It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is one of the names of Allah, and the difference (in nearness) between it and the Greatest Name of Allah is only as much as that between the black of the eye and its white." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.