What is the ruling on seeking refuge and the basmalah in prayer?

Question:
From the springs in al-Hasa, the listener: Muhammad Abdul Rahman al-Thawab sent a somewhat lengthy question revolving around seeking refuge and the basmalah in prayer. He says: What is the ruling on reciting the seeking of refuge and the basmalah in prayer after the takbir of ihram and before reciting al-Fatihah? And what is the ruling on reciting them before the surah that is recited after al-Fatihah, if the one praying begins the recitation after al-Fatihah with the beginning of the surah, or before the verses if he does not begin the recitation after al-Fatihah at the beginning of the surah? And is it better for them to be recited secretly or aloud? And are they recited in all the rak'ahs of the prayer? And does the one praying sin if he does not recite them in the cases I mentioned above?

Answer:
The Sunnah is to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan and to say the basmalah when beginning the recitation of al-Fatihah at the start of the prayer, after the opening supplication. First, he says takbir, saying: Allahu Akbar. This first takbir is the takbir of ihram, whether he is an imam, a ma'mum, or praying alone. Then he comes with the opening supplication, the imam, the ma'mum, and the one praying alone. The opening supplication has types; the most concise of them is what is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he opened with these words: This opening supplication is the most concise of them. It has come from the hadith of Aisha, from the hadith of Abu Sa'id, and from the hadith of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) , saying: Then he seeks refuge, saying: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Then he recites al-Hamd, al-Fatihah, the imam, the ma'mum, and the one praying alone, the male and the female.
And there are other opening supplications established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) other than this, among them his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the opening supplication in prayer: This is established in the two Sahihs from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he opened with this before seeking refuge and before saying the basmalah, after the ihram. And there are other opening supplications; if he comes with one of them that is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that suffices. But the most concise and easiest for the general public is .
Then he says: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, or I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytan, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, secretly. This is the best, secretly, even in the prayers where recitation is aloud, even in Maghrib, 'Isha', and Fajr, he recites it secretly; this is the best. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite them secretly. Then he recites al-Fatihah, and so on with the surahs after al-Fatihah, he comes with the basmalah only; there is no need for seeking refuge, the seeking of refuge at the beginning of the recitation is sufficient. So if he recites a surah after al-Fatihah, he says the basmalah, and if it is verses and not a surah, there is no need for basmalah or seeking refuge; he recites them without anything, because the basmalah and seeking of refuge that occurred before al-Fatihah is sufficient. So he recites the verses without basmalah or seeking of refuge after al-Fatihah. And so in the other prayers, all the prayers, he seeks refuge when reciting al-Fatihah and says the basmalah, then after that, if it is a surah, he says the basmalah at its beginning, and if it is verses, he recites them without need for basmalah or seeking of refuge; the first seeking of refuge at the beginning of the recitation suffices. And in the second, third, and fourth rak'ah, the basmalah suffices; because the seeking of refuge sufficed at the beginning of the prayer; because the recitation in the prayer is like one recitation, so the first seeking of refuge suffices. And if he seeks refuge in the second, and in the third, and in the fourth, there is no harm; the matter is broad, with the praise of Allah. If he seeks refuge with the basmalah, there is no harm; some of the people of knowledge said this. And the correct view is that the first seeking of refuge in the first rak'ah suffices, and he repeats the basmalah when reciting al-Fatihah in every rak'ah, and when reciting every surah in every rak'ah. As for if it is verses, he does not repeat the basmalah and does not repeat the seeking of refuge; it suffices that he recites without seeking of refuge; if the seeking of refuge occurred at its beginning, and the basmalah at the beginning of the surah, and the verses are not said with a basmalah at their beginning, that is not prescribed. Rather, he seeks refuge at the beginning of the recitation of the verses, seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, by the saying of Allah, the Exalted: [al-Nahl: 98]. And if he says the basmalah, there is no harm at the beginning of the verses, by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): But the best in reciting verses is to begin with seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. As for if it is a surah, he seeks refuge and says the basmalah at the beginning of the recitation. As for in the prayer, it suffices for him to seek refuge at the beginning of al-Fatihah; this is the best, and the basmalah suffices for him if it is verses after al-Fatihah. If it is a surah, he repeats the basmalah secretly. And if he says it aloud sometimes for teaching, like the imam who says it aloud sometimes so that those behind him know that there is a basmalah and a seeking of refuge, this is not a problem. Some of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them and grant them satisfaction) did this, and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) did it, and he mentioned that he describes the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So if the imam does some of that, meaning: he says the seeking of refuge aloud so that those around him hear it, or the basmalah so that those around him hear it, sometimes for teaching, there is no harm in this. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.