The ruling on reciting the Basmalah in prayer and whether it is part of al-Fatihah
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A questioner says: Sometimes the one praying, whether he is the imam or praying alone, forgets to recite the Basmalah before al-Fatihah. Is reciting the Basmalah obligatory in prayer? And is it a verse of al-Fatihah?
Answer:
The correct view, or the view of the majority, is that it is an independent verse, not part of al-Fatihah or any other surah. On this view, it is recommended to recite it; it is recommended to say "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim." As for those who hold that it is part of al-Fatihah, such as the Shafi'is, it is obligatory to recite "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim," and the prayer is not valid without it. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A questioner says: Sometimes the one praying, whether he is the imam or praying alone, forgets to recite the Basmalah before al-Fatihah. Is reciting the Basmalah obligatory in prayer? And is it a verse of al-Fatihah?
Answer:
The correct view, or the view of the majority, is that it is an independent verse, not part of al-Fatihah or any other surah. On this view, it is recommended to recite it; it is recommended to say "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim." As for those who hold that it is part of al-Fatihah, such as the Shafi'is, it is obligatory to recite "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim," and the prayer is not valid without it. Yes.
Source
شرح العقيدة الواسطية، العقيدة الواسطية 30-01-1438هـ — alfawzan.live (50:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.