Muslim disagreement over whether to include the Basmala within the Quranic text reached consensus following the 1924 Cairo Edition, which included it as the first verse ( āyah) of Quran chapter 1 but otherwise included it as an unnumbered line of text preceding the other relevant 112 chapters.
It is the phrase recited before each chapter ( surah) of the Qur'an – except for the ninth. It is used in over half of the constitutions of countries where Islam is the official religion or more than half of the population follows Islam, usually the first phrase in the preamble, including those of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.
It is one of the most important phrases in Islam and is used by Muslims mostly before starting 'good deeds' (for instance, during daily prayer) as well as beginning of most daily actions. The Basmala ( Arabic: بَسْمَلَة, basmalah also known by its opening words Bi-smi llāh بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ, 'In the name of God'), or Tasmiyyah (Arabic: تَسْمِيَّة), is the titular name of the Islamic phrase 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' (Arabic: ﷽, bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm i). Bismala calligraphy A calligraphic rendition of the Bismillah Mughal-era calligraphy The basmala on the oldest surviving Quran. For other uses, see Bismillah and In the name of Allah (disambiguation).
