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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy." Is the Basmala a verse of al-Fatihah or not, and is it recited aloud in the loud prayers?

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Allah Mighty and Majestic says: {In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy}. There is no need to speak about the Basmala in terms of its meaning, nor in terms of its grammar, because it has been repeated to us many times. But the discussion is whether the Basmala is a verse of al-Fatihah or not? There is scholarly disagreement on this. Some say: It is a verse of al-Fatihah and is recited aloud in the loud prayers, and they hold that the prayer is not valid without reciting the Basmala because it is part of al-Fatihah.
And some say: It is not part of al-Fatihah, and this is the correct opinion. The evidence for this is the text and the context of the surah. As for the text: It came in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: قال الله تعالى : قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين فإذا قال: الحمد لله رب العالمين قال: حمدني عبدي وإذا قال: الرحمن الرحيم قال: أثنى علي عبدي، وإذا قال: مالك يوم الدين قال: مجدني عبدي، وإذا قال: إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين قال: هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، وإذا قال: إهدنا الصراط المستقيم إلي آخرها، قال: هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل Allah the Exalted said: I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant in two halves. When he says: "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds," He says: My servant praised Me. When he says: "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy," He says: My servant extolled Me. When he says: "Master of the Day of Judgment," He says: My servant glorified Me. When he says: "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help," He says: This is between Me and My servant, in two halves. And when he says: "Guide us to the straight path" until the end, He says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked for. This is like an explicit text that the Basmala is not part of al-Fatihah.
As for the context, al-Fatihah is seven verses by consensus. If you want to distribute the seven verses according to the subject of the surah, you will find that half of it is His saying:
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين
[Al-Fatihah 1:5]
which is the verse in which Allah said:
I have divided the Salat between Myself and My slaves into two halvesقسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2953Sahih (Darussalam)
, because
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds -الحمد لله رب العالمين
[Al-Fatihah 1:2]
is one,
The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercyالرحمن الرحيم
is the second,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.مالك يوم الدين
[Al-Fatihah 1:4]
is the third, and all of it is the right of Allah.
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين
[Al-Fatihah 1:5]
is the fourth, meaning it is the middle now, and it is two parts: a part of it is the right of Allah, and a part is the right of the servant.
Guide us to the straight path -إهدنا الصراط المستقيم
[Al-Fatihah 1:6]
for the servant,
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favorصراط الذين أنعمت عليهم
[Al-Fatihah 1:7]
for the servant,
not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين
[Al-Fatihah 1:7]
for the servant. Then, from the side of the context in terms of wording, if we said that the Basmala is a verse, it would necessitate that the seventh verse be long to the extent of how much? To the extent of two verses. It would have to be long to the extent of two verses. Look,
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين
[Al-Fatihah 1:7]
how many lines is it for you? Two lines.
Guide us to the straight path -إهدنا الصراط المستقيم
[Al-Fatihah 1:6]
is one line for you,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.مالك يوم الدين
[Al-Fatihah 1:4]
is less than a line,
The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercyالرحمن الرحيم
likewise, and
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds -الحمد لله رب العالمين
[Al-Fatihah 1:2]
likewise. So how can there be proportionality when some verses are less than a line and this one is two lines? So the correct opinion, without doubt, is that the Basmala is not part of it, just as the Basmala is not part of the other surahs.
Source alathar.net

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

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