It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): That when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbeer, he would begin (the prayer), then he would say (and in one narration: when he would begin the prayer, he would say the takbeer, then he would say):“I have turned my face towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, being ever-inclined (to Him), a Muslim, and I am not of the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner, and with this I have been commanded, and I am of the Muslims.”Abu Nadr says:“And I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, there is no deity except You.”And in one narration:“O Allah, You are the King, there is no deity except You, You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for none forgives sins except You. Guide me to the best of character, for none guides to its best except You, and turn away from me its evil, for none turns away its evil from me except You. Blessed are You.”And in one narration:“Here I am at Your service and all good is in Your hands, and evil is not attributed to You. I am by You and to You. Blessed and Exalted are You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You.”

The translation of this supplication: I have turned my face towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, being ever-inclined (to Him), a Muslim, and I am not of the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner, and with this I have been commanded, and I am of the Muslims. The words of Abu Nadr are:“And I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, there is no deity except You.”The words of one narration are:“O Allah, You are the King, there is no deity except You, You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for none forgives sins except You. Guide me to the best of character, for none guides to its best except You, and turn away from me its evil, for none turns away its evil from me except You. Blessed are You.”And the words of one narration are:“Here I am at Your service and at Your pleasure, all good is in Your hands, and evil is not attributed to You. I am by You and to You (meaning, You are the One who grants me success and my refuge is to You). Blessed and Exalted are You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You.”

And when he would bow (in ruku‘), he would say:“O Allah, for You I have bowed, in You I have believed, and to You I have submitted. My hearing, my sight, my mind, my bones, and my nerves have humbled themselves to You.”O Allah! I have bowed for You alone, I have believed in You, I have submitted to You, my ear, my sight, my mind, my bones, and my sinews are humbling themselves to You.

And when he would raise his head from ruku‘, he would say:“Allah has heard the one who praises Him. Our Lord, to You is all praise, filling the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and filling whatever else You will after that.”Allah has heard the one who praises Him. O our Lord! To You alone is all praise, as much as fills the heavens and the earth and the space between them, and as much as fills whatever else You will after that.

And when he would prostrate (in sujood), he would say:“O Allah, for You I have prostrated, in You I have believed, and to You I have submitted. My face has prostrated to the One who created it, shaped it, and perfected its form, and opened its hearing and sight. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.”O Allah! I have prostrated for You alone, I have believed in You, I have submitted to You, my face has prostrated to the One who created it, shaped it, perfected its form, and opened its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators.

Then when he would finish the prayer with salam, he would say:“O Allah, forgive me for what I have sent forth and what I have delayed, what I have done secretly and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in, and what You know better than me. You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays. There is no deity except You.”O Allah! Forgive for me my earlier and later (sins), my hidden and open (sins), and what I have exceeded in, and what You know better than me (forgive that too). You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays. There is no true deity except You.

Abu Muslima Saeed bin Yazid says: I asked Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) whether the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ} or {اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ}? He replied: You are asking me about something which I do not remember, or no one before you has asked me about it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I have offered prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), and I did not hear any of them reciting {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ}. Qatadah says: I asked Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), with what did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) begin the recitation? He replied: Indeed, you have asked me about something regarding which no one has asked me before.

There is another narration from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I have offered prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), they did not recite {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ} aloud.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I have offered prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), they would begin the recitation with {اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ}, they would neither mention {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ} at the beginning of the recitation nor at its end.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I offered prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), and they would not begin with {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ}. Shu’bah says: I asked Qatadah,“Did you hear this hadith from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)?”He replied,“Yes! We had asked him about this.”

The son (Yazid) of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) says: My father heard me reciting {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ۔ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ}, and when he finished, he said to me: O my beloved son! Beware of introducing new things (innovations) in Islam. I have offered prayer behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), and they did not begin the recitation with {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ}. So you also should not recite it, and start the recitation with {اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ}. His son says: I have not seen anyone who disliked innovation more than my father.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to begin recitation from {الْحَمْدُ للّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ}.

It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) that when she was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), she replied: He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite separately and one verse at a time: {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیْمِ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ اَلرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ مَالِکِ یَوْمِ الدِّیْنِ}.