بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm
Topic
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”: said before eating, drinking or any other activity.
What it means
Faruqi lists this phrase a second time, in the section on daily expressions, as a prelude to eating, drinking and other activities. It means “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” The speaker begins his act under God’s name and acknowledges that the food, the drink and the capacity to enjoy them come from Him. The same words open the chapters of the Quran and the letter of Solomon (27:30). At meals they give the household a moment of gratitude before eating. Many Muslims teach children to say them before they begin, so that mindfulness of God is part of ordinary life from an early age.
Often misunderstood as
That a blessing is said only in the mosque, when this phrase attends ordinary meals and daily tasks.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 61, listed as BISMI ALLAH AL RAḤMĀN AL RAḤĪM.. The definition is restated here.