my servant when he commences the prayer with {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}, then my servant is remembering Me.' We say: Ibn Sam'an's hadith is abandoned (matruk), and it cannot be used as evidence. Al-Daraqutni stated this (22). The consensus of the narrators contrary to his narration is more correct. It was narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "There is a surah of thirty verses that interceded for its reciter; behold, it is {Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion} (23)." It is thirty verses excluding {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}. People have agreed that Surat al-Kawthar is three verses without {In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful}, and had it been part of it, it would have been four. Furthermore, the locations of the verses are treated in the same manner as the verses themselves in that they are not established except through mutawatir (continuously recurrent) transmission, and no such mutawatir transmission has been relayed in that regard (24). As for the statement of Umm Salamah, it is from her own opinion, and the disagreement regarding that is not denied. Furthermore, we maintain: it is an independent verse for the purpose of separating the surahs. The hadith of Abu Hurayrah is suspended (mawquf) upon him; for it is from the narration of Abu Bakr al-Hanafi, from 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja'far, from Nuh ibn Abi Bilal (25). Abu Bakr said: [I reviewed Nuh concerning it, and he declared it suspended] (26). This indicates that his attribution of it to the Prophet (marfu') was a mistake by 'Abd al-Hamid. As for its inscription between the surahs in the Mushaf, it is for the purpose of separation, and for that reason, it was set apart on a line of its own (27).
(22) At the aforementioned location in the previous commentary. (23) Recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Number of Verses, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/324. Al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on the Virtue of Surat al-Mulk, from the chapters on the rewards of the Quran. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 11/20, 21. Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on the Reward of the Quran, from the Book of Etiquette. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/1244. Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/299, 321. Al-Suyuti said: Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ibn al-Durays, al-Hakim—who authenticated it—Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman recorded it from Abu Hurayrah. Al-Durr al-Manthur 6/246. His reference to al-Nasa'i implies his Sunan al-Kubra and his 'Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah, as stated in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi 10/129. (24) In the margin of [M]: This is an error that many have fallen into. For the seven reciters have agreed upon them, and their recitation is mutawatir. The script of the Mushaf is scientific evidence for the mutawatir nature, as al-'Adud said; in fact, it is stronger than oral transmission. (25) In [M], there is an addition: "He said." (26) In Sunan al-Daraqutni 1/312: "Then I met Nuh, and he narrated to me from Sa'id ibn Abi Sa'id al-Maqburi a similar report, and he did not attribute it to the Prophet (marfu')." (27) In the margin of [M]: The issue of separation does not apply to Surat al-Fatiha, as we previously established. This opinion was also refuted by Surat Bara'ah (al-Tawbah), for the Basmalah was not used to separate it from al-Anfal. They mentioned that the reason for its revelation alongside it is that it was revealed with the sword and punishment, not with mercy. Its being set apart on a line does not indicate anything. Written by Muhammad Rashid Rida.
