Basmala

Sami never starts eating without reciting the Basmala.

The basmala, also known as the tasmiya, is an Arabic word for the phrase bi- smillah ir-rahman ir-rahim, “In the name of God most compassionate, most merciful.” This is the first verse of the Quran; it begins all of its chapters but one (Q9)...

But only Kufa and Mecca counted the basmala in al-Fatiha as verse 1, whereas the readers of Basra, Damascus and Medina did not count the basmala as a separate verse but achieved the number of seven verses by subdividing other...

It is sunnat to say the Basmala when beginning to perform an ablution, to eat, to drink and to do any useful work.