three and a half verses, with three and a half for the servant.

The apparent meaning of the hadith is that this division concerns the verses, for He said:

“These verses are for My servant.”

“These” is a plural demonstrative. Thus, the passage from “Guide us to the straight path” to the end of the surah comprises three verses according to those who do not count the opening formula as one of its verses. Those who do count it as a verse regard this passage as two verses.

Furthermore, al-Fātihah is one of the surahs of the Quran, and the opening formula is written at its beginning. In this respect, there is no distinction between it and the other surahs. This is one of the clearest lines of reasoning.

Moreover, if the opening formula were part of al-Fātihah, it would be recited aloud in prayer just as the surah’s other verses are. This is the position of those who advocate reciting it aloud, such as al-Shāfi‘ī and a group of scholars from Mecca and Basra. They said that it is a verse of al-Fātihah and should be recited aloud like its other verses. Support for this was drawn from transmitted reports, some from the Companions and others from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

As for the reports from Companions such as Ibn al-Zubayr and others, some are authentic and some are weak. The reports from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—are weak or fabricated, as the hadith masters, including al-Dāraqutnī and others, have stated. For this reason, the compilers of the well-known Sunan and Musnad collections did not transmit from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—