Abu Mas'ud al-Jurayri related to him that a man asked al-Hasan
about reading, "In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful."
He said, "That should be put at the beginning of letters."
Narrated It is reported that Zayd ibn Thabit wrote this letter:
"In the
Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful. To the slave of Allah,
Mu'awiya, the Amir al-Mu'minin, from Zayd ibn Thabit. Peace be upon you,
Amir al-Mu'minin, and the mercy of Allah. I praise Allah to you. There
is no god but Him. Following on from that'"
Nafi' said, "Ibn 'Umar needed something from Mu'awiya and he wanted
to write to him. People said, 'Begin with his name.' They kept on at him
until he wrote, 'In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful,
to Mu'awiya.'"
حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُؤْمِنِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ رَسَائِلَ مِنْ رَسَائِلِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، كُلَّمَا انْقَضَتْ قِصَّةٌ قَالَ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ.
Hisham ibn 'Urwa said, "I saw some of the letters of the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace. After the introduction he said,
'Following on from that'"
