Conclusion :

The soundest of all opinions is that reciting Basmalah could be done secretly or loudly, both are of the affirmed Sunnah. It is of Sunnah also to recite it secretly more often. May All?h ( - عز وجل -) guide us all to the right path.

It is worth mentioning here that ‘Ulamahs of had?th, such as Ad-D?raqutn?, considered the ah?d?th that state reciting Basmalah loudly as weak. Yeat, some of those who hold these ‘Ulamah’s opinion believe that if reciting Basmalah secretly would make people abandon it totally or think that it is not an ?yah of the F?tihah, in such case the Im?m should preferably recite it loudly. Al-Alb?n? held this opinion and stated it in some of his councils.

[39] Mistakes regarding the way of reciting Al-F?tihah:

Umm Salamah described the prophet’s ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) way of reciting Al-F?tihah; she said: ‘He ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) used to recite the ’?yat one after the other stopping for a while after each ‘?yah. She then recited the F?tihah in this manner’. (1)

Ab? ‘Amr Ad-D?n? described the proper manner of the recitation saying: ‘One should stop for a while at the end of each verse for it is considered as a separate, completely meaningful unit that includes a complete idea.

Many of the Im?ms and recitors of the Qur’?n used to stop for a while after reciting every ’?yah even if the ’?yahs that follow are related to it for the aforementioned reasons’.

It was related from Al-Yaz?d? that Ab? ‘Amr used to follow this manner when reciting Qur’?n and used to say: ‘I recommend