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).

Sayyiduna Hakam bin Umair, may Allah be pleased with him, who is a participant of Badr (Companion), narrates: I have performed prayer behind the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He used to recite "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem" aloud in prayer. In the night (Isha), morning (Fajr), and Friday prayers, (he, peace and blessings be upon him, would recite "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem" aloud).

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

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) performed prayer in Madinah Munawwarah. In it, he recited aloud, but he did not recite "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim" aloud, neither before Surah al-Fatihah nor before the surah after al-Fatihah. Similarly, while bowing (i.e., going into ruku‘ or sujud), he did not say the takbir. When he completed the prayer and said salam, those Muhajirun and Ansar who heard his voice addressed him loudly, saying: O Sayyiduna Muawiyah! Did you make a deficiency in the prayer or did you forget? The narrator states: After that, in every prayer he performed, he recited "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim" aloud, both before Surah al-Fatihah and before the surah after al-Fatihah, and he also said the takbir while going into sujud. All the narrators of this narration are trustworthy.

Ismail bin Ubaid, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates from his father, who reports from his grandfather: Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him, came to Madinah Munawwarah for Hajj or Umrah. While leading the people in prayer, at the beginning of the recitation, he did not recite "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" aloud and started reciting Surah Al-Fatihah. When he completed the prayer, the Muhajirun and Ansar got up from different corners of the mosque and came to him and said: O Muawiyah! Did you deliberately leave out "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" or did you forget to recite it? (The narrator states: When Sayyiduna Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, led them in the next prayer, he recited "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" aloud in it.) Imam Daraqutni, may Allah have mercy on him, states: Besides the narrations we have transmitted regarding the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" aloud, some other Companions and the Pure Wives have also reported this. We have compiled these narrations separately on the issue of reciting "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" aloud. Here, we have briefly mentioned those narrations which have already been mentioned before, so that brevity and conciseness are maintained. Similarly, at this point, we have also mentioned those narrations which clarify which of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Tabi‘een, and the scholars who came after them, used to recite "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" aloud.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah while praying, his prayer is not complete, not complete." The narrator states: I said, "O Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah! Sometimes I am following the Imam." He pressed something against my shin and said, "Then recite it in your heart, because I heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say this: 'Allah Almighty says: I have divided the recitation in prayer between Myself and My servant into two parts. Half of it is for Me. My servant, at the beginning of the prayer, recites Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, so My servant mentions Me. Then he says: 'Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'Alameen,' so I say: My servant has praised Me. Then he says: 'Ar-Rahman,' so I say: My servant has extolled Me. Then he says: 'Malik,' so I say: My servant has glorified Me. Then he says: 'Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'een,' so this verse is divided between Me and My servant into two parts. The last part of the Surah is for My servant, and whatever My servant asks for, he will be granted.'" The narrator named Ibn Sam'an, may Allah have mercy on him, is Abdullah bin Sam'an, and this person is abandoned in hadith. A group of trustworthy narrators has transmitted this hadith from 'Ala bin Abdur Rahman, may Allah have mercy on him. Among these narrators are Imam Malik bin Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, Shaykh Ibn Jurayj, may Allah have mercy on him, Shaykh Ruh bin Qasim, may Allah have mercy on him, Shaykh Ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, Ibn 'Ajlan, may Allah have mercy on him, Hasan bin Hur, may Allah have mercy on him, Abu Awais, may Allah have mercy on him, and others. These individuals have reported differences in the chain of narration of this report, however, they agree on the text. Not a single one of them has mentioned the words "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem" in their narration. So, the unanimous contrary narration of all these individuals to the narration transmitted by Ibn Sam'an, may Allah have mercy on him, should be considered correct; and Allah Almighty knows best.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you recite 'Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil 'alamin', then recite 'Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim' as well, because it is the Umm al-Qur'an, Umm al-Kitab, and the Sab' al-Mathani, and 'Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim' is one of its verses."

Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite (the Qur'an), he would recite each verse separately. He would recite "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem." These are the words of the narration from the narrator Abdullah bin Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him). Its chain is authentic, and all its narrators are trustworthy. Abdullah bin Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this to us: Umar bin Haroon (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted it from Ibn Jurayj (may Allah have mercy on him), and he has narrated some additional words in it.

Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite "Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'Alamin" at the beginning of the prayer, then after that he would remain silent for a short while. This narration has been transmitted as a marfu' hadith from Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) only by the narrator named Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him), while other narrators have transmitted it as a mawquf narration as the action of Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him).