Al-Zaylaʿi, in Nasb al-Rayah (1/327), surveys the jurists’ views on the basmala and writes: “The opinions as to whether it is part of the Quran fall into three categories: two extremes and a middle position. 1. First extreme: it is not Quran except in Surah al-Naml. This is the position of Malik, a group of Hanafis, and some Hanbalis who claim it to be Ahmad’s view and quote him to that effect. 2. Second extreme: it is a verse of every surah (or part of a verse). This is the well-known opinion of al-Shafiʿi and those who follow him. 3. Middle position: it is Quran wherever it is written, yet it is not counted as part of the individual surahs; rather, it was written as an independent verse at the head of each surah and is likewise recited as a separate verse at the beginning of every surah. The Prophet—peace be upon him—did so when the verse inna aʿtaynaka al-kawthar (We have given you al-Kawthar) was revealed to him.” Muslim relates—through Mukhtar b. Fulful from Anas—that the Prophet dozed briefly, then awoke and said: “A surah has just been revealed to me,” and he recited: “bismillah al-rahman al-rahim. inna aʿtaynaka al-kawthar …” to the end. “This,” continues Al-Zaylaʿi, “is the view of Ibn al-Mubarak, Dawud and his followers; it is the explicit position of Ahmad b. Hanbal; a number of Hanafis hold it, and Abu Bakr al-Razi stated that it is what Abu Hanifah’s school entails. It is the stance of the careful investigators among the scholars, for it reconciles the various proofs, and the fact that the basmala is written on a separate line, detached from the surah, supports it. Ibn ʿAbbas reported that the Prophet would not know that a surah had ended until bismillah al-rahman al-rahim was revealed—another wording says: he would not know the end of a surah.” This was transmitted by Abu Dawud and al-Hakim, who said: