Bismillah Verse/ In the Name of Allah:-
The formula "Bi-'smi 'llahi 'r-rahmani 'r-rahim" is of Jewish origin. It was in the first instance taught to the Quraysh by Umaiyah of Ta'if, the poet, who was a contemporary but somewhat older than, Muhammad, and who, during his mercantile journeys into Arabia Petraea and Syria, had made himself acquainted with the sacred books and doctrines of Jews and Christians.
(Kitaba'l -Aghani, 16, Delhi; quoted by Rodwell.)
In 113 of 114 Suras of the Quran - excluding Sura 9 - they start with the verse
" Bismillahi al Rahaman al Rahim" meaning
"In the Name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate".
This verse was the subject of enormous controversy among the earliest and most eminent Sunni Muhammadan theologians because some believed that this verse is part of the Quranic revelations {Imam al Shafi'ee (d. 204AH; Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH} while others did not because they believed this verse is used only as a blessing to separate one Sura from another {Imam Malik (d. 179AH); Imam Abu Haneefa (d. 150AH)}.
We have at issue the astounding possibility that 113 verses in the Quran that are not actually part of the 'revelations' but were in reality inserted in it by the followers of Muhammad.
What is also remarkable is the fact that both sides of the debate base their conclusions not on the contents of the Quran but on the Ahadith.
Malik & Haneefa base their conclusion on the three very illuminating hadith reports below:
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 775 Narrated byAbuHurayrah
The Apostle (peace be upon him) said: If anyone observes prayer in which he does not recite Umm al-Qur'an, it is deficient (he said this three times) and incomplete. It was said to AbuHurayrah: At times we are behind the Imam. He said: Recite it inwardly, for he had heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declare that Allah the Exalted had said: I have divided the prayer into two halves between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. When the servant says: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe, Allah the Most High says: My servant has praised Me. And when he (the servant) says: The Most Compassionate, the Merciful, Allah the Most High says: My servant has lauded Me. When he (the servant) says: Master of the Day of Judgment, He remarks: My servant has glorified Me, and sometimes He will say: My servant entrusted (his affairs) to Me. When he (the worshipper) says: Thee do we worship and of Thee do we ask help, He (Allah) says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. Then, when he (the worshipper) says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those to whom Thou hast been Gracious--not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, nor of those who have gone astray, He (Allah) says: This is for My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. Sufyan said: Ala' ibn AbdurRahman ibn Ya'qub narrated it to me when I went to him and he was confined to his home on account of illness, and I asked him about it.
Hadith Qudsi Hadith Qudsi 8
A prayer performed by someone who has not recited the Essence of the Quran during it is deficient (and he repeated the word three times), incomplete. Someone said to Abu Hurayrah: [Even though] we are behind the imam? He said: Recite it to yourself, for I have heard the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be up on him) say: Allah (mighty and sublime be He), had said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: Al-hamdu lillahi rabbi l-alamin, Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: Ar-rahmani r-rahim, Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has extolled Me, and when he says: Maliki yawmi d-din, Allah says: My servant has glorified Me - and on one occasion He said: My servant has submitted to My power. And when he says: Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in, He says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. And when he says: Ihdina s-sirata l- mustaqim, siratal ladhina an amta alayhim ghayril-maghdubi alayhim wa la d-dallin, He says: This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for
Al-Muwatta Hadith Hadith 3.41
Reciting to Oneself behind the Imam when He does not Recite Aloud
Yahya related to me from Malik from al-Ala ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ya'qub that he heard Abu's-Sa'ib, the mawla of Hisham ibn Zuhra, say he had heard Abu Hurayra say, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Whoever prays a prayer without reciting the umm al-Qur'an in it, his prayer is aborted, it is aborted, it is aborted, incomplete.' So I said, 'Abu Hurayra, sometimes I am behind the imam.'He pulled my forearm and said, 'Recite it to yourself, O Persian, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say that Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, "I have divided the prayer into two halves between me and my slave. One half of it is for Me and one half of it is for my slave, and My slave has what he asks." ' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Recite." The slave says, 'Praise be to AIIah, the Lord of theWorlds.' Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, says, 'My slave has praised Me.' The slave says, 'The Merciful, the Compassionate.' Allah says, 'My slave has spoken well of Me.' The slave says, 'Master of the Day of the Deen.' Allah says, 'My slave has glorified Me.' The slave says, 'You alone we worship and You alone we askforhelp.'Allahsays,'This ayat is between Me and My slave, and for My slave is what he asks. 'The slave says, 'Guide us in the straight Path, the Path of those whom You have blessed, not of those with whom You are angry, nor those who are in error. ' Allah says, 'These are for My slaves, and for my slave is what he asks . ' " ' "
*** It should be pointed out that firstly the Sura had to be made up of SIX verses only so that they can be divided equally between Allah and His slave.
Secondly, it is very clear that the Bismillah verse is not pronounced and hence could not have been part of this most important of 'revelations'.
Abrogating or even dismissing a single verse in the Quran because it should not have been there, demolishes all the assertions made by the followers of Muhammad that it
"is the perfect and inviolate words of Allah passed on from Muhammad without an iota of tampering"
The fact is, that in the 3rd century after the Hijra, Muhammadan scholars were able to intelligently discuss discrepancies in the Quran and Ahadith without fear of being murdered for such analysis.
This also shows that not all the Muhammadan exegetes agreed on the inviolability and total sanctity of the Quran that we have at the present times.
Since not all the Muhammadan scholars agree to one of the most fundamental issues about the perfection of the Quran, then there must always be doubt about its divine origin and its immunity from corruption***
