786 WHAT DOES IT MEAN - India Travel Forum Photo Gallery

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem or 786
means In the name of God the All Compassionate the All Merciful. The photo is a woodblock hand stamp from Gujarat 786 is of course in reverse.
Sufi explanation first then rebuttle at the bottom

Have you seen 786 on trucks or signs etc in Pakistan or Northern India? It pops up in sufi shrines all over or Qutub Mazars or burial sites.
This is recited as a protection by most muslims silently or out loud before they begin something. They also place this at the beginning of a document or a letter. Its a way of asking God or Allah for help in completing the task at hand or to make things go smoothly a blessing request. In Islam you are not to discard the the name of God so hundreds of years ago the arabic letters were assigned numerical equivalents. The numerical equivalent of Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem is 786. Calculation seen below

Baa = 2
Seen = 60
Meem = 40
Alif = 1
Laam = 30
Laam = 30
Haa = 5
Alif = 1
Laam = 30
Raa = 200
Hha = 8
Meem = 40
Noon = 50
Alif = 1
Laam = 30
Raa = 200
Hha = 8
Yaa = 10
Meem = 40

Total: 786

The answer not to discard God or Allah's name was to use 786 in its place or its a good way of reminding yourself that there is something greater than you in this world.

Above was the sufi side which are a minority in the Islamic world. The other more hard line side would say this -
The name of Allah cannot be replace by numbers. Therefore, whosoever uses 786 with the intention to obtain Allah's blessings, is a misguided person and any attempt to justify it, is ignorance.

Photos & Movies of India & Sri Lanka on my website at http://www.overbrookfountains.com/photos.html

User Name		Remember Me?
Password