In the Name of Letters Basmala as the Cosmic Design

Abstract

This article is a study of Ḥaydar Āmulī’s (d. ca. 787/1385) analysis of the basmala in his commentary on Ibn al-ʿArabī’s (d. 638/1240) Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. While Āmulī addresses this phrase, which he regards as the foremost verse in the entire Quran, in various sections of his work, his most comprehensive discussion focuses on the basmala with which Ibn al-ʿArabī initiates his Fuṣūṣ. Āmulī thoroughly analyzes the basmala and investigates its diacritical marks, numerical symbolism, lexical components, syntactic structures, and morphological dimensions within a lettrist framework. As will be argued, he transforms the basmala into a formula that captures the cosmic design and serves as a lettrist means of reflection to express physical, spiritual, and cosmological realities. Broadly, the article contributes to the evolving scholarly understanding of lettrism, the unique place of the basmala in Islamic thought, and the growing body of scholarship on Āmulī’s works.