Narrated Anas (RA): "The Prophet ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ), Abu Bakr and 'Umar used to begin the Salat (prayer) with Al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil-'alamin." [Agreed upon] . And Muslim added: "They would not recite Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim, neither in the beginning of the recitation nor at the end of it." In another narration from Ahmad, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Khuzaimah: "They never used to recite Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim aloud." And in another report from Ibn Khuzaimah: "They used to recite Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim silently." The negation (of recitation of the Bismillah) in the report of Muslim can be understood in light of this report (i.e. it was recited silently), as opposed to those who declared Muslim's report as being defective.