Posted by The linguistic miracle of the words of Allah is that a small sentence delivers so many meanings but it carries few words. The grammar structure and universality it carries are among the signs that prove that it's from Allah alone. The linguistic Beauty Of Bismillah is that it carries a universal meaning that fits in every situation and a grammatical structure that was rarely used in Arabic. The word "Bi" in Bismillah is a grammatical preposition, and before prepositions the actions are described but here Allah doesn't mention any action but grasps the mind of reader that what he is doing is an action. Which makes Bismillah suitable in every single situation. For example: aqra'u / abda'u / asna'u Bismillah (I read / I begin / I act In the name of Allah).
The triple name sequence is another linguistic beauty of Quran in choice of words and it creates a beautiful rhythm. The sequence moves from the essence (Allah) > the all-encompassing attribute (Al-Rahman) > the continuous active mercy (Al-Raheem).
The textual similarity reveals more in-depth information that the similar phrases were used throughout the tradition of prophets which proves Quran doesn't invent but confirms what was revealed before it too. Prophets of God like Noah used the word Bismillah in Quran [11:41]
وَقَالَ ٱرْكَبُوا۟ فِيهَا بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ مَجْر۪ىٰهَا وَمُرْسَىٰهَآ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
And he said, “Board it! In the Name of Allah it will sail and cast anchor. Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
and the word Rahman and Rahim were used by Abraham or other prophets in Quran [19:44 ,19:45].
يَـٰٓأَبَتِ لَا تَعْبُدِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ عَصِيًّا
[Abraham said] “O my father, do not worship the devil. The devil has rebelled against the Most Gracious.
And
[19:45] “O my father, I fear lest you incur retribution from the Most Gracious, then become an ally of the devil.”
يَـٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ أَن يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطَـٰنِ وَلِيًّۭا
Additionally, we see that Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic are all Semitic languages. If we translate Bismillah to any of the Semitic languages, it will be pronounced roughly the same in each of these languages.
Bismillah or similar sounding phrases are found in some ancient inscriptions before Islam that were used in monotheistic groups such as the Jebel Ḏabūb inscription (late 5th–6th century CE). This inscription reads:
Line 1: bsmlh | rḥmn | rḥmn | rb | s1mwt
Line 2: r(z)(q)n | mfḍlk | wʾṯrn | mḫh | s2kmt ʾymn
The Word Rahman is also found in some inscriptions that date before Islam like in Ry 515.
Rb-hwd b-Rḥmnn, 'Lord of the Jews by/with Rahmanan
This makes it logically sound and suggests that the names Rahman and Bismillah like phrases were used by Prophet Abraham and Ismael who dwelt in Arabia and the tradition continued after him. And Allah Knows Best
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