as a negation of audibility. This is supported by the wording reported by Manṣūr ibn Zadhān: “He did not make us hear the recitation of ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.’” Even more explicit is the narration of al-Ḥasan from Anas, preserved by Ibn Khuzaymah, which states: “They would recite ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful’ quietly.” With this, the objection of those—such as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr—who dismissed the report on the grounds of inconsistency is answered, for whenever reconciliation is possible it must be adopted. End of citation.

Vocabulary of the hadith:
• “With ‘All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds’”: i.e., with this very phrase. The intent is the name of the surah, which they used to designate by that opening sentence. The letter dāl in bi-l-ḥamdi is pronounced with a ḍammah by way of citation.
• “In the name of Allah”: the preposition bāʾ is linked to an omitted verb meaning “I begin.” The bāʾ is written without an alif because of its frequent use in this context, and the word ism (name) is inserted to exalt His mention.
– The term ism derives either from sumūw (elevation, loftiness) or from wasmah (mark, sign), for a name is a sign that points to the one named.
– “Allah” is His most majestic name, borne by none but the Exalted. Some scholars maintain that it is the Supreme Name of Allah, a proper noun for the sublime Essence.

Points derived from the hadith:

1. The manner in which the Prophet ﷺ and his rightly guided successors would recite: they opened the prayer-recitation with “All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.”
2. Muslim’s additional wording confirms that they did not mention the basmalah—neither at the beginning nor at the end of the recitation.
3. The hadith indicates that the basmalah is not part of al-Fātiḥah; hence, its recitation with the surah is not obligatory but recommended as one of the markers between surahs. There is a scholarly disagreement on this, the details of which will follow, Allah willing.