This thread contains
- Prelude
- Where the problem lies
- Overview of the stance of Qurra'u
- Conclusion from various Ahadith
- Companions' stance
- View of Fuqaha'
- Conclusion
﷽
PRELUDE:
Before you continue, digest these;
1. Recitation of al Fatiha is COMPULSORY in fard prayers 2. This compulsion is binding over ALL the verses of Fatiha 3. Scholars differ over this issue 4. There is no room to negate one scholar's view with a fellow scholar's view.
THE PROBLEM
Recitation of al Fatiha is compulsory in obligatory prayers as there is no prayer without al Fatiha (Bukhari 723, Muslim 394).
Fatiha contains 7 ayat (see Tafsir of Q15v87).
The issue arises from whether or not Basmala is an ayyah in Suratul Fatiha.
VIEW OF SCHOLARS OF QIRA'A
The scholars of recitation unanimously agree that basmala is recited in the beginning of each Surah except for bara'a, but they differ as to whether or not Basmala is COUNTED and treated as an individual verse in the beginning of each Surah.
In the riwaya of Ibn Kathir, basmala is counted as the 1st ayah in each Surah.
In other riwayât, basmala is counted as 1st verse in Fatiha alone.
But there are scholars who maintain that it is not a part of Fatiha due to the hadith of division of Fatiha btw Allah & the servant.
THE AHADITH
There are sound ahadith supporting both views. This shows there's a possibility that the Prophet (s) sometimes recited Basmala aloud and sometimes silently to himself; and it is difficult to say which he did more often.
THE COMPANIONS (RTAM) ALSO DIFFERED:
Abubakar, Umar, Uthman, Sufyan athThawri, Abdullahi bn Mubarak etc. we're reported to not have recited Basmala.
Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn' Umar, Abu Hurairah, Ibn Zubayr, 'Ammar, 'Ali bn Abu Talib etc were reported to recite basmala.
VIEW OF SCHOLARS OF FIQH
Shaf'is and some Hanbalis say it is compulsory to recite the Basmala and deliberately omitting it may vitiate one's prayers.
Hanafis and some Hanbalis say it is desirable to recite it.
Some Malikis say it is disliked, others say it is Mubah.
CONCLUSION:
Some scholars are of the opinion that saying it vitiates the prayer, but NO scholar is of the opinion that saying it vitiates the prayer and this latter view is the majority view. This led some scholars to recite it just to be on the "safer side".
I have seen people who don't pray behind fellow Muslims or avoid certain Mosques, JUST because of this issue. It's part of why I decided to write this thread.
Normalize both practices please as they're both based on scholarly evidences.
AlhamduliLlah
**Some scholars are of the opinion that NOT saying it vitiates the prayer and all scholar agree that saying it doesn't vitiate the prayer and the former view is the majority view.***
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My silence on this issue is for two major reasons:
1. Dr. Abdul-Jabbar aka Dan tamore was a scholar and I'm not qualified to judge him. 2. I feel like his impact is neglible on Twitter
But for now, I am obliged to air my views on this issue because:
1. You asked, and RasulaLlah (s) has forbidden us from hiding whatever little knowledge we have. 2. Dan tamore respects no one, and hence doesn't deserve any respect. 3. We MUST defend the honor of our faith.
Here's a compilation of all Parts (1-40) of Biography of RasulaLlah salla Llahu 'alayhi was salam. You can find all the parts with the hashtag, in sha Allah.
I begin this chapter with the statement of Sh. Yusuf Nabahani (r) in Anwarul Muhammadiyya: "had death been Makruh, it would not have touched the Prophet (s)".
1/15
If this world was to be permanent to anyone, it would have been Rasulullah (s).
On his last day, whilst the Muslims were performing Fajr lead by Sayyidna Abubakar (r), the Prophet (s) drew curtains of Nana 'Aishah's room, looked at them and smiled cheerfully.
2/15
Understand, esteemed reader, that he was so handsome, he was dripping light, looking young (like in his 40s); the companions were so glad to see his face that they almost enraptured in their prayers. He made a gesture that they should continue their prayers & went inside.
The Prophet (s) was sick for a total of 13/14 days starting from end of Safar, year 11 AH. He used to pray in the Masjid until his sickness prevented him from doing so.
1/14
Despite being very ill, he was conveyed to the Masjid by Fadl bn Abbas & Ali bn Abi Taalib.
Whenever he couldn't make it to the Masjid, he used to instruct his friend, Abubakar to lead the prayers.
On that Thursday, he went to the Masjid & mounted on his pulpit.
2/14
He gave a sermon inter alia:
"O people! The time has arrived when I should leave you. If I have made a promise with anyone I am prepared to fulfil it, and if I owe something to somebody, he should speak out, so that I may make payment to him".
Brother you wrote me quite a long reply, may Allah strengthen you. In the beginning, you tried to deny the fact that you made the assertion that Sufis were weak in Hadith, despite it being the very first statement in your original thread.
Then later you went on to berate me and my method of research, in what rather seems like an erry attempt at concluding on an issue you don't even know about. It is customary of your methods to make assumptions about others, so I'm least suprised you turned out this way.
Then you went on to explain that this wasn't your view, but that of the Salaf. So I wish to ask you five questions;
1- what was the greatest challenge Wahb bn Isma'il faced when he began to compile the Hadith and those who presented this challenge were they Sufis or non Sufis?
"من لم يحفظ القرآن، ولم يكتب الحديث، لا يقتدي به في هذا الأمر لأن علمنا هذا مقيد بالكتاب والسنة"
"Whoever does not memorize the Qur'an nor writes Hadith should not be followed in this matter because our knowledge is restricted to the Qur’an and Sunnah".
This is the statement of Imam at Ta-ifa, Junaid al Baghdadi (298H d.) who is regarded worldwide as the leader of Sufis, as recorded in Risalatul Qushayri.
It is a people who are more deserving of defining their knowledge and their fields with sincerity than their foes.
Sufis are known worldwide for their obsession with knowledge and wisdom. Sufis have been memorizing, teaching, transmitting and transporting Islamic knowledge from continent to continent and this is a known fact.
Saying Sufis are weak in hadith is ignorantly unfair.