This abstract consonantal root was used to derive the noun basmala, as well as related verb forms which mean 'to recite the basmala'. were taken as a quadriliteral consonantal root b-s-m-l (ب س م ل). The Basmala artistically rendered in the shape of a pearThe word 'basmala' itself was derived by a slightly unusual procedure in which the first four pronounced consonants of the phrase bismi-llāhi.