between Me and My servant into two halves: half is Mine and half is My servant’s, and My servant shall have what he asks for. When the servant says, “All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,” Allah says, “My servant has praised Me.” When he says, “The Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,” He says, “My servant has extolled Me.” When he says, “Master of the Day of Judgment,” He says, “My servant has glorified Me.”’”—and so on to the end of the hadith.

This is the view of the majority of scholars concerning the basmala: it is a separate verse of the Quran, not part of the surah, and is to be recited silently in prayer. Thus, it is neither excluded from the Quran and abandoned, nor treated like the Quranic text that is the principal object of recitation and therefore recited aloud. In some respects, it resembles seeking refuge with Allah. However, the formula for seeking refuge is not Quran and was not written in copies of the Quran; the Quran contains only the command to seek refuge, whereas the basmala is itself Quran.

Al-Fātiha consists of seven verses by agreement. This is established by His words:

“We have certainly given you the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Quran.”

It is also authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The Opening of the Book is the seven oft-repeated verses.”

Many of the early generations used to say that the basmala was one of its verses and would recite it. Many others did not count it as part of the surah and regarded “You have bestowed favor upon them” as the seventh verse, as indicated by the authentic hadith of Abū Hurayra. Both views are correct: in one respect, it is part of the surah, and in another, it is not. Al-Fātiha consists of seven verses. From one perspective, the basmala is part of it and is therefore counted as a verse. From another perspective, it is not part of it, so the seventh verse is “You have bestowed favor upon them,” because the basmala was revealed as an accompaniment to the surahs.