Importance of Beginning Everything with ‘In the Name of God’
Hojat-ol-Islam Mohsen Qara’ati, a Quran expert and author of Noor Exegesis of the Holy Quran, explains why so much importance has been attached in religious teachings to starting everything with the name of God:
We read it in Hadiths: Begin everything by saying Bismillah. Even at the table when you start eating a new kind of food, say Bismillah again. (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 63, P421)
If you look at a factory, you see its logo on all of its products. For example a dish factory puts its logo on all of the small and big dishes that it makes and even on the boxes and trucks that carry the boxes.
Also, every country has a flag that can be seen on the desks of all officials, on top of administrative buildings, on the country’s vessels that travel to various parts of the world, etc.
Likewise, a person who worships God also uses the name Allah in all of his or her works, whether small or big.
Prophet Ibraheem (Abraham) (AS) says: “My prayers and my worship (for example, pilgrimage and sacrifice), my life and my death, are all for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” (Surah Al-An’am, verse 162)
The Noble Quran tells the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in Surah Al-Inshirah to remember God at the beginning of doing everything and after finishing it, start doing something else to serve God: “When you are free from (your obligations), strive hard (to worship God) and be devoted to your Lord's service.”
