Why does some scholars count Bismillah of Surah Fatiha, and some doesn’t? Which is the correct one?
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
The Fuqahaa had a deep and full understanding of all the sciences of the Islamic Law and their deductions were based strictly on that, not their own opinions. In many instances two Sahih Hadith with two different rulings have been narrated on one issue, some Fuqahaa have taken one and the others have taken the other, thus leading to differences of opinion.
As for Bismillah and Surah Fatiha, Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه) has taken the Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) mentioning that Bismillah is a part of Surah Fatiha. On the other hand Imam Abu Hanifah ((رحمة الله عليه has taken another Hadith from Muslim in which it does not mention Bismillah as part of Surah Fatiha. As followers of the Hanafi Madhab we will follow the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) according to which Bismillah is not a part of Surah Fatiha.
فعند أصحابنا ليست [التسمية] من الفاتحة ولا من رأس كل سورة
(بدائع الصنائع، 1/475، ديوبند)
ثم يأتي بالتسمية ويخفيها وهي من القرآن آية للفصل بين السور
(الفتاوى الهندية، 1/81، علمية)
And Allah knows best
Wassalam u Alaikum
Ml. Sajid bin Shabbir,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah