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Verse of Isti'adha

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The Verse of Istiʿādha (Arabic: آيَة الإسْتِعٰاذَة) states that when reciting the Qur'an, one should seek refuge in God from Satan's temptations to be protected from mistakes. Isti'adha means seeking refuge, which has been considered the refuge of the heart; that is, a person should feel in his heart that he has taken refuge in God.

Verse of Isti'adha
Verse's Information
NameVerse of Isti'adha
SuraSura al-Nahl
Verse98
Juz'14
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
TopicJurisprudential
Related VersesQur'an 7:204

Jurists, referring to this verse, consider saying, "I seek refuge in Allah against the outcast Satan" recommended when reciting the Qur'an and starting the prayer. In some hadiths, other expressions have also been mentioned for "isti'adha", such as "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the outcast Satan."

Text and Translation

Qur'an 16:98, referred to as the verse of "Isti'adha",[1] states that one should seek refuge in God from Satan while reciting the Qur'an. Referring to this verse, Muslims start reciting the Qur'an and some other works with "isti'adha".

Interpretation

According to Tabrisi (d. 548/1153-4), one at a lower position seeking refuge from one at a higher position is in a submissive manner. The meaning of "isti'adha" in the verse mentioned above is that when reciting the Qur'an, one should seek refuge in God from the temptations of Satan to be safe from slips and mistakes.[2] 'Allama Tabataba'i (d. 1981) considered this refuge as the refuge of the heart;[3] i.e., a person should feel in his heart that he has taken refuge in God and separate from the vain desires that hinder correct understanding rather than just saying it with his tongue.[4] Of course, verbal expression of isti'adha is considered a prelude to creating that heart condition.[5]

Some exegetes of the Qur'an have considered the reason for mentioning the adjective "rajim" [outcast] for Satan to remember his arrogance and violation of God's command, which implies that upon reciting the Qur'an, one should keep away arrogance, pride, and prejudice so that he does not suffer a fate like Satan.[6]

Is Isti'adha Obligatory or Recommended?

Islamic scholars have considered the command of "ista'idh" in this verse to imply recommendation and therefore considered saying "A'ūdh-u billah..." recommended for reciting the Qur'an.[7] Al-Muqaddas al-Ardabili (d. 993/1585), one of the jurists of the tenth/sixteenth century, has considered the opinion of most scholars on non-obligation of isti'adha and the lack of any command on the obligation of isti'adha in hadiths as a proof for understanding recommendation from the mentioned verse.[8] However, referring to the appearance of the command verb ("ista'idh"), some believe that making isti'adha is obligatory upon reciting the Qur'an.[9]

According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi[10] (d. 460/1067) and al-'Allama al-Hilli[11] (d. 726/1325), Shi'a and Sunni jurists, citing this verse, consider it recommended to say "A'ūdh-u billah…" ["I seek refuge in God..."] in the first rak'a of daily prayer (after Takbirat al-Ihram and before the recitation of suras). It has been reported that among Twelver Shiite jurists, only Abu Ali al-Tusi (son of al-Shaykh al-Tusi) believed in the obligation of saying isti'adha,[12] and Malik b. Anas considered it permissible only in Nafila prayers.[13] Observing "ikhfat" (whispering manner) when saying isti'adha in prayer is considered recommended.[14]

Expressions of Isti'adha

They have mentioned different expressions for isti'adha.[15] Al-'Allamah al-Majlisi (d. 1110/1699) considered the most famous of them to be "A'ūdh-u bi-llah min al-Shaytān al-Rajim" ["I seek refuge in Allah against the outcast Satan"] and "A'ūdh-u bi-llah al-Sami' al-'Alim min al-Shaytān al-Rajim" ["I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the outcast Satan."].[16] In some hadiths, other expressions have also been mentioned for isti'adha, including: "Asta'idh-u bi-llah min al-Shaytan al-Rajim",[17] "A'ūdh-u bi-llah al-Sami' al-'Alim min al-Shaytan al-Rajim, wa a'ūdh-u bi-llah an yahḍurun",[18] and "A'ūdh-u bi-llah min al-Shaytān al-Rajim, inn Allah Huw-a l-Fattāh al-'Alim".[19]

Although in the verse of isti'adha, the phrase "idha qara't-a l-Qur'an fa-sta'idh bi-llah…" ["When you recite the Quran, seek the protection of Allah …"] is mentioned, but they have considered it to suggest that when you want to recite the Qur'an, say "A'ūdh-u bi-llah …" ["I seek refuge in Allah…"];[20] the same as the verse "When you stand up for prayer, wash your faces…" (Qur'an 5:6) which means to perform wudu when you intend to perform prayer.[21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr, vol. 13, p. 222.
  2. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 593.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 343-344.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 11, p. 397.
  5. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 343-344.
  6. ↑ Najafī Khomeinī, Tafsīr-i āsān, vol. 9, p. 292.
  7. ↑ See: Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 593; Suyūṭī, al-Itqān, vol. 1, p. 364; ʿAbd, al-Mīzān fī aḥkām tajwīd al-Qurʾān, p. 37.
  8. ↑ Ardabīlī, Zubdat al-bayān, p. 92-93.
  9. ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Itqān, vol. 1, p. 364; ʿAbd, al-Mīzān fī aḥkām tajwīd al-Qurʾān, p. 37.
  10. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 1, p. 324.
  11. ↑ Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 3, p. 307.
  12. ↑ Shahīd al-Awwal, al-Durūs al-sharʿīyya, vol. 1, p. 174.
  13. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 1, p. 324; ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-karāma, vol. 2, p. 399.
  14. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-karāma, vol. 7, p. 235.
  15. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 82, p. 5.
  16. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 82, p. 5.
  17. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 175.
  18. ↑ Ḥimyarī, Qurb al-isnād, p. 124.
  19. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, al-Wāfī, vol. 8, p. 1156.
  20. ↑ Jaʿfarī, Kawthar, vol. 6, p. 213.
  21. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 593.

References

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  • Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥsin. Kitāb al-Wāfī. Edited by Ḍīyāʾ al-Dīn ʿAllāma Iṣfahānī. Isfahan: Kitābkhāna-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), 1406 AH.
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