Question:
What do the scholars and experts of shari’ah say regarding the basmala? Which surah has in the Qur’an has the basmala twice?
Answer:
Every chapter of the Qur’an begins with the basmala, I begin with the name of Allah the Kind the Caring, except for Surah al-Tawbah. The commentators say this is because this surah expresses and emphasises Divine anger and displeasure. It displays Allah’s ﷻ anger, so it starts without the basmala. There is also an opinion that this surah is continuation of the previous chapter, Al-Anfal.
The chapter in which the basmala is mentioned twice is Surah Al-Naml. The second mention of the basmala is in the 31st verse as a quotation from the letter of Prophet Sulayman to the Queen of Sheba.
And Allah ﷻ knows the best
This Fatwa is written by Dr Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari Translator of Majestic Quran, www.majesticquran.co.uk