As for the Most Merciful, He is the One characterized by vast mercy; thus, this Name emphasizes the attribute.
The author began his book with the basmalah, following the example of the Book of Allah, for it begins with the basmalah; and following the example of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who would begin his letters with the basmalah (1).
“Indeed, all praise is due to Allah …”
His statement, “All praise is due to Allah,” is a nominal sentence composed of a subject and a predicate.
Praise is to describe the one praised in terms of perfection, whether it be perfection in greatness or perfection in beneficence and blessing. Allah, Most High, is praised for all His attributes and all His actions.
Concerning the particle in His statement, “due to Allah,” the scholars said that it denotes exclusive possession and rightful entitlement.
Thus, the One entitled to absolute praise is Allah, and He alone possesses it. For this reason, when something pleasing befell the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he would say: “All praise is due to Allah, by whose blessings righteous deeds are completed.” And when something distressing befell him, he would say: “All praise is due to Allah in every circumstance.” (2)
(1) An example is the hadith containing the wording: “In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. From Muhammad, the servant and Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius, ruler of the Romans ...” Reported by al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad' al-Wahy, no. 7; and Muslim, Kitab al-Jihad wa al-Siyar, chapter: “The Prophet’s letter to Heraclius,” no. 1773, from Ibn Abbas, from Abu Sufyan.
(2) Reported by Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Adab, chapter: “The virtue of those who praise,” no. 3803; al-Tabarani in al-Dua, no. 1769; Ibn al-Sunni in Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah, no. 378; and al-Hakim, 1:499, through chains from al-Walid ibn Muslim, from Zuhayr ibn Muhammad, from Mansur ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Safiyyah bint Shaybah, from Aishah, who narrated it.
This chain of transmission is weak. Zuhayr ibn Muhammad was reliable, but the narrations of the Syrians from him are unsound; and the narrator from him here is al-Walid ibn Muslim, a Damascene. Moreover, al-Walid frequently practiced tadlis and tadlis al-taswiyah (concealing intermediaries in a chain), and he narrated it using an ambiguous “from” formula.
However, the hadith has supporting reports, which strengthen it, from Ibn Abbas, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Hurayrah, and others. See: al-Bayhaqi, al-Asma wa al-Sifat, no. 150; al-Tabarani, al-Dua, no. 1770; Tarikh Baghdad, 3:131; Musnad al-Bazzar, no. 533; al-Baghawi, Sharh al-Sunnah, no. 1380; and Abu Nuaym, al-Hilyah, 3:157.