Question 1586: What is the reason for not mentioning 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of Surah At-Tawbah?
Answer
If someone intends to recite some verses from the middle of Surah At-Tawbah, can he say 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of it?
✅ Answer: Pay attention to the following narrations:
1 عَنْ صَفْوَانَ الْجَمَّالِ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِاللَّهِ علیه السلام: مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ کِتَاباً إِلَّا وَ فَاتِحَتُهُ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ وَ إِنَّمَا کَانَ یُعْرَفُ انْقِضَاءُ السُّورَةِ بِنُزُولِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ ابْتِدَاءً لِلْأُخْرَی
📚 Tafsir al-Ayyashi, Vol. 1, p. 19.
Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: Allah did not reveal any book from the heavens except that its beginning and opening was 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful', and the end of every surah was known by the revelation of 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' for the beginning of the next surah!
2 عَنْ عِیسَی بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ أَبِیهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ عَنْ عَلِیٍّ علیه السلام قَالَ: بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ أُنَاساً یَنْزِعُونَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ فَقَالَ هِیَ آیَةٌ مِنْ کِتَابِ اللَّهِ أَنْسَاهُمْ إِیَّاهَا الشَّیْطَان
📚 Tafsir al-Ayyashi, Vol. 1, p. 21.
It reached Amir al-Mu'minin, peace be upon him, that a group of people had removed 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' from the Quran!
So the Imam said: It is a verse from the Quran that Satan has made them forget!
3 عَنْ أَبِی حَمْزَةَ عَنْ أَبِی جَعْفَرٍ علیه السلام قَالَ: سَرَقُوا أَکْرَمَ آیَةٍ فِی کِتَابِ اللَّهِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ
📚 Tafsir al-Ayyashi, Vol. 1, p. 19.
Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: The 'Umari's' stole the most honored verse in the Quran, which is 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'!
4 It was not revealed 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the head of Surah Bara'ah because 'In the name of Allah' is for security and mercy, and Surah Bara'ah was revealed to remove security with the sword from Ali (peace be upon him).
📚 Majma' al-Bayan, Vol. 5, p. 5
It is narrated from Imam Ali, peace be upon him, that he said: 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' was not revealed at the head of Surah Bara'ah (Surah At-Tawbah), because 'In the name of Allah' is for security and mercy, and Surah Bara'ah (At-Tawbah) is for removing security with the sword!
5 عَنْ أَبِی الْعَبَّاسِ عَنْ أَحَدِهِمَا علیه السلام قَالَ: الْأَنْفَالُ وَ سُورَةُ بَرَاءَةَ وَاحِدَةٌ
📚 Tafsir al-Ayyashi, Vol. 2, p. 73.
It is narrated from Imam Baqir or Imam Sadiq, peace be upon them, that they said: Surah Al-Anfal and Surah Bara'ah (At-Tawbah) are one!
✅ According to the above narrations and others, 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' is one of the most important verses of the Quran that has been revealed at the beginning of all surahs except for Surah At-Tawbah.
✅ According to the above narrations, two reasons have been mentioned for the absence of the verse 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of Surah At-Tawbah:
1 That 'In the name of Allah' is for security and mercy, and Surah Bara'ah (At-Tawbah) is for removing security with the sword. Therefore, 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' was not revealed at the beginning of the surah.
2 That Surah Al-Anfal and At-Tawbah are considered one surah, and therefore, the presence of 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of Surah Al-Anfal is sufficient, and Surah At-Tawbah is considered a continuation of Surah Al-Anfal.
✅ Of course, the correction and explanation of these reasons is contingent on asking the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, and we hope to realize his advent in well-being soon.
✅ However, even though we do not say 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' at the beginning of Surah At-Tawbah, a person who intends to recite from the middle of Surah At-Tawbah or from anywhere in the Quran, saying 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' before reciting the desired part has no prohibition in the narrations.
In a hadith in Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 48, p. 121, Imam Kazim, peace be upon him, in a protest with Harun al-Rashid, said this in the context of the protest and to mention one of the verses of the Quran:
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّیْطَانِ الرَّجِیمِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ وَ وَهَبْنا لَهُ إِسْحاقَ وَ یَعْقُوبَ کُلًّا هَدَیْنا وَ نُوحاً هَدَیْنا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَ مِنْ ذُرِّیَّتِهِ داوُدَ وَ سُلَیْمانَ وَ أَیُّوبَ وَ یُوسُفَ وَ مُوسی وَ هارُونَ وَ کَذلِکَ نَجْزِی الْمُحْسِنِینَ
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْر