And the purpose is to begin the Quran by mentioning Allah’s name. Thus, the basmala was revealed at the beginning of a surah as an accompaniment to it; it was not revealed at the ends of surahs. It was written separately in copies of the Quran, but as an accompaniment to what follows it, not to what precedes it. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “A surah has just been revealed to me,” and recited: “In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Indeed, We have granted you abundance.”

It is reported in the Sunan collections that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would not know where a surah ended until “In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful” was revealed to him. Insofar as the basmala accompanies the surah, it is regarded as part of it. But insofar as its purpose is to begin recitation in Allah’s name, just as one performs other actions in Allah’s name, while the Quranic text that is the principal object of recitation is other than the basmala, it is not a verse of the surah. Hence the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“I know a surah of the Quran, consisting of thirty verses, which interceded for a man until he was forgiven. It is: ‘Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion.’”

Some Quran reciters separate one surah from another with the basmala, while others do not. Since the whole Quran is Allah’s speech, the latter do not separate surahs with it, just as someone may mention Allah’s name when beginning to eat and then eat various kinds of food. Others mention Allah’s name at the beginning of every surah. This is better, because it follows the written form of the Quran. It is comparable to one dish being removed and another set down: mentioning Allah’s name at that point is preferable.