For example...

For example, one day, Mu‘awiyah did not mention bismillahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim in the prayer, and the people strongly protested, saying: “Did you steal an ayah or forget it?”[^10] In his tafsir {Qur’anic exegesis}, Fakhr ar-Razi enumerates 16 proofs substantiating the fact that bismillahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim is a constitutive part of Surah al-Fatihah and Alusi also expresses this view in his tafsir .

Ahmad ibn Hanbal has equally stated in his Musnad that bismillahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim is a part of the surah . According to the [^11] ( ‘a ) of the Messenger of Allah (S) who were a hundred years senior to the leading fuqaha {jurists} of the Ahl as-Sunnah, who attained martyrdom in the way of Allah and whose infallibility { ismah } and purity have also been stipulated in the Qur’an, the phrase, bismillahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim , is itself a distinct verse and is part of the surah .

The infallible Imams ( ‘a ) insisted on reciting aloud bismillahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim during prayer. Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) thus says regarding those who were not reciting it during prayer or not regarding it as part of the surah : “They stole the best ayah !”[^12] In his commentary on Surah…