Hadith No: 8
Al-Shawkani - Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntqa al-Akhbar
Chapters on the Description of Prayer - Chapter on What Was Narrated Regarding {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}
Volume: (2) - Page Number: (233 > 239) - Footnote: 3
[The text is lengthy, so only the relevant excerpt is provided here]
- .... Among them is what al-Nasa'i narrated from the hadith of Abu Huraira, with the wording:
Na'im al-Mujmir said: "I prayed behind Abu Huraira, and he recited: {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}
and then recited the Mother of the Book." In it, it is mentioned:
"And he would say, after he completed the prayer, 'By the One in whose hand is my soul, I am indeed the most similar among you in prayer to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny).'" Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban, and al-Hakim authenticated this hadith and said: It is on the condition of Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Bayhaqi said: Its chain is authentically narrated, and it has supporting evidence. Abu Bakr al-Khatib said regarding it: It is established and authentic, and there is no valid reason to doubt it.
- .... From Abu Huraira also: narrated by al-Daraqutni,
that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) would open his recitation when leading the people with: {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}. Al-Daraqutni said: The men in its chain are all trustworthy.
- .... And also: from Abu Huraira, narrated by al-Daraqutni, who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) said, "When you recite Al-Hamd (the opening chapter), recite: {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful},
for it is the Mother of the Qur'an, the Mother of the Book, the Seven Oft-Repeated Verses, and {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}
is one of its signs." Al-Yamri said: All of its narrators are trustworthy, except that Nu'ayh ibn Abi Bilal, who narrated it from Sa'id ibn Abi Sa'id al-Maqbari from Abu Huraira, was uncertain about it, sometimes raising it and other times stopping at it. Al-Hafiz said: This chain has trustworthy narrators, and more than one of the imams authenticated its stopping as valid, while Ibn al-Qattan deemed it weak due to Nu'ayh's uncertainty and Ibn al-Jawzi criticized it because of Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja'far, as there are issues regarding him. However, Nu'ayh's follow-up strengthens it.
- ....
From Ali also, with the wording: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) would recite: {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}
in his prayer." Narrated by al-Daraqutni, who said: This is an Alawi chain, and there is nothing wrong with it. There is another narration from him in similar wording.
- ....
From Samurah, who said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) had two brief pauses: one pause when he read {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}
and a pause when he finished the recitation." Imran ibn al-Husayn denied this, so they wrote to Ubayy ibn Ka'b, who replied, "If Samurah is truthful."
Narrated by al-Daraqutni, and its chain is good, although the hadith was also narrated by al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, and others with the wording: "A pause when he begins and a pause when he finishes the chapter."
- From Anas, who said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) would raise his voice in recitation with
{In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}."
Narrated by al-Daraqutni as well, and there is another path from Anas in al-Daraqutni and al-Hakim with the same meaning.
- .... From Anas also, with the wording: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) raising his voice with
{In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}."
Narrated by al-Hakim, who said: All its narrators are trustworthy.
- .... Al-Tabarani narrated this hadith in al-Kabir and al-Awsat, and from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) would raise his voice with
{In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}, and the polytheists would mock him with clapping and whistling, saying, 'Muhammad is mentioning the God of Yamamah,' while Musaylimah the liar was called the Most Gracious.' Then Allah revealed:
(And do not raise your voice in your prayer) (Surah al-Isra 17:110)
, so you may be heard by the polytheists who mock you, but do not be quiet in the presence of your companions, lest they do not hear you."
Ibn Jubayr narrated this from Ibn Abbas. Al-Nisayburi mentioned it in al-Tayseer. This is a good collection if it is correct that this was the reason for ceasing to raise his voice. In Majma' al-Zawa'id wa Manba' al-Fawa'id, it was said that its narrators are trustworthy.
- .... From Qatadah, who said: "Anas was asked, 'How was the recitation of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)?' He replied: 'It was prolonged,' and then he recited:
{In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful} prolonging
{In the Name of Allah} and prolonging
{the Most Gracious} and prolonging
{the Most Merciful}."
Narrated by al-Bukhari. The hadith was also narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah without mentioning the basmala, which indicates the permissibility of reciting the basmala and that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) would prolong his recitation in both the basmala and others.
688 - Ibn Jarir narrated from Abdullah ibn Abi Miliqah from Umm Salamah, who was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), and she said: "He would separate his recitation, verse by verse, with:
{Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds @ the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful @ Sovereign of the Day of Judgment @ You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help} (Surah al-Fatihah 1:1-4). Narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.
- .... Al-Daraqutni narrated from Ibn Abi Miliqah from Umm Salamah, that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) would recite:
{Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds @ the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful @ Sovereign of the Day of Judgment @ You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help @ Guide us on the Straight Path @ the path of those You have favored, not of those who have evoked anger or of those who are astray} (Surah al-Fatihah 1:1-7),
and he would separate it, verse by verse, counting them like the counting of a Bedouin, and would count {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}
as a verse, but would not count it among them. Al-Yamri said: Its narrators are trustworthy, and Ibn Khuzaymah and al-Hakim also narrated it from this perspective. In its chain is Umar ibn Harun al-Balkhi, and al-Hafiz said: "He is weak." However, he has been deemed trustworthy, so al-Yamri's statement that its narrators are trustworthy is correct. The hadith indicates that the basmala is a verse and has been used as evidence by those who say that it is recommended to recite the basmala aloud in prayer, as we mentioned in the explanation of the previous hadith, and a detailed discussion on this was provided at the beginning of the chapter.