Issue of saying Bismillah Is it permissible for the imam to say the basmalah (i.e., the phrase “Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem) out loud so as to soften the hearts of the worshippers

Issue of saying Bismillah Is it permissible for the imam to say the basmalah (i.e., the phrase “Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem) out loud so as to soften the hearts of the worshippers

Question
Issue of saying Bismillah Is it permissible for the imam to say the basmalah (i.e., the phrase “Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem) out loud so as to soften the hearts of the worshippers ?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly: 

We appreciate your keenness to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in his prayer, and we appreciate your asking for the ruling on going along with the worshippers in that which they are used to. You have done well, because some of those who follow the Sunnah think that they do not need to be gentle or kind when advising people! Even if the application of the Sunnah – according to what they think is more correct – causes trouble and creates enmity and division among the Muslims, they do not hesitate to insist on applying it, no matter what the negative consequences to which that may lead. Undoubtedly this is wrong and it is not the way of the leading scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah, in the past or more recently, as we shall see below. 

Secondly: 

Undoubtedly saying the basmalah out loud in al-Faatihah in the prayer is permissible; it is not a bid‘ah (innovation) or haraam. But most of the time in his prayer, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not pronounce it out loud; rather he recited it quietly. 

It was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) began the prayer with the words “Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabbi l-‘Aalameen (Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds).”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (743) 

According to a report narrated by Ahmad (12868), “They did not recite out loud the words ‘Bismillah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).’” 

This is the view of the Hanafis and Hanbalis. The Shaafa‘is differed from them and said that it is Sunnah to recite it out loud, even though the proven Sunnah is not to recite the basmalah out loud. But there is nothing wrong with reciting it out loud, especially if their madhhab is that it is to be recited out loud, so as to soften their hearts. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

… Nevertheless the correct view is that it is not to be recited out loud, although it is prescribed to recite it out loud if that serves a definite interest. Hence it is prescribed for the imam to do that – sometimes – for example, to teach the people who are praying behind him. It is permissible for the worshippers to recite a few words out loud sometimes, and it is also permissible for a man to forego something that is preferable, in order to soften hearts and unite people, lest they be put off from what is in their best interests. For example, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) decided not to rebuild the Ka‘bah on the foundations of Ibraaheem, because Quraysh had only recently left Jaahiliyyah behind (and were new in Islam), and he was worried that they may be put off by that. He thought that the issue of uniting people and softening their hearts took precedence over the issue of rebuilding the Ka‘bah on the foundations of Ibraaheem. Ibn Mas‘ood said, when he offered the prayer in full behind ‘Uthmaan, although he disliked that and objected to him about it, and he was questioned about that: “Dissent is evil.” Hence the imams or leading scholars, such as Ahmad and others, stated that the same applies in the case of the basmalah, and praying Witr as three continuous rak‘ahs, and other issues in which one may turn from that which is preferable to that which is permissible in the interests of softening the hearts or the obligation of teaching them the Sunnah, and so on.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (22/436, 437). 

He (may Allah have mercy on) also said: One may refrain from doing that which is preferable in one’s own opinion, lest the people be put off. The same applies if a man thinks that the basmalah should be recited out loud, but he is leading some people in prayer who do not think that that is recommended, or vice versa; if he goes along with them, that is fine. 

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (22/268, 269). 

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