Misconception in Interpreting AlBasmah, the Quranic Expression ‘Bismillah AlRahman AlRahim’ (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم)

This paper goes through the problems that encounter the translators and interpreters of the Holy Quran particularly the Basmalah. Misinterpretation of the Holy Quran’s expression (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم) has been a controversial issue for centuries by now. This is partly because most of the Quranic words and expressions are peculiar to the Arabic language and partly due to their particularity to specific denotations used in this Holy Book of Islam. This has been a problematic issue in many attempts of translating the expression into different languages for a long time. Yet no translator, Islamic scholar, or religious and educational institutions undertook the responsibility of scrutinizing the deep conception of the expression (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم) seriously. Doing so, some of such cliché interpretations even cause unintentional blasphemy according to the Quranic concept. Accordingly, the present study not only sheds light but reconsiders the keywords of these misinterpretations. It focuses on the real meanings and divine parts of speech used by this expression (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم).