The very fact that people dispute it shows that it is not part of the Qur’an, for the Qur’an itself is not subject to dispute. Sound, unimpeachable reports affirm that the basmalah is not a verse of al-Fātiḥah or of any other sūrah—save only in Sūrat al-Naml.

Muslim relates from Abū Hurayrah that he said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say: ‘Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has declared: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant in two halves, and My servant shall have whatever he asks. When he says, “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all realms,” Allah says, “My servant has praised Me.” When he says, “The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,” Allah says, “My servant has extolled Me.” When he says, “Master of the Day of Judgment,” Allah says, “My servant has glorified Me”—and on one occasion He said, “My servant has submitted to Me.” When he says, “You alone we worship, and from You alone we seek help,” He says, “This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks.” When he says, “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who incur wrath, nor of those who go astray,” He says, “This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks.”’ ”

His—Glorified be He—statement, “I have divided the prayer,” refers to al-Fātiḥah; He calls it “prayer” because the prayer is invalid without it. He assigned the first three verses exclusively to Himself—blessed be His Name—and Muslims have never disagreed about them. The fourth verse He placed between Himself and His servant, for it contains the servant’s humility and his plea for help, which itself entails venerating Allah Most High. The final three verses complete the total of seven.

What proves that they are three is His wording, “These are for My servant,” as reported by Mālik; He did not say, “These two,” which indicates that “upon whom You have bestowed favor” counts as an independent verse. Ibn Bukayr reports that Mālik said: “ ‘upon whom You have bestowed favor’ is a verse, and then the seventh runs to the end of the sūrah.”

Accordingly, by this division made by Allah Most High Himself—and by the Prophet’s, peace be upon him, address to Ubayy: “How do you recite when you open the prayer?”—to which I replied, “I recite: ‘All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all realms,’” until I reached the end—it is established that the basmalah is not one of its verses. In the same manner, the people of Madīnah, of Syria, of Basrah, and most of the reciters counted “upon whom You have bestowed favor” as a verse. Qatādah likewise transmitted from Abū Naḍrah, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: “The sixth verse is ‘upon whom You have bestowed favor.’ ”

The reciters and jurists of Kūfah, however, reckoned “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful” as a verse within it, and did not count “upon whom You have bestowed favor.”

Someone may object: It is written in the muṣḥaf, inscribed by their own hands, and has been transmitted just as it is transmitted in Sūrat al-Naml, and that transmission from them is mass-conveyed. We reply: What you have mentioned is true, but is its inclusion because it is Qur’an, or merely because it functions as the divider between sūrahs?