For this reason, hadith scholars who transmit reports of its being recited aloud have no explicit hadith to support them, since they know that such reports are fabricated and falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They rely only on wording open to interpretation, as when they invoke the previously mentioned hadith of Nuʿaym al-Mujammir from Abū Hurayrah, reported by al-Nasā’ī. Those knowledgeable about hadith say that this is their principal evidence on this issue, yet it provides no proof for their position. For [what] (1) is reported from Abū Hurayrah in Sahīh Muslim more clearly indicates that it is not recited than this report indicates that it is recited aloud.

In Sahīh Muslim, Abū Hurayrah reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah says: ‘I have divided the prayer into two halves between Myself and My servant: half is for Me and half is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.’ When the servant says, ‘All praise is for Allah, Lord of all worlds,’ Allah says, ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When he says, ‘The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,’ He says, ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgment,’ He says, ‘My servant has glorified Me’—or He said, ‘My servant has entrusted his affairs to Me.’ When he says, ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,’ He says, ‘This verse is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.’ When he says, ‘Guide us along the straight path, the path of those You have blessed, not of those who have incurred Your anger, nor of those who have gone astray,’ He says, ‘These are for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.’”

Abd Allāh ibn Ziyād ibn Samʿān—who is a liar—narrated that the following was said at its beginning: “When he says, ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,’ He says, ‘My servant has remembered Me.’”