that it is part of the Quran wherever it is written, just as you have categorically denied that it is not part of it. Of the same kind is the mass-transmitted report from the Companions that everything between the two covers is Quran. Distinguishing between one verse and another undermines confidence that the Quran written between the covers of the manuscript is Allah’s speech. We know beyond doubt that the Companions who wrote the Quran manuscripts transmitted to us that everything they wrote between their covers was Allah’s speech, which He revealed to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They did not write therein anything that was not Allah’s speech.

If an opponent says, “If you are certain that the basmalah is part of the Quran wherever it is written, then declare anyone who denies this an unbeliever,” the reply is: “The same objection applies to your own judgment: if you are certain that it is not part of the Quran, then declare your opponents unbelievers.”

The Muslim community has agreed that no one is to be declared an unbeliever over this issue, even though many on both sides claim certainty for their respective positions. This is because not everything that one person considers certain must be certain to someone else, nor must everything that a group claims to be certain actually be certain in itself.

Rather, a person may mistakenly claim certainty where certainty is unwarranted, just as he may err in what he hears, understands, transmits, or otherwise experiences. Even the outward senses can sometimes err. Accordingly, we may say:

There are three positions concerning whether the basmalah is part of the Quran: two extremes and a middle position.