to approach your spouse, say, “In the name of Allah.” Pronouncing the name of Allah is prescribed in many situations, yet according to the soundest view it is obligatory when eating and drinking. Therefore a person must say, “In the name of Allah,” when he wishes to eat and, “In the name of Allah,” when he wishes to drink, for the Prophet ﷺ commanded this, and because he stated that whoever does not mention Allah over his food, Satan shares it with him. So do not forget, every evening and every morning, to say three times: “In the name of Allah, by whose name nothing in the earth nor in the sky can cause harm, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.”

His words “the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing” refer to two of Allah’s names: the All-Hearing (as-Samīʿ) and the All-Knowing (al-ʿAlīm).

As-Samīʿ is one of Allah’s names and it conveys two meanings. The first is hearing in the sense of perceiving every sound: nothing escapes Him. Whatever the sound, however distant or faint, Allah hears it. When He revealed the verse, “Allah has certainly heard the words of the woman who disputes with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah. And Allah hears your dialogue; surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing,” it concerned a woman who came to the Messenger ﷺ complaining that her husband had pronounced ẓihār against her—saying to her, “You are to me as my mother’s back.” In pre-Islamic times that statement constituted an irrevocable divorce akin to a triple divorce, and it was false and detestable, as Allah says, “Indeed, they utter a monstrous statement.” The woman brought her case to the Messenger ﷺ, and Allah revealed the verse: “Allah has certainly heard the words of the woman who disputes with you….” ʿĀ’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “Praise be to Allah whose hearing encompasses all voices. By Allah, the woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to speak with him while I was in the adjoining room, and yet parts of her speech were hidden from me.”