And they also cite the ḥadīth of Umm Salama: when she was asked about the Prophet’s recitation, she replied, “He used to break up his recitation, verse by verse: ‘bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm (In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful); al-ḥamdu lillāhi Rabbi l-ʿālamīn (All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all beings); ar-raḥmāni r-raḥīm (the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful); Māliki yawmi d-dīn (Master of the Day of Judgment).’” Recorded by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd.
Yet these two reports and others like them do not furnish Imam al-Shāfiʿī with a decisive proof for his position, for they merely describe the Prophet’s manner of recitation; they do not indicate that he pronounced the basmala aloud in prayer. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said, “We have transmitted from al-Dāraquṭnī that he stated: no authentic ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ establishes reciting the basmala aloud.”
The two Imams, Abū Ḥanīfah and Aḥmad, based their view on the ḥadīths of this chapter. Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd observed, “What is certain from this ḥadīth is the absence of audible recitation, for Anas served the Prophet ﷺ for ten years, accompanied the three caliphs for twenty-five years, and prayed all the prayers behind them.”
They therefore interpret the mention of “recitation” in some reports as referring to silent recitation; in this way the various evidences are reconciled and all of them can be acted upon.
Legal conclusions:
- It is prescribed to recite “bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm” after the opening supplication and the taʿawwudh, and before Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.
- The basmala should be recited silently, even in prayers in which the Qur’an is recited aloud.
- The basmala is not a verse of al-Fātiḥah.