What is the wisdom behind the absence of the basmalah in Surat al-Tawbah
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Question : Now, we have another segment to conclude this session. He says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the wisdom behind the absence of the basmalah in Surat al-Tawbah?
Answer : The wisdom in this is that when the Companions compiled the Qur'an, some of them were uncertain whether this surah, which I mean al-Bara'ah, was the remainder of Surat al-Anfal or an independent surah. Therefore, they placed a separator between them without placing a basmalah. Then, we know that if the basmalah had been revealed between the two surahs, it would have been preserved and would have remained, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — because Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hijr 15:9] So the ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) matched reality, meaning that nothing was revealed between Surat al-Bara'ah and Surat al-Anfal; no separator was revealed between them. Thank you, Honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and may He make you beneficial to the Muslims.
Answer : The wisdom in this is that when the Companions compiled the Qur'an, some of them were uncertain whether this surah, which I mean al-Bara'ah, was the remainder of Surat al-Anfal or an independent surah. Therefore, they placed a separator between them without placing a basmalah. Then, we know that if the basmalah had been revealed between the two surahs, it would have been preserved and would have remained, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — because Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 79- ما الحكمة من عدم التسمية في سورة التوبة /سؤال على الهاتف /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.