Likewise, when someone slaughters one sheep after another, mentioning Allah’s name over each sheep is preferable. As for reciting the basmala at the beginning of al-Fātihah, this means beginning the Quran with it. Hence, two positions are reported from Ahmad on whether reciting it at the beginning of al-Fātihah is an obligatory duty without which the prayer is invalid. Two positions are also reported from him concerning seeking refuge in Allah and the opening supplication; there is thus all the more reason to regard the basmala as obligatory.

Its obligation may be based on its being part of al-Fātihah, but it may also be considered obligatory even if it is not part of al-Fātihah, just as seeking refuge in Allah and the opening supplication may be considered obligatory. For this reason, he does not regard reciting it aloud as a consequence of its being obligatory. Rather, he considers it obligatory while recommending that it be recited quietly. Were it part of al-Fātihah in every respect, reciting some of al-Fātihah aloud but not the rest would be difficult to reconcile with the established principles. If, however, it is regarded as part of al-Fātihah in one respect but not another, the evidence and principles agree, and each matter is given its appropriate characterization. Nor did he say that it is part of the Quran at the beginning of al-Fātihah, even as held by those who do not regard it as part of the Quran anywhere except in Sūrat al-Naml.

Some have said that it is part of the Quran in one recitation but not another, since these recitations have been transmitted through numerous independent chains. The response is:

What has been transmitted in this way is the positive content: the Quran they heard from the Companions and transmitted on the authority of the Messenger. In his time, the Quran had not been written down, nor was arranging the surahs in this order an obligation commanded by Allah. Rather, the matter was left to the Muslims’ choice. Thus, a number of the Companions each had their own convention for arranging its surahs, different from