Özet:

Basmala is a word that phrases the meaning of reading and writing the expression of the bi-smi llāh. Beginning an action with Basmala is good decency taught by Almighty Allah to Prophet Muhammad in the first verses of the Qur’ān, as well as it is a sunnah handed down from generation to generation through prophets. In the period of Prophet Muhammad, basmala went through some stages until it took its final form. In the early periods of Islam, the expression bi-smika llāhumma was used, when the verse 17/110 of al-Isrā’ was revealed, the phrase bi-smi llāhi r-rahmān was used, and when the verse 27/30 of al-Naml was revealed, the phrase bi-smi llāhi r-rahmāni r-rahīm was used. Generally in tafsīrs (commentaries), Basmala is expounded in a detailed way at the introduction of the Surah al-Fātiha. In addition, it has been examined from different perspectives by being carefully handled in treatise-type works independently. ‘Umar al-Nasafī (d. 537/1142) and al-Biqāʿī (d. 885/1480), who are prominent with their holistic view to the Qur'ān in the history of tafsīr, not only explained the Basmala at the beginning of the Surah al-Fātiha, but also interpreted it according to the content of the surah in all its entries. ‘Umar al-Nasafī systematically showed the harmony between the surahs in his tafsīr named al-Taysīr fī al-Tafsīr and gave systematical information about the subjects that make up the content of each surah. Besides, he created rhyming texts by adding the verse or parts of the verse he chose from the sura with the name allazī to the words Allah, rahmān and rahīm in the Basmala. Generally, he added a verse from the beginning of a surah to the word Allah, one of the verses that came after it to the name rahmān, and a verse that came later to the name rahīm. However, the general of the verses which are chosen by him is not in the content to reflect the subject(s) of the surah. Moreover, when it comes to short surahs, it is seen that the verses attached to these three words are more clearly related to the content of the surahs. This is a situation regarding the volume of the surahs and the subject(s) dealt with in them. Because, generally, while several subjects are covered in long surahs, one subject is mentioned in short surahs. On the other hand, in his tafsīr named Naẓm al-Durar, al-Biqāʿī who showed the relationship between surahs, verses, and even sentences, and tried to reveal the i'jaz (inimitability) in the arrangement of the verses of the Qur’ān revived this method, which was started by ‘Umar al-Nasafī three centuries ago. However, instead of quoting directly the verses, he explained Basmala by adding rhyming sentences to the names of Allah, rahmān and rahīm, which he often used with certain words and expressions. In Lafzatullāh's tafsīr, he generally preferred words and expressions that explain the names and attributes of Allah, and he tried to give the same meaning to the words rahmān and rahīm in all the surahs, and to explain the Basmala according to the main aim (maqsud) of the surah, with the sentences formed with definite words and expressions he chose. However, the Basmala explanations in the introduction of many surahs are similar in meaning and emphasis, due to the frequent use of words and expressions with close meanings while explaining these three words. In this contribution, after giving brief information about the tafsīrs of ‘Umar al-Nasafī and al-Biqāʿī, by considering the way of them explaining the basmala according to the content of the surah accompanied by examples, a comparison will be made.

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