Is The Basmalah A Verse Of al-Fātīḥah Or Not?

Question: The brother asks: Is the Basmalah (i.e. Bismillāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm) a verse of al-Fātīḥah or not?

Answer:

There is a disagreement among the scholars. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah Almighty have mercy on him, holds the view that the Basmalah is a verse of the Qurʾan, and for this reason, the Shāfiʿīs recite the Basmalah aloud. The Shāfi‘īs recite the Basmalah aloud because it is part of al-Fātīḥah. Whoever believes that the Basmalah is part of al-Fātīḥah should recite it aloud because it is from the Qur'an; for how can he omit a verse and not recite it aloud? It ought to be heard and recited aloud, and this is the school of thought (madhhab) of Imam al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah Almighty have mercy on him.

This is established from Abū Hurayrah, as it has been authentically narrated from Abū Hurayrah that he said, "When you recite al-Fātīḥah, recite Bismillāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm, for it is one of its verses." The chain of narration (isnād) for this is authentic from Abū Hurayrah in al-Dāraquṭnī and others. It was also narrated as a marfūʿ report [attributed directly to the Prophet], but the marfūʿ version is defective (maʿlūl), and the correct view is that it stops (mawqūf) at Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him.

Because of this, the Shāfiʿī view—and remarkably, it is what is currently applied in the printed copies of the Qur'an (Maṣāḥif)—[marks Basmalah as a verse, i.e. in Saudi prints based on Riwayat Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim].

﴿غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ﴾

This is a [a separate] verse [in other readings.]

[But in the the Riwayat Hafs ʿan ʿĀṣim]

﴿صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ﴾

Is a single verse. This is because they make Bismillāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm a verse [in both cases making the total sum of the verses as seven.]

As for the second opinion on the matter, which is the opinion of the majority, the Basmalah is not part of al-Fātīḥah, nor is it part of the Qurʿan except in Sūrat al-Naml:

﴿إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيۡمَٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ﴾ (27:30)

The evidence for this is what is narrated in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imam Muslim, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

«قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى قَسَمْتُ الصَّلاَةَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي نِصْفَيْنِ وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ فَإِذَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ ‏‏{‏ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ‏}...»

"Allah Almighty said, 'I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves.' So when the servant says,

﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ‏﴾...

(See full text of the ḥadīth here)

He did not say,

﴿بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ﴾

And He said, "I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, (and then the whole Sūrah al- Fātihah was mentioned without Basmalah)" and at the end of the Ḥadīth, He said, "This is for Me, and for My servant is what he asked for."

This (ḥadīth) is strong evidence that the Basmalah is not part of al-Fātīḥah, because if it were part of al-Fātīḥah, He would have mentioned it and it would have been established in this context.

The proponents of this view say regarding,

﴿صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ﴾

—it is a (separate) verse where you stop.

﴾Ṣirāṭa l-ladhīna an‘amta ‘alayhim﴿ you stop here, then you say, ﴾Ghayri l-maghḍūbi ‘alayhim wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīn﴿ This is the seventh verse.

The seventh verse is,

﴿غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ﴾

And this is the correct view, for the Basmalah is not a verse of al-Fātīḥah.

However, whoever believes and says it is a verse, like the Shāfiʿīs, must recite it aloud and not remain silent.

[As for the Saudi printed Musḥafs] it would have been more appropriate for the Basmalah to be written independently from al-Fātīḥah and for the seven verses to be listed [according to the majority], because al-Fātīḥah consists of seven verses without any issue or dispute among the scholars; however, these seven differ in how the verses are counted.

﴿وَلَقَدۡ ءَاتَيۡنَٰكَ سَبۡعٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡمَثَانِي وَٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ ٱلۡعَظِيمَ﴾

((And indeed, We have bestowed upon you seven of Al-Mathâni (seven repeatedly recited Verses), (i.e. Sûrat Al-Fâtihah) and the Grand Qur’ân)) (15:87)

The majority hold that the "seven" refers to Sūrat al-Fātīḥah. Therefore, the verses should have been arranged according to the view of the majority:

﴿صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ﴾

— is a verse, and

﴿غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ﴾

—is the seventh verse. ”

END.

— Al-Shaykh Al-Muḥaddith Sulaymān Al-ʿAlwān (audio)

~ Galandān