Ibn Abī Ḥātim likewise recorded it in al-ʿIlal 1/64. Yet Abū Maʿshar is a weak transmitter, so the addition he reports is unacceptable.

It seems to me that al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar did not come across this addition, for he says in Fatḥ al-Bārī:

“The Maʿmarī also narrated this ḥadith through ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Mukhtār from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Ṣuḥayb—meaning from Anas—in the imperative form: ‘When you enter the lavatory say: In the name of Allah; I seek refuge with Allah from the male and female devils.’ Its chain meets Muslim’s criterion, and it contains the extra basmala, which I have not found in any other narration.”

I reply: In my assessment this version is irregular (shādh), for it conflicts with every other route from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Ṣuḥayb on the authority of Anas found in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections and the other sources mentioned earlier.

Another report has been related from Anas via Qatādah with the wording: “These privies are frequented; when one of you enters the lavatory he should say: In the name of Allah.” This wording, however, is weak: several transmitters disagreed over both its chain and its matn. The correct version belongs to the Musnad of Zayd ibn Arqam, traced back to the Prophet ﷺ, and reads: “Indeed, these privies are frequented; so when one of you comes to the lavatory let him say: I seek refuge with Allah from the male and female devils.” Its chain is sound according to Bukhārī’s criterion, as I clarified in Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, no. 4.

In short, the appearance of the basmala in this ḥadith through either of the two chains from Anas is irregular or objectionable.