Bismillah before the surah

Question

(1) After reciting Surah al-Fatiha, should both the imam and the muqtadi say amin, and then begin the other surah after saying bismillah, or should it be recited without bismillah? Our imam, after Surah al-Fatiha, says bismillah and begins the other surah — should this be done or not? (2) One should enter the prayer (niyya) at the words “qad qamat al-salat”, but our imam enters the prayer quite a while after the iqama. Is it correct to do so?

Answer

(1) In a prayer in which the recitation is silent, after al-Hamd one should say amin, say bismillah and begin the surah; and in a prayer in which the recitation is aloud, reciting [it] before the surah is not a sunna. The muqtadi recites neither al-Hamd nor a surah. (2)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.