Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The pillars and conditions of prayer > The order of the pillars of prayer
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Updated on 25 September 2026 at 3:23 PM
This part belongs to the full section: All sections of this part.
This second part of the sheets on the pillars of prayer continues the chapter's detailed treatment. It covers, with the exact positions of the schools and their classical references: the detail of the minimum stillness, the order of the pillars, clasping the hands in prayer (al-qabd) with its manner and placement, the opening supplication, its formulas and Malik's divergence, the ta'awwudh and its repetition in every rak'a, the basmala with its recitation and whether said aloud or quietly, the amin, the recitation after the Fatiha, the transition takbirs, the bowing with its glorifications and the praise upon rising, the raising of the hands, the descent into prostration, the prostrate posture, the sittings and the rest pause, the qunut of dawn, then the blinking of the eyes and the direction of the gaze in prayer.
The detail of the minimum stillness is established school by school. The Malikis say: the minimum is the disappearance of the limbs' movement for a brief time. The Shafi'is: that the worshiper remain until his limbs settle and the movement of his descent separates from his rising. Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) specifies: if he adds to the descent then rises while the movements are continuous and he does not pause, the stillness is not achieved; the extra descent does not stand in place of stillness, without any disagreement on this.
The Hanbalis: the minimum is stillness, even if brief, and this is the sound position of the school; it is also said that it is measured by the extent of the obligatory remembrance. Al-Mirdawi (may Allah have mercy on him) explains the benefit of the 2 views: if one forgets the tasbih of the bowing or the prostration, or the praise at the rising, or the asking of forgiveness while sitting, or is unable to say it due to paralysis or muteness, or deliberately leaves it out, we say it is a sunna; if he remains still for a duration not long enough to say it, his prayer is valid according to the first view and invalid according to the second. The Hanafis: the minimum of stillness is the settling of the limbs for the duration of one tasbih («Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/24, «al-Sharh al-Saghir» 1/211, «al-Majmu'» 4/124, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/178-179, «Nihayat al-Muhtaj» 1/539, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/389, «Matalib Uli al-Nuha» 1/501, «Manar al-Sabil» 1/106, «al-Ifsah» 1/178, «al-Bahr al-Ra'iq» 1/314-315, Ibn Abidin 1/449, 454, 461, «Sharh Fath al-Qadir» 1/275, «Majma' al-Anhar» 1/221).
Thirteenth pillar: the order of the pillars. The jurists make the order of the pillars of prayer itself one of the pillars: whoever deliberately prostrates before bowing has his prayer void by consensus, as a form of mockery; if he omits it out of forgetfulness, what he does after the omitted pillar is not counted, being out of its place, and he must go back to bow and then prostrate. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed it in order:
"Pray as you have seen me pray"Reported by al-Bukhari
and he taught it, in order, to the one who had erred in his prayer, through the conjunction "then", and the prostration of forgetfulness becomes due. The order is obligatory only in the obligatory prayers in themselves; the order of the sunnas, in themselves or alongside the obligations, is not obligatory, as in one who places the ta'awwudh before the opening supplication.
«Matalib Uli al-Nuha», of the Hanbalis, establishes this branch: if a worshiper believes that these mentioned pillars are sunnas and prays with that belief, his prayer is valid; if he holds a sunna to be an obligation, it is also valid; if he holds nothing at all, neither recommended nor obligatory nor anything else, yet performs the prayer knowing that all of this is part of it, his prayer is valid.
Likewise if one does not know what distinguishes a condition from a pillar, or an obligation from a sunna: Abu al-Khattab allowed this, and al-Majd refuted those who do not validate the following (al-i'timam) of one who holds the Fatiha to be supererogatory, relying on the practice of the Companions and those after them, despite their intense disagreement over what is obligatory and what is sunna. For the belief in obligatoriness or supererogatoriness affects the prayer as a whole, not its details: whoever prays believing the prayer to be an obligation performs acts from which valid ones come, some being obligations and some supererogations; if he does not know what is sunna, or holds something to be obligatory that is not, his prayer is valid by consensus, as stated in «al-Mubdi'».
The scholars diverge on this into 4 opinions. The first: the majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, count the qabd, that is placing the right hand over the left, among the sunnas of the prayer; it is the narration of Mutarrif and Ibn al-Majishun from Imam Malik, who declared it a sunna, and Ibn al-Mundhir narrates the same from Malik. Ibn al-Arabi said: it is the sound view. Their evidences are the following:
First evidence: Qabisa ibn Hulb reports it from his father (may Allah be pleased with him):
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would lead us in prayer and take his left hand with his right"Hasan hadith: reported by al-Tirmidhi (252), Ibn Majah (809) and Ahmad (5/226-227)
Al-Tirmidhi specifies that action is taken upon it among the people of knowledge, from the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Successors and those after them.
Second evidence: Abu Hazim reports it from Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi:
"The people were commanded to place the right hand over the left arm in prayer"Reported by al-Bukhari (707); Abu Hazim said: I know of this only as going back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Third evidence: it is narrated from Wail ibn Hujr concerning the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
"He placed his right hand over his left palm, the wrist and the forearm"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (727) and al-Nasa'i (889)
Fourth evidence: Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by me while I had placed my left hand over my right; he took my right hand and placed it over the left"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (755) and Ibn Majah (811)
Fifth evidence, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
"We, the company of prophets, have been commanded to hasten the breaking of the fast, to delay the pre-dawn meal, and to place our right hands over our lefts in prayer"Sahih hadith: reported by Ibn Hibban in his «Sahih» (5/67) and al-Tayalisi (2654)
The second opinion: it is recommended to leave the hands at the sides (al-irsal) and disliked to clasp them in the obligatory prayer, permitted in the supererogatory; it is said: absolutely, and it is said: if one lingers in it. This is the narration of Ibn al-Qasim from Malik in the «Mudawwana», the choice of Shaykh Khalil and the commentators of his text such as al-Dardir and al-Dasuqi. The dislike in the obligatory is explained by the fact that clasping the hands there implies leaning upon them, which resembles taking support; al-Dardir specifies: if he does it not to lean but simply to rest his hands, it is not disliked; this explanation is the relied-upon one, and it follows that clasping is permitted absolutely in the supererogatory, since taking support is permitted there without necessity.
The third opinion: the permissibility of clasping the hands in both the obligatory and the supererogatory, the view of Malik according to the hearings of Ashhab and Ibn Nafi'. Al-Hattab reports from Ibn Farhun: as for letting the hands down after raising them, Sanad said: I have found no text on this; it seems most apparent to me that they be let down at the takbir, together with the movement, and they should be let down gently («Mawahib al-Jalil» 1/537). Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him): placing the right over the left or letting the hands hang, all of that is sunna in the prayer («al-Kafi» 43). The qadi Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him): placing the right hand over the left carries 2 narrations, the recommendation and the permissibility; as for the dislike, it lies outside the area of disagreement: it concerns the case where one intends by it support and leaning.
The evidence for the recommendation: the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Three things are part of the morals of prophethood...", in which he mentions placing the right hand over the left in prayer. It was also said that the meaning of Allah's saying:
"So pray to your Lord, and sacrifice"
Surah 108, 2
is placing the right hand over the left in prayer; and because it is fuller and more encompassing of humility and the dignity of the prayer. The evidence for its negation: the saying "Restrain your hands in prayer", and the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught the Bedouin the prayer with its obligations and sunnas without mentioning this; the first view is the more apparent.
Chapter: the description of placing one hand over the other is to place them below the chest and above the navel, contrary to Abu Hanifa who held that the sunna is to place them below the navel, since that is a covered spot falling under the 'awra, and is therefore not a place for placing the right hand over the left, like the thigh («al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/265-266, case no. 182). The fourth opinion: the prohibition of clasping the hands in both cases, narrated by al-Baji and followed by Ibn Arafa, but al-Misnawi said this is among the anomalous views («Hashiyat al-Dasuqi» 1/250, «al-Mudawwana» 1/74, «al-Muntaqa» 1/281, al-Zurqani 1/214, «Tafsir al-Qurtubi» 20/220, «Ahkam al-Qur'an» of Ibn al-Arabi 4/461, «al-Istidhkar» 2/290-291, «Bidayat al-Mujtahid» 1/194, «al-Sharh al-Saghir» 1/216, «al-Tamhid» 20/75, «Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/31, «al-Bahr al-Ra'iq» 1/320, «Umdat al-Qari» 5/279, «Sharh Muslim» 4/102, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/152, «al-Majmu'» 3/257, «al-Mughni» 2/19, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/333). The Malikis argue for their position with the hadith of the one who erred in his prayer: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him the prayer without mentioning placing the right hand over the left.
The jurists then diverged over the manner of clasping the hands and the place of their placement. As for the manner, the Hanafis distinguish between the man and the woman: the man takes with his right hand the left wrist, circling the wrist with his little finger and thumb, the 3 other fingers outstretched, according to «Sharh al-Muniyya» and likewise in «al-Bahr», «al-Nahr», «al-Mi'raj», «al-Kifaya», «al-Fath» and «al-Siraj»; «al-Durr al-Mukhtar» retains this as the chosen position. Al-Kasani writes in «Bada'i' al-Sana'i'»: he circles with his thumb, his little finger and his ring finger, placing his middle finger and index finger upon his wrist. As for the woman, she places palm over palm, and the same applies to the hermaphrodite (Ibn Abidin 1/487, «Ma'ani al-Athar» 2/34).
The Malikis and the Hanbalis: he grasps with his right hand the left arm up to the elbow, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed the right over the left («al-Istidhkar» 1/477, «al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/267, «al-Mubdi'» 1/431, «al-Insaf» 2/46, «Asna al-Matalib» 1/145). With the Shafi'is: it is recommended to place the right hand over the left, grasping with the right palm the left elbow, part of its wrist and its forearm, the fingers outstretched across the joint and spread toward the forearm, according to what Wail ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
"I said: I shall look at how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prays; I looked at him: he had placed his right hand on the back of his left palm, on the wrist and the forearm"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (727), Ibn Khuzayma in his «Sahih» (1/243) and Ibn Hibban in his «Sahih» (1/243)
(«al-Majmu'» 3/257, «Rawdat al-Talibin» 1/232, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 158, «Asna al-Matalib» 1/145).
As for the placement, the Hanafis and the Hanbalis according to the school's position: the worshiper places his hands below the navel, according to the saying of Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him):
"The sunna is to place palm over palm in prayer, below the navel"Weak hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (756), al-Bayhaqi (2/31) and Ahmad (1/110); al-Nawawi writes in «Sharh Muslim» (4/115): there is agreement on its weakness
The Hanafis, however, specify this for the man: the woman places her hand on her chest; it is said: below her chest. The Shafi'is, the Malikis (in the supererogatory) and Imam Ahmad in one narration: it is recommended to place the hands below the chest and above the navel, according to Wail ibn Hujr:
"I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and he placed his right hand over his left hand, on his chest"Sahih hadith: reported by Ibn Khuzayma in his «Sahih» (1/243), with this corroboration from Tawus: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would place his right hand over his left and press them together on his chest while in prayer
The scholars specify: that is, its lower part, the hand thus being beneath the chest according to the narration "below his chest"; the wisdom in placing the hands below the chest is to be above the noblest of the organs, the heart, which lies below the chest. According to Imam Ahmad, one has the choice in this matter, since all of it has been transmitted and the matter is broad («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/388).
Third point: the opening supplication. The majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, count it among the sunnas of the prayer, after the opening takbir. A group of the companions of Imam Ahmad holds the remembrance obligatory, that is, praise such as the opening supplication; this is the choice of Ibn Battah and others, and it is also narrated as a transmission from Ahmad («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/388). Malik diverged on this: Ibn al-Qasim reports in the «Mudawwana» that Malik did not approve of this formula that people recite: "Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You"; he did not recognize it.
Ibn Wahb then transmits, with his chain, from Anas ibn Malik that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman used to open the prayer with:
"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds"
Surah 1, 2
Malik adds: whoever prays behind the imam, whoever prays alone, and whoever is an imam should not say "Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise..." and the rest, but should say the takbir and begin the recitation from there («al-Mudawwana» 1/62).
«Minh al-Jalil» comments on Khalil's view of the dislike: it is disliked according to the famous position, the one followed in practice, even if the hadith supporting it is authentic. It is reported from Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that he recommended saying these formulas before it, that is, before the opening takbir: "Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise...", "I turn my face..." and "O Allah, distance between me and my sins...". Ibn Habib: saying it after the iqama and before entering the prayer; Ibn Rushd in «al-Bayan»: that is good («Minh al-Jalil» 1/266, «al-Taj wa al-Iklil» 1/538). The qadi Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him): it is recommended to recite the Fatiha right after entering the prayer, contrary to al-Shafi'i in his recommendation of turning the face and the glorification, according to Abu Humayd describing the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): he would raise his hands, say the takbir, then recited. It is also reported that he said to the one he taught the prayer: "Say the takbir, then recite", and: "You say the takbir, then you recite". In the hadith of Ubayy: how do you recite when you open the prayer? He replied: "Allah is the greatest", then "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds" («al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/251, case no. 172). Al-Rafi'i reports from the Shafi'is Malik's saying: after the takbir nothing opens the prayer but the Fatiha, the supplication and the ta'awwudh being placed before the takbir («Fath al-Aziz» 3/301; «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 158, «Manar al-Sabil» 1/109, «al-Mughni» 2/21, Ibn Abidin 1/328, «Mughni al-Muhtaj» 1/155, «Kashshaf al-Qina'» 1/334). The divergence between the Malikis and the majority over the opening supplication therefore comes down to a disagreement over its place: with the former it takes place before the takbir, with the others after it.
The hadith transmits from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the opening of the prayer with different formulas, the most famous being 3. The first, from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) opened the prayer, he would say: Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (776)
The second, from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood for prayer, he would say: "I turn my face to the One who created the heavens and the earth, in pure faith, and I am not of the polytheists. My prayer, my rites, my life and my death belong to Allah, Lord of the worlds, who has no partner; with this I was commanded, and I am of the Muslims". In one version: "and I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, You are the King; there is no god for me but You; You are my Lord and I am Your servant; I have wronged myself and I confess my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for none forgives sins but You; guide me to the best of character, for none guides to it but You, and turn away from me its worst, for none turns it away but You; at Your service and in Your pleasure, all good is in Your hand, and evil does not reach You; I live by You and turn to You; blessed are You and exalted; I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance".
"I turn my face to the One who created the heavens and the earth..."Reported by Muslim (771)
The third is the hadith of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him):
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said the takbir in prayer, he would fall silent for a moment before reciting. I said: O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransomed for you, I see your silence between the takbir and the recitation: what do you say? He said: I say: O Allah, distance me from my sins as You have distanced the East from the West; O Allah, purify me of my sins as a white garment is purified of filth; O Allah, wash me of my sins with water, snow and hail"Reported by al-Bukhari (711) and Muslim (598)
The scholars diverged over which of the transmitted formulas to prefer. The first position: the majority of the Hanafis and Hanbalis say the opening is made with "Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise..." and the rest. The second position: the Shafi'is according to the relied-upon view among them, and al-Ajurri among the Hanbalis, opt for the opening with "I turn my face..." and the rest. Al-Nawawi specifies that the hadith coming next in merit is that of Abu Hurayra, that is "O Allah, distance me from my sins..." and the rest. The third position: Abu Yusuf among the Hanafis and a group of Shafi'is such as Abu Ishaq al-Marwazi and the qadi Abu Hamid, also the choice of the vizier Ibn Hubayra among the companions of Imam Ahmad: to combine the 2 transmitted formulas; al-Mirdawi attributes this to Ibn Taymiyya as well. Al-Nawawi also recommends gathering all the transmitted formulas for whoever prays alone, and for the imam if the congregation permits him. All these opinions concern the obligatory prayer; in the supererogatory, especially the night prayer, the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis agree to combine the praise and the supplication of turning. Ibn Abidin explains: in order to carry all that has been reported, one recites the supplication of turning in the night prayer, the matter there being broad. In the Sahih of Muslim, when he stood for prayer (in one version: when he opened the prayer), he said the takbir then recited "I turn my face to the One who created the heavens and the earth, in pure faith". Those who practice it agree it is said in secret («Sharh Miniyyat al-Musalli» 302, «al-Majmu'» 3/267, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 158, «al-Bahr al-Ra'iq» 1/328, «al-Insaf» 2/47, «al-Mughni» 2/22, «al-Furu'» 1/303).
The opening supplication is a sunna in every prayer and in all circumstances. Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: it is recommended for every worshiper, imam, follower, one praying alone, a woman, a child, a traveler, in the obligatory and the supererogatory, sitting or lying down, and this includes the ordered and free supererogatory prayers, the Eid prayer and the eclipse in the first standing, as well as the istisqa («al-Majmu'» 3/318-319). Some jurists except the funeral prayer; the discussion will come in detail in the rules of funerals, Allah willing. Fourth point: the ta'awwudh. The majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, hold that seeking protection in prayer, after the opening supplication, is a sunna, for Allah's saying:
"When you recite the Quran, seek Allah's protection from Satan the accursed"
Surah 16, 98
Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he stood for prayer, would open then say:
"I seek protection with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from Satan the accursed, from his suggestion, his breath and his spittle"Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (775)
Al-Tirmidhi says it is the most famous hadith of the chapter, and a narration from Ahmad makes it obligatory. The Malikis: it is permitted in the supererogatory, disliked in the obligatory; their argument is that Satan flees at the adhan and the takbir, plus the hadith of Anas:
"I prayed behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman: they would open the prayer with the Fatiha"Reported by Muslim (399)
The form of seeking protection is to say: I seek protection with Allah from Satan the accursed; this is the view of Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad in one narration, for the word of Allah cited above. According to another narration from Ahmad: I seek protection with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from Satan the accursed, according to the hadith of Abu Sa'id and Allah's saying:
"Seek protection with Allah; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing"
Surah 41, 36
this formula including the added mention. Hanbal reports from Ahmad that he added after it: "Allah is indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing"; all of this is permitted, and any seeking of protection is good. Ibn Qudama: it is said quietly, not aloud, and I know of no disagreement on this («al-Mughni» 2/24, «Ahkam al-Qur'an» of al-Jassas 5/12, Ibn Abidin 1/443, al-Rahuni 1/424, al-Dasuqi 1/201, al-Qurtubi 1/86-87, «Ahkam al-Qur'an» of Ibn al-Arabi 3/158, «al-Majmu'» 3/268-269, «I'anat al-Talibin» 1/164, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 158, «al-Insaf» 2/119, «al-Ifsah» 1/158). Ibn al-Qasim, of the Malikis, transmits the formula: "I seek protection with Allah the Most Great from Satan the accursed; Allah is indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing" («Tafsir al-Qurtubi» 1/87).
Seeking protection is legislated in the first rak'a by agreement of those who practice it; as for repeating it in the remaining rak'as, the jurists diverge into 2 opinions. The first: repeating it in every rak'a is recommended; this is the view of Ibn Habib among the Malikis, with no one of the school reported as contradicting him, the madhhab of the Shafi'is and a narration from Ahmad; the basis is the word of Allah cited above: the verse falls between 2 recitations, so the case resembles one who interrupts his recitation outside the prayer for some business and then returns to it: the ta'awwudh is recommended for him; moreover the command being conditional, it repeats with the repetition of the condition, like Allah's saying:
"If you are in a state of impurity, purify yourselves"
Surah 5, 6
and further: if it is legislated in the first rak'a, it is legislated in the others by analogy, the cause being shared. The second opinion: repeating the seeking of protection in the second rak'a and beyond is disliked; this is the madhhab of the Hanafis, a view of the Shafi'is and the position of the Hanbalis, for the hadith of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him):
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rose from the second rak'a, he would begin the recitation with the Fatiha, without pausing"Reported by Muslim (599)
This hadith shows he did not seek protection afterwards; the prayer being one whole, the recitation taken as a whole is like a single recitation, which is why the order in the recitation of the 2 rak'as was counted; it resembles one who prostrates for the recitation in the middle of his reading: if he returns beginning with the seeking of protection, that suffices, like the opening supplication («al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya» 1/74, «al-Inaya» 1/217, «al-Bahr al-Ra'iq» 1/328, Ibn Abidin 1/356, «al-Majmu'» 3/270, «Kifayat al-Akhyar» 159, al-Ruhuni 1/424, «Hashiyat al-Jamal» 1/354, «al-Mughni» 2/85, «al-Insaf» 2/119).
Fifth point. Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: know that the question of the basmala is great and important, the validity of the prayer, the greatest pillar after tawhid, being built upon it; given this high standing, the early and late scholars devoted attention to it and produced many dedicated works («al-Majmu'» 3/280). The scholars agree that the Fatiha counts 7 verses, except that whoever places the basmala among them counts it as a verse, and whoever does not count it among them counts "those You have blessed" as the seventh verse («Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar» 1/201). They also agree that it is a verse of the sura of the Ants; the divergence concerns this: is it a verse of the Fatiha or not? The majority of the jurists, the Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis according to the school's position, hold it is not a verse of the Fatiha, with details to come; the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis in one narration hold that it is.
The Hanafis say: the basmala is a verse of the Quran, the umma having agreed that whatever is written between the 2 boards by the pen of revelation is part of the Quran, and the basmala is such; but it is neither a verse of the Fatiha nor of the head of every sura: it is only an opening for them, by way of blessing. The worshiper, imam or alone, recites it quietly with the Fatiha in every rak'a of the prayer; if he recites it with every sura, it is good, and this is the Hanafi madhhab. Their evidence is the hadith of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him):
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Allah said: I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant into 2 halves, and for My servant is what he asks. When the servant says: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah says: My servant has praised Me. When he says: the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, Allah says: My servant has extolled Me. When he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, He says: My servant has glorified Me; in one version: My servant has entrusted himself to Me. When he says: You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help, He says: This is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is what he asks. When he says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those You have blessed, not of those who have incurred anger, nor of those astray, He says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asks"Reported by Muslim (395)
The argument from this hadith is twofold. On one hand, it begins with "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds", not with the basmala: were it part of the Fatiha, the beginning would be with it, not with the praise. On the other, it explicitly states the halving: were the basmala part of the Fatiha, the halving would not hold, Allah's share being 4 and a half verses. Moreover, a verse's belonging to a given sura and a given position is established only by a mutawatir transmission from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); it is established by tawatur that the basmala is written in the mushafs, but not that it belongs to the suras: hence the scholars' divergence, the readers of Kufa counting it among the Fatiha's verses and the readers of Basra not counting it, which is evidence of the absence of tawatur and of the presence of doubt; with such doubt, its belonging to the sura is not established. Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) adds: making the basmala a verse of every sura is something particular to al-Shafi'i, and no one of the umma's predecessors follows him in it: this suffices as evidence of the invalidity of that view.
Another evidence, reported from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said there is in the Quran a sura of 30 verses that interceded for its reader until he was forgiven, "Blessed is He in whose hand is the dominion"; the readers and others agree it has 30 verses without the basmala, which, were it part of them, would make 31, contrary to the Prophet's words (peace and blessings be upon him). Likewise the consensus of the jurists and readers settled that the sura al-Kawthar has 3 verses and al-Ikhlas 4; with the basmala they would have 4 and 5, against the consensus. That the basmala belongs to the Fatiha can be established only by a transmission compelling knowledge, while it is opposed by something stronger, more established and more famous, the hadith of the division, which is not accepted in its contradiction.
As for the objection that it was written in the mushafs by the pen of revelation at the heads of the suras, the answer is: indeed, but this proves it is part of the Quran, not that it belongs to the suras: it may have been written to separate the suras, not because it is of them; its belonging to the suras is thus not established by mere possibility. It follows that in our view one does not say the basmala aloud in prayer, since there is no text on saying it aloud and it is not part of the Fatiha, which would warrant saying it aloud as with the Fatiha. With the Shafi'is, it is said aloud in the prayers recited aloud, like the Fatiha, being part of it. When the basmala wavers between being part of the Fatiha or not, saying it aloud wavers between sunna and innovation; when an act wavers between sunna and innovation, the side of innovation prevails, since abstaining from innovation is obligatory while there is no obligation of realizing the sunna or the required act: concealing it is therefore preferable. The evidence is what is reported from Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, Ali, Abdallah ibn Mas'ud, Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, Abdallah ibn Abbas, Anas and others (may Allah be pleased with them): they concealed the basmala; many of them said: saying the basmala aloud is a Bedouin manner, and the attribution to these latter is false, ignorance of the laws prevailing over them.
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports having prayed behind the Messenger of Allah, behind Abu Bakr and Omar (may Allah be pleased with them), and that they did not say the basmala aloud. In our (Hanafi) view it is not said aloud, but the imam recites it to open the recitation, by way of blessing, as he recites the ta'awwudh in the first rak'a by agreement of all narrations. Is it recited at the start of the Fatiha in the other rak'as? Two narrations from Abu Hanifa: al-Hasan narrates from him that it is recited only in the first rak'a, since it is not part of the Fatiha and opening the recitation with it, by way of blessing, is specific to the first rak'a, like the ta'awwudh. Al-Mu'alla narrates from Abu Yusuf from Abu Hanifa that it is recited in every rak'a, which is also the view of Abu Yusuf and Muhammad: if the basmala is not definitively established as part of the Fatiha by an ahad report (and the ahad report entails action), it became part of the Fatiha in practice; whenever the recitation of the Fatiha is required, the recitation of the basmala is required as a precaution. At the head of each sura in the prayer, it is not recited according to Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf; Muhammad says it is recited as a precaution, as at the start of the Fatiha; the sound view is that of the former 2: the possibility of its belonging to the sura being cut off by the consensus of the predecessors, there remains the possibility that it is not part of the Fatiha, on which there is no consensus, hence action on the possibility as a precaution for the recitation; but this possibility does not count for saying it aloud, since precaution is the basis for remembrances, and saying it aloud is an innovation in principle; when it may be a remembrance in this case, and may be part of the Fatiha, concealment is the furthest from innovation and therefore more worthy. Muhammad also narrated: when one recites quietly, one comes with the basmala between the Fatiha and the sura, this being closer to following the mushaf; when one says it aloud, one does not come with it, else one would have to conceal it, which would be a pause in the middle of the recitation, not prescribed; then one recites the Fatiha of the Book and the sura («Bada'i' al-Sana'i'» 1/203, 205).
Imam Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him) adds: it being established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and those we mentioned after him that they left saying the basmala aloud, it is established that it is not of the Quran; were it of the Quran, saying it aloud would be obligatory as with the rest of the Quran. Do you not see that the basmala of the sura of the Ants is said aloud like the rest of the Quran, because it is part of it? Once it is established that the one before the Fatiha of the Book is concealed while the Quran is said aloud, it is established that it is not of the Quran, and that it is concealed like the ta'awwudh and the opening supplication and what resembles them. We also see it written at the heads of the suras in the mushaf, including before the Fatiha of the Book; outside the Fatiha it is not a verse, so it is established too that it is not a verse within the Fatiha. Those who denied saying it aloud in prayer are Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on them («Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar» 1/204, «al-Tajrid» of al-Quduri 2/499, 502, «Tuhfat al-Fuqaha» 1/128, «Umdat al-Qari» 5/291, «al-Durr al-Mukhtar» 1/491, «Hashiyat al-Tahtawi» 1/174).
The Malikis: the recitation of the basmala is forbidden in the written (obligatory) prayer, aloud or quietly, neither in opening Umm al-Kitab nor in any other sura; they permit it in the supererogatory. They establish it with the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him):
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr and Omar opened the prayer with the Fatiha"Reported by al-Bukhari (71); in Muslim's version (399): they did not mention the basmala, neither at the beginning of the recitation nor at its end
And with the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) opened the prayer with the takbir, and the recitation with the Fatiha"Reported by Muslim (498)
And with the hadith of Abdallah ibn Abdallah ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him): my father heard me in prayer reciting the basmala and told me: O my boy, beware of innovation, for I prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman without hearing any of them say it; when you pray, say the Fatiha, a weak hadith reported by al-Tirmidhi (244). And with the hadith of Abu Hurayra on the division of the prayer, cited previously: his saying "I divided the prayer" means the Fatiha, called prayer because the prayer is not valid without it; were the basmala a verse, it would have been mentioned in this sacred hadith («Tafsir al-Qurtubi» 1/93).
Imam Ibn al-Arabi, the Maliki (may Allah have mercy on him), writes: it suffices you that it is not Quran, given the disagreement over it, and the Quran admits no disagreement, denying the Quran being disbelief. Were it objected: were it not Quran, whoever inserts it into the Quran would be a disbeliever, we answer: the disagreement prevents it being a verse, and also prevents excommunicating whoever counts it among the Quran, for disbelief only comes from opposing text and consensus in matters of creed. Were it asked: is its recitation in prayer obligatory? No, for Anas reports having prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr and Omar without any of them reciting the basmala; and Ibn Mughaffal said the like. Were it objected that the sound version of Anas's hadith is: they opened the prayer with the Fatiha, and that al-Shafi'i took it to mean they recited nothing before the Fatiha, we answer: such an interpretation is unworthy of al-Shafi'i given the greatness of his fiqh; Anas and Ibn Mughaffal said this in reply to those who recite the basmala. Were it objected that a group narrated its recitation and that al-Daraqutni gathered all of that in a part he authenticated, we answer: we do not deny the narration; but our school is favored in that our ahadith, though fewer, are sounder, and by a great method, the rational one applied to many questions of the Law: the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Medina saw the centuries pass, from the time of the Messenger to the time of Malik, without anyone ever reciting the basmala there, in following of the sunna. Our companions nevertheless recommend its recitation in the supererogatory, and it is in this sense that the traditions mentioning it are carried («Ahkam al-Qur'an» 1/5-6).
The qadi Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him): the basmala is neither a verse of the Fatiha nor of the beginning of every sura, contrary to al-Shafi'i; for there is no way to establish the Quran except by a mutawatir transmission that produces certain knowledge and removes excuse, or by the consensus of the umma; it is not established by an ahad report, nor by analogy, nor by anything yielding predominant conjecture: there is here no consensus nor transmission upholding a proof, so affirming it as part of the Fatiha is not permitted. If they invoke the consensus of the transmitters of Othman's mushaf that it is established at the head of every sura, and their agreement with us that everything written in the mushaf is Quran in its place, we answer: the transmitters of the mushaf did not agree that it belongs to every sura; most say it does not belong to them but was set as a separator between 2 suras. If it is said that the occurrence of disagreement does not negate consensus, we answer: the existence of disagreement forbids claiming consensus; and it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the Quran with one even explanation that upholds proof and removes excuse, his manner of explanation not being divergent, explaining some of it one way and other parts in a summary manner to one or 2 men; on this basis we firmly conclude that nothing of the Quran remains that was not transmitted to us, nor that isolated reports of Companions established what is not in the mushaf, and we firmly conclude the nullity of the Rafidi claim against the compiled mushaf, that the Quran is the load of a camel and is with their awaited imam. Hence, were it part of the praise, its explanation would be widespread and mutawatir; were that so, there would be no disagreement, as there is none over what is within the sura. This is the mainstay, together with the preceding evidences. As for the way of ahad reports concerning the parts of the prayer, with the absence of its recitation in what is transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whose hadith of the division runs ("Allah says: I divided the prayer between Me and My servant, half for Me and half for My servant, and for My servant what he asks; when the servant says: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah says: My servant has praised Me, until: when he says: You alone we worship..., Allah says: this verse: half for Me and half for My servant, and for My servant what he asks"), 2 proofs emerge: first, he said "the servant says: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds"; had the basmala been part of it, he would have said: when he says: the basmala; second, he reports that it divides into 2 halves, which is impossible unless it begins with "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds", otherwise it would exceed half. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: "I shall teach you a sura the like of which was not revealed in the Torah nor the Gospel", and mentioned until: "how do you recite when you open the prayer? I recited: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, until its end"; the location of the proof is that he did not mention the basmala nor reproach him for it, evidence that it is not part of it («al-Ishraf ala «Nukat masa'il al-khilaf»» 1/255-256, case no. 176; «al-Dhakhira» 2/176, 178; «al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyya» 44).
The Hanbalis, according to the sound position of the school: the basmala is not a verse of the Fatiha. Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him): reciting the basmala is legislated in prayer at the start of the Fatiha and at the start of every sura, according to the saying of most people of knowledge, based on what Nu'aym al-Mujmir reports:
"I prayed behind Abu Hurayra: he recited the basmala, then recited Umm al-Qur'an, and said: By Him in whose hand is my soul, I resemble your prayer most closely to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)"Reported by al-Nasa'i (905), Ibn Khuzayma in his «Sahih» (1/251), Ibn Hibban in his «Sahih» (5/100) and al-Daraqutni (1/300), who says: sahih hadith, its narrators are all trustworthy; al-Bayhaqi (2/146, 158) says: its chain is sahih; al-Hafiz writes in «Fath al-Bari» (2/267): it is the soundest hadith that came on this point, but al-Albani weakened its chain
Ibn Qudama adds: the narration from Ahmad diverged: is it a verse of the Fatiha whose recitation in prayer is obligatory, or not? According to him, it is part of the Fatiha, and Abu Abdallah Ibn Battah and Abu Hafs follow this, as do Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq and Abu Ubayd. Ibn al-Mubarak: whoever leaves the basmala leaves one 100 and 13 verses. Al-Shafi'i likewise holds it a verse of every sura, according to Umm Salama's hadith; and Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you recite the Fatiha, recite the basmala: it is Umm al-Kitab, the 7 oft-repeated verses, and the basmala is one of its verses"; and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) established it in the mushafs they wrote, establishing nothing between the 2 boards but the Quran. It is also narrated from Ahmad that it is neither of the Fatiha nor a verse of anything else and that its recitation in prayer is not obligatory: this is the position supported by evidence among his companions, and the view of Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Awza'i and Abdallah ibn Ma'bad al-Rummani. Other sayings are reported from Ahmad: it is a separate verse that descended between 2 suras, as a separator; or again: it is only part of a verse of the sura of the Ants; Ibn Ma'bad and al-Awza'i likewise: the basmala only descended in the sura "it is from Souleyman, and it begins with the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy" (Surah 27, 30). The proof that it is not of the Fatiha is Abu Hurayra's hadith of the division, reported by Muslim and cited previously: were the basmala a verse, he would have counted it and begun with it, and the halving would not hold: the verses of praise would be 4 and a half and those of supplication 2 and a half; according to our description, the halving holds. Were it objected that Abdallah ibn Ziyad ibn Sam'an reported: My servant, when he opens the prayer, says the basmala and mentions Me, we answer: Ibn Sam'an is abandoned in hadith, no proof is made with him, as al-Daraqutni said, and the narrators' agreement on contradicting his narration is more worthy. It is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the saying about the sura of 30 verses that interceded for its reader, "Blessed is He in whose hand is the dominion", it being 30 verses without the basmala; and the people agreed that the sura al-Kawthar has 3 verses without the basmala, which would make 4; moreover the positions of verses follow the same rule as the verses themselves: they are established only by tawatur, and no mutawatir transmission came on this. Umm Salama's saying is her own opinion; the divergence over it is not denied, though we say: it is a separate verse serving as a separator between the suras. Abu Hurayra's hadith "When you recite..." is stopped at him: it belongs to the narration of Abu Bakr al-Hanafi from Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja'far from Nuh ibn Abi Bilal, and Abu Bakr said: I reviewed it with Nuh and he withheld it; this shows its raising was Abd al-Hamid's error; as for its being written between the suras in the mushaf, it is as a separator, which is why it was set alone on a line («al-Mughni» 2/25, 30, «al-Kafi» 1/130, «al-Mubdi'» 1/434, «al-Insaf» 2/48).
The Shafi'is: the basmala is a verse of the Fatiha, according to the hadith of Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her): the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in prayer the basmala counting it as a verse, and "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds" as 2 verses (sahih hadith, its takhrij is to come). And according to Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you recite the Fatiha of the Book, recite: the basmala, for it is Umm al-Qur'an and the 7 oft-repeated verses, and the basmala is one of its verses", a sahih hadith reported by al-Hakim in his «Mustadrak» (2051); the Companions having established it in what they compiled of the Quran, this proves it is a verse of it. Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him): our school holds the basmala to be a complete verse of the beginning of the Fatiha without disagreement, and that it is not at the beginning of "Bara'a" by consensus of the Muslims. As for the other suras, excluding the Fatiha and "Bara'a", 3 opinions divide over the basmala at the head of each, narrated by the Khorasanians; the soundest and most famous, which is the correct, or the more correct, is that it is a complete verse; the second: part of a verse; the third: it is not Quran at the heads of the suras other than the Fatiha. The school holds it is Quran at the heads of the suras, "Bara'a" excepted. There remains whether it is Quran in the Fatiha and the others definitively, like the rest of the Quran, or by legal ruling: 2 famous views among our companions, narrated by al-Mahamili, the author of the «Hawi» and al-Bandaniji. The first: by legal ruling, in the sense that the prayer is not valid without its recitation at the start of the Fatiha, and whoever recites a sura does not complete it except by beginning with the basmala. The sound view is that it is not Quran definitively: Muslims do not disagree that its denier is not a disbeliever; were it definitively Quran, he would be, like the denier of the rest of the Quran; on this basis an ahad report is accepted in establishing it, as with other rulings; were it said to be definitively Quran, the ahad report would not be accepted, as with the rest of the Quran, and its being written in the mushaf is established only by the mutawatir transmission of the Companions, as will be detailed in the branch on the schools. Imam al-Haramayn and others weakened the view of those who say it is definitively Quran; the imam said: great foolishness belongs to the one holding this statement, for claiming knowledge where nothing is decisive is impossible. The author of the «Hawi»: the majority of our companions say it is a verse, by ruling and not definitively. Abu Ali Ibn Hubayra: it is a verse of the head of every sura, "Bara'a" excepted, definitively, and there is no disagreement among us: its recitation is obligatory at the start of the Fatiha and the prayer is not valid without it, it being like the rest of the Fatiha. Al-Shafi'i and his companions: saying the basmala aloud is recommended in the aloud prayer, in the Fatiha and the sura, without disagreement among us («al-Majmu'» 3/279-280, «Sharh Sahih Muslim» 4/111, «al-Hawi al-Kabir» 2/105, 109, «al-Muhadhdhab» 1/73).
Branch on the schools of the scholars regarding affirming the basmala or not: the question, as we said, is great and important, the validity of the prayer being built upon it; Shaykh Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim al-Maqdisi al-Dimashqi gathered it in his famous book, encompassing most of the writings in one large volume, whose aims al-Nawawi presents here in summary, adding the necessary completions: our school holds the basmala to be a verse of the beginning of the Fatiha without disagreement, and likewise a complete verse of the head of every sura, "Bara'a" excepted, according to the sound position of our school, and countless predecessors said so.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (may Allah have mercy on him): the scholars disputed: is it a verse or part of a verse of every sura? or is it not of the Quran, except in the sura of the Ants? or is it a verse of the Book of Allah wherever it is written in the mushafs, without belonging to the suras? Three opinions; the third is the most balanced, the proofs converging in it: the Companions' writing it in the mushafs proves it belongs to the Book of Allah, and their separating it from the sura after it proves it does not belong to them. It is established in the Sahih that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "a sura has just been revealed to me", and recited the basmala then "We have given you al-Kawthar" to the end. It is established in the Sahih that the first the angel brought of the revelation was: "Recite in the name of your Lord who created, who created man from a clinging form. Recite, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know" (Surah 96, 1-5): this was the first to descend, and the basmala had not descended before. It is established from him in the Sunan that he said a sura of the Quran, 30 verses, interceded for a man until he was forgiven, "Blessed is He in whose hand is the dominion", 30 verses without the basmala. It is established from him in the Sahih that Allah says: "I divided the prayer between Me and My servant into 2 halves, and for My servant is what he asks; when the servant says: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah says: My servant has praised Me; when he says: the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, Allah says: My servant has extolled Me; when he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, He says: My servant has glorified Me; in one version: My servant has entrusted himself to Me; when he says: You alone we worship..., He says: This is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is what he asks; when he says: Guide us to the straight path..., He says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asks". This hadith is sahih, explicit that it is not part of the Fatiha, and no sahih explicit hadith contradicts it. The best of the hadiths of this chapter only proves his reciting it at the start of the Fatiha, not that it is part of it; hence the readers among them divided: some recited it at the head of the sura, others did not, both being permitted; whoever recited it did better, and whoever repeated it at the head of every sura did better than whoever left it, since he recited what the Companions wrote in the mushafs. Were it supposed they wrote it by way of blessing, it ought to be recited by way of blessing; otherwise how would they write in the mushaf what is not prescribed to recite, when they purged the mushaf of everything that is not Quran, to the point of not writing the amin, nor the names of the suras, nor the grouping in fives and tens, while the sunna for the worshiper is to say after the Fatiha "amin": how would they write what it is not prescribed to say, and not write what it is prescribed for the worshiper to say outside the Quran? Gathering the legal evidences, they indicate that it belongs to the Book of Allah without belonging to the sura («Majmu' al-Fatawa» 22/276, 278).