It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: I asked Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him): "You joined Surah al-Anfal, which is one of the Mathani (surahs of fewer than a hundred verses), with Surah Bara'ah, which is one of the Mi'in (surahs of a hundred or more verses), and did not write the line 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' between them, and you placed them among the seven long surahs of the Qur'an. What is the reason for this?" Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Over a long period various surahs were revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When any portion of revelation came down to him (peace and blessings be upon him), he would call a scribe of revelation and say: 'Place these verses in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned.' Surah al-Anfal was revealed in the early period in Madinah, and Surah Bara'ah (al-Tawbah) was revealed in the last part of the Qur'an. The stories and themes of the two resembled each other, so I supposed that it was part of it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and he had not made clear to us that it was part of it. For that reason I did not write 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' between them, and I placed it among the seven long surahs." This hadith is sahih in its chain, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

Ali bin Abdullah bin Abbas narrates from his father that he asked Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Why was 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' not written at the beginning of Surah Bara'ah?" He replied: "Because 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' is (a declaration of) safety and security, whereas Surah Bara'ah was revealed with the sword (the command and declaration of war), and in it there is no safety (for the polytheists)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "You do not recite even a quarter of the surah that you call Surah al-Tawbah, when in fact it is the Surah of Punishment." This hadith is sahih in its chain, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I was in the delegation that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent to Makkah with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to proclaim Surah Bara'ah. His son or another man asked him: "What did you proclaim there?" He said: We used to announce: "None will enter Paradise except a believer; after this year no polytheist will perform Hajj; no naked person will circumambulate the House; and whoever has a treaty with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), its term is four months." I proclaimed this so loudly that my voice became hoarse. This hadith is sahih in its chain, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.