Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in this manner: "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil 'alameen, ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" up to "wa la ad-dalleen." He would recite these verses separately, one by one. After that, the narrator counted these verses, and he counted "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" as one verse and did not count "alayhim" as a separate verse.

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father (Imam Baqir, may Allah have mercy on him) the statement of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "When you stand for prayer, how do you recite?" I replied: I recite 'Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil 'alamin.' The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You should recite 'Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.'"

Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: How did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recite? He replied: His recitation was drawn out. Then he recited: "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem." He drew out the words "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem," elongating the word "ar-Rahman" and also elongating the word "ar-Raheem."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reciting "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim" aloud.

Muhammad bin Mutawakkil (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: I have performed the Fajr and Maghrib prayers behind Mu'tamir bin Sulayman (may Allah have mercy on him) so many times that I cannot count them. He used to recite "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim" aloud before Surah al-Fatihah and also before reciting the next Surah. I heard Mu'tamir (may Allah have mercy on him) say: I will always follow the way my father used to pray. My father stated: I will always follow the way Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) stated: I will always follow the way the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim" aloud.

Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibril led me in prayer near the Ka'bah, and he recited 'Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim' aloud."

Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would pause twice during the recitation. One pause would occur when he recited "Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem," and the other pause would occur when he finished the recitation. Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) did not accept this, so the people wrote a letter regarding this matter to Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), and he replied in writing: Samurah has stated correctly.

Ibn Buraidah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Before I leave the mosque, I will teach you a verse (the narrator is in doubt, perhaps he said 'a verse') or a surah, which was revealed only to me among the prophets who came after Sayyiduna Sulaiman (peace be upon him)." The narrator states: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and started walking, so I followed him. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached the door of the mosque and had placed one foot outside the threshold and the other foot was still inside the mosque, I said: You (peace and blessings be upon him) had made a promise to me, perhaps you have forgotten. The narrator states: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards me and said: "With what do you begin the recitation at the start of the prayer?" The narrator says: I said: With 'Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem.' The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is it, that is it." Then he departed.

Abdullah bin Buraidah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem" aloud. Abdullah bin Buraidah (may Allah have mercy on him) states: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) also used to recite it aloud. Similarly, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas and Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah (may Allah be pleased with them both) (also used to recite it aloud).