(1) There is no reliable report that the Prophet ﷺ ever recited the basmala aloud, nor did Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman do so. Al-Bukhari, 2/188, “Description of the Prayer,” chapter: “What is said after the opening takbir,” records on the authority of Anas that “the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr and Umar used to open the prayer with: Ḥamdu l-Lillahi Rabbi l-ʿĀlamīn.” Al-Tirmidhi (no. 246) transmits the same report with “recitation” in place of “prayer” and adds “and Uthman.” Muslim (no. 399), “Prayer,” chapter: “The proof for those who say the basmala is not recited aloud,” narrates: “I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, and none of them recited ‘Bismi llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm.’” Ahmad 3/264, al-Tahawi 1/119 and al-Daraqutni, p. 119, all add: “They used not to recite the basmala aloud.” Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih, adds: “but they would recite ‘Al-ḥamdu l-Lillahi Rabbi l-ʿĀlamīn’ aloud.” Another wording in al-Nasaʾi 2/135 and Ibn Hibban reads: “I never heard any of them raise his voice with the basmala.” Abu Yaʿla’s Musnad has: “They would begin the audible recitation with ‘Al-ḥamdu l-Lillahi…’.” Al-Tabarani in his Muʿjam, Abu Nuʿaym in al-Hilya, Ibn Khuzaima (no. 498) and al-Tahawi 1/119 likewise report: “They would recite the basmala silently.” Al-Zaylaʿi remarks in Naṣb al-Rāya 1/327 that all the transmitters of these chains are trustworthy and are cited in the two Sahihs collectively. Ahmad 4/85, al-Tirmidhi (no. 244) and al-Nasaʾi 2/235 relate, through Abdullah ibn Mughafal: “My father heard me in prayer saying: ‘Bismi llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm.’ He said, ‘My son, this is a recent innovation! Beware of innovations. Of all the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ I knew none who detested innovations in Islam more than he. I have prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, with Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, and I never heard any of them say it. When you pray, say: ‘Al-ḥamdu l-Lillahi Rabbi l-ʿĀlamīn.’” Al-Tirmidhi classifies this report as hasan (sound).