In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Al-Ṭaḥāwī begins with: In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Since these pages are addressed to Muslims, there should be no misunderstanding of the word Allah here, and so God in this translation is read as Allah, which is the better way of saying it. In explaining to non-Muslims, though, there is no problem in saying the word God, as long as it is understood in the correct meaning as well. Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm: in the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

First, he begins with the khuṭbah, which is the way of the Islamic scholars: to praise Allah (swt), and through that to draw on Allah's tawfīq and guidance. That is very important, especially when doing a work of the dīn, or indeed anything, because we have been told to say Bismillah; we have been told to invoke Allah (swt).

So: al-ḥamdu li-llāhi Rabbi al-ʿālamīn. Praise belongs to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. In al-ḥamdu li-llāh, the alif lām, the al of al-ḥamdu li-llāh, is what in Arabic is called istighrāq: the all-encompassing al. It basically means that all praises, any praise that can be fathomed, any praise that can be comprehended and thought about, are due to Allah (swt).

The Prophet (peace be upon him), when he was in sajdah, actually said in a duʿāʾ: O Allah, I ask You, and I praise You based on how You have praised Yourself. Because there are a lot of things about Allah (swt) that we do not know: His praises, which are beyond us. Some of these special praises will be inspired to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in that state of prostration, when he goes to seek the intercession on the Day of Judgement. So: all praises to Allah, the Lord of the ʿālam, the worlds.