Maʿānī al-ʾAkhbār

حدثنا أبي - رحمه الله - قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، عن أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى، عن القاسم بن يحيى، عن جده الحسن بن راشد، عن عبد الله بن سنان، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: سألته عن " بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم " فقال عليه السلام. الباء بهاء الله، والسين سناء الله، والميم مجد الله - وروى بعضهم ملك الله -، والله إله كل شئ، [و] الرحمن لجميع العالم والرحيم بالمؤمنين خاصة.

1. We were told by my father, may Allah grant him mercy, that he said: We were told by Sa’d bin Abdullah, from Ahmad bin Muhammed bin ‘Isa, from Qasim bin Yahya, from his grandfather, Hasan bin Rashid, from Abdullah bin Sinan, from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, that he said: I asked him about «Bism-il-Laah-ir-Rahmaan-ir-Raheem» [1] (1:1), so he, peace be upon him, said: The Baa’ is the Magnificence of Allah, the Seen is the Sublimity of Allah, and the Miim is the Nobility of Allah – and some narrated: the Kingdom of Allah – and Allah is the God of everything, and the Merciful to all in the world, and the Merciful in particular to the believers in particular.

حدثنا محمد بن الحسن بن أحمد بن الوليد - رضي الله عنه - قال: حدثنا محمد بن الحسن الصفار، عن العباس بن معروف، عن صفوان بن يحيى، عمن حدثه، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام أنه سئل عن " بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم " فقال: الباء بهاء الله، والسين سناء الله، والميم ملك الله. قال: قلت: الله؟ قال: الألف آلاء الله على خلقه من النعم بولايتنا، واللام إلزام الله خلقه ولايتنا. قلت: فالهاء؟ فقال: هوان لمن خالف محمدا وآل محمد صلوات الله عليهم قلت: الرحمن؟ قال: بجميع العالم. قلت: الرحيم؟ قال: بالمؤمنين خاصة.

2. We were told by Muhammed bin Hasan bin Ahmad bin Waleed, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: We were told by Muhammed bin Hasan al-Saffar, from Abbas bin Ma’ruf, from Safwan bin Yahya, from the one who told him, from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, that he was asked about «Bism-il-Laah-ir-Rahmaan-ir-Raheem», so he said: The Baa’ is the Magnificence of Allah, the Seen is the Sublimity of Allah, and the Miim is the Kingdom of Allah. He said: I said: Allah? He said: The Alif is the Bounties of Allah upon His creation from the bliss of our Divine Authority, and the Laam is the Binding of Allah for His creation to our Divine Authority. I said: And the Haa’? Then he said: Ignominy to he who opposes Muhammed and the Family of Muhammed, upon whom are Allah’s blessings. I said: The Rahmaan? He said: (The Merciful) With all the world. I said: The Raheem? He said: (The Merciful) With the believers in particular.