The Ruling on Reciting the Basmala Audibly in Prayer

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 4683 )
Q2: What is the ruling on reciting the Basmala audibly in prayer?
A2: The correct opinion among the scholars is that the one praying recites the Basmala silently before reciting al-Fatihah in every rak'ah of his prayer, whether the prayer is one of silent recitation or one of audible recitation; for it is established from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:

I observed prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and with Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with all of them), but I never heard any one of them reciting Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim loudly.

صليت مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبي بكر وعمر وعثمان فلم أسمع أحدًا منهم يقرأ بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Sahih Muslim 399a

It was narrated by Ahmad and Muslim , and in another wording:

I observed prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr and Umar and 'Uthman. They started (loud recitation) with: AI-hamdu lillahi Rabb al-'Alamin [All Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds] and did not recite Bismillah ir- Rahman-ir-Rahim (loudly) at the beginning of the recitation or at the end of it.

صليت خلف النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وخلف أبي بكر وعمر وعثمان فكانوا لا يجهرون ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Sahih Muslim 399c

It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasa'i with a chain of narration meeting the conditions of authenticity. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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