Discussion of Surat al-Fatihah and the Basmala, and whether it is considered a verse of al-Fatihah.

The Shaykh : Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that he said: قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين فإذا قال : الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ قال الله تعالى : حمدني عبدي وإذا قال : الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ قال الله تعالى : أثنى علي عبدي وإذا قال : مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ قال الله تعالى : مجدني عبدي وإذا قال : إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ قال الله : هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين ولعبدي ما سأل فإذا قال : اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ * صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ قال الله تعالى : هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل The prayer was divided between me and My servant into two halves. When he says: "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds," Allah the Exalted says: "My servant praised Me." When he says: "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy," Allah the Exalted says: "My servant praised Me." When he says: "Master of the Day of Judgment," Allah the Exalted says: "My servant glorified Me." When he says: "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help," Allah says: "This is between Me and My servant, and My servant gets what he asked for." When he says: "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray," Allah the Exalted says: "This is for My servant, and My servant gets what he asked for." This indicates that the Basmala is not a verse of al-Fatihah. Therefore, if a person recites al-Fatihah without reciting the Basmala, his prayer is valid because it is not part of it. So, if someone raises the point with us: "Is the Basmala in al-Fatihah not written as a verse, and is its number one?" We say: Yes, but this is based on another opinion in the matter, which is a weak opinion. If he says: "Then al-Fatihah would be six verses if we do not count the Basmala among them?" We say: No, rather it is seven verses without it. Let us recite: This is the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh. And in this way, the verses of al-Fatihah are balanced in wording and meaning. As for the wording, if you count three verses from the beginning, and the fourth and fifth, you will find that they are close in the number of words. But if you make one verse, the verses would not be balanced; rather, this long verse would be disproportionate to what came before it. If we divide it into two verses, the verses become equal or very close. As for the meaning, we say: The verses of al-Fatihah are seven: three for Allah, three for the servant, and one between them. The three verses for Allah are , and the three verses for the servant are , and the verse between them is the middle verse of these seven, which is . And in this way, it becomes clear that the Basmala must be outside the count of al-Fatihah, and likewise the rest of the surahs.
If someone asks: "Why was the Basmala not written between al-Anfal and al-Bara'ah?" We say: Because the Basmala was not revealed between them. If it had been revealed, it would have been preserved and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would have written it. If someone asks: "Then why is there a separation between them?" We say: Because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) hesitated whether Surat al-Bara'ah is the remainder of Surat al-Anfal or an independent surah. Therefore, they made a separation and did not make it a Basmala, because the Basmala was not revealed between it and Surat al-Anfal.