Is the seeking of refuge and the basmala established for al-Fatihah and the other surahs in the prayer?

The questioner : My question—In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful—to the Shaykh. We ask about the establishment of the seeking of refuge and the basmala for al-Fatihah, and likewise for the surah. This issue is very problematic for me. Is it established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the seeking of refuge is for al-Fatihah, and the basmala is for al-Fatihah, and likewise for the surah in the obligatory prayer?

The Shaykh : You mean you want to kill three birds with one stone, but I do not think the time allows for that. So choose from your three questions the one that is most important to you. What is it?

The questioner : For example, I studied this issue in my studies, and it is very problematic for me, especially in Sudan.

The Shaykh : No problem; there is no need to repeat. Choose a question from what you mentioned.

The questioner : I choose the seeking of refuge for al-Fatihah and the surah—likewise.

The Shaykh : The seeking of refuge for al-Fatihah and the surah—likewise?

The questioner : The seeking of refuge—likewise—for al-Fatihah, and the basmala for the surah.

The Shaykh : And the basmala?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : I do not know what is difficult for you in this issue? And you say that you studied it and then it became difficult for you. Did you not find in the Sunnah, in "Sunan Abu Dawud" and others, from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Jubayr ibn Muth'im that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to say, when he began the prayer, after the opening takbir: ; Did you read this or not?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So what exactly is the difficulty then?

The questioner : The difficulty is that some of the jurists, specifically the Maliki school, say to you that the seeking of refuge is specific to the prayer, and the hadith of the basmala is a confused hadith.

The Shaykh : No, it is not confused. We are discussing the seeking of refuge now.

The questioner : Yes, regarding the seeking of refuge, they say this seeking of refuge is specific to the recitation in the prayer, not outside the prayer.

The Shaykh : We say that the hadith states that the Messenger of Allah, when he stood for the prayer, would say takbir and say: "Allah is the Greatest, the Greatest, and..." then he would say: "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytan."

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : This is a refutation of the Malikis who deny things established in the Sunnah, which they have no right to reject except out of sectarian bias. They deny the supplications of the opening, which are numerous and very numerous, and consequently they deny the seeking of refuge, and you have known the evidence for that. Then they deny reciting the basmala, whether secretly or aloud, and they hold that the prescribed practice is for the one praying to enter directly into the recitation of al-Fatihah: "Allah is the Greatest, Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds." They have deprived themselves of dozens of authentic hadiths, and they have no argument for this except the so-called school. So what drives them to turn away from all these evidences which establish what I mentioned earlier: the supplication of the opening, the seeking of refuge, and the basmala—three things? These are authentic hadiths. It is sufficient that if they deny the seeking of refuge before al-Fatihah in the prayer, they have denied two hadiths. But what is their excuse when they deny more than ten hadiths, some of which are in the Sahih, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him), in response to Abu Hurayrah, or in response to whoever asked him, as it came in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: "They said: O Messenger of Allah, what do you say in your silence between the takbir and the recitation?" He said: to the end of the hadith. This is a hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim in their "Sahih." By what is this hadith nullified? By what came in the school? Is the school a second revelation that descended after the Prophet (peace be upon him), who is the one who said: ?!
The Shaykh: So this is from the ill effects of sectarian bias, which we always and forever deny in all those who follow a school. How is it not so? Fourteen centuries have passed for all the Muslims, and they exchange the books of the Sunnah, and they find in them these hadiths are authentic, yet this one remains a Maliki who does not open with anything, and this one is a Hanafi who does not open except with "Glory be to You, O Allah," and this one is a Shafi'i who does not open except with "O Allah, I have turned my face," and there are other supplications established in the Sunnah along with the first supplications. So the Muslim is given a choice between this and that and that, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So no one has the right to deny the legitimacy of any of these supplications, the supplications of the opening, as you say, or as some of the biased Malikis say. I say this because in the present age, there are some Malikis who have responded to the biased Malikis by rejecting their rejection of some of these hadiths.
The Shaykh: So the Muslim must direct his bias in this world to one person only, and that is what I mentioned in my first lecture at the Mosque of Abd al-Rahman, where I stated there that it is derived from such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ; that it is derived from the first phrase, the first testimony, "There is no god but Allah," the oneness of Allah in worship, and it is derived from the second testimony, "And Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," the singling out of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for following. So just as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has no partner in worship, so His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has no partner in following. So just as it is obligatory for the Muslims to make Allah unique in His worship, not associating anything with Him, so it is obligatory for them to single out the Messenger (peace be upon him) in following him, and not associate with him any of the Muslims, no matter how great their imams are. Many of those who perfected tawhid and were sincere to Allah in worship have neglected this second testimony, but they remained in their rigidity with the school jurisprudence, not following the Sunnah. Why? Because the school contradicted it!! So I told you earlier, since you have studied; what did you do with these hadiths? It becomes clear to me that you are not asking for yourself, but for others, in the sense of "The talk is for you, O daughter-in-law, and listen, O neighbor."
The Shaykh: I hope your question is of this nature, and this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.