Mercy overpowers My Wrath,” and likewise, “My Mercy covers everything in existence.” It is to this Just, All-Seeing and Pre-eminently All Merciful God that Muslims strive to surrender themselves, each and every day, in each and every act and intention.

Barbara (Masumah) Helms