The first extreme:
The view that the basmalah is not part of the Quran except in Sūrat al-Naml. This was the position of Mālik, a group of Hanafī scholars, and some of Ahmad’s followers, who either claim that it is his position or transmit it as a reported view of his.

The opposite extreme:
The view that it constitutes a verse, or part of a verse, of every surah. This is the well-known position of al-Shāfiʿī and those who agree with him. However, it has also been transmitted from al-Shāfiʿī that it is not part of the opening of any surah other than al-Fātihah; rather, the surahs are begun with it to seek blessing through it. As for its being part of al-Fātihah, no proof for this has been reliably transmitted from him.

The middle position:
It is part of the Quran wherever it is written, but is nevertheless not part of the surahs. Rather, it was written as a verse at the beginning of each surah and is likewise recited as an independent verse at the beginning of each surah, just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited it when the surah “Indeed, We have granted you abundant good” was revealed to him, as established in Sahīh Muslim, [and] (1) as indicated by his saying:

“A surah of the Quran consisting of thirty verses interceded for a man until he was forgiven. It is the surah ‘Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion.’”

This was narrated by the compilers of the Sunan, and al-Tirmidhī graded it sound. This position was held by ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak and is explicitly stated in the reports from Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Abū Bakr al-Rāzī mentioned that, in his view, this is what Abū Hanīfah’s position entails.