Before reciting any part of the Quran, we need to recite the Taáwuz i.e seeking protection against Syaithan.
We do not want Syaithan to corrupt our intention before reciting the Quran, therefore we recite the “Ta’awuz”:
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
“I seek refuge from Allah against the evils of Syaithan (satan/devil), the outcast (pelted).”
Reciting Taáwuz before reciting any part of the Quran is a command from Allah:
[al-Nahl 16:98]
“So when you want to recite the Qur’an, seek refuge with Allah from Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one)”
This shows how important it is to recite the Taáwuz. Syaithan will try to stop or deviate you from the Qur’an. He will not want to see a person getting guidance from God.
The word "a-uuzu" أَعُوذُ = seeking protection from the unseen. The kind of protection that will only come from Allah since it involves the unseen world. We do not use this word with physical help such as calling the Police against robbers, etc.
The next word after "a-uuzu" (I seek refuge) is mentioning the Protector and it must be Allah. Some deviant people are using "A'uzu" to other than Allah. Seeking help from the unseen Jinn.
[Surah Jinn: 6]
وَأَنَّهُۥ كَانَ رِجَالٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًۭا
"And some men used to seek refuge with some jinn—so they increased each other in wickedness."
Ibn Abbas (R.A) in commenting on this ayah said that the Arabs during the time of Jahiliyyah when in fear while camping at night, will call out loudly to the leader of the resident Jinn in the valley, that he is seeking refuge with the Jinn. This will increase the arrogance of the Jinn syaithan. This is "Shirk" (associating partners with Allah).
Syaithan will not only seek to disturb us in our religious affairs but also in our worldly affairs. They do not want anything good to a human. He wants to see a person to have a miserable and wretched life.
The word "Syaithan" is an attribute of being far removed. Far removed from righteousness and piety. It is not a specific individual Jinn. It is a generic term to label anyone that has this evil and devilic behavior. The head Syaithan is Iblis. The rest of the Syayateen are of the Jinn and Men having similar attribute.
[Surah An-Naas: 6] مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ
"(Syaithan) From the Jinn and humankind"
The word "Ar-Rajeem" الرَّجِيمِ = is describing the "cursed" actions of Syaithan that deserved to be pelted and cast out.
The Quran teaches additional wordings in seeking refuge from Syaithan:
[Surah Fussilat: 36]
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ نَزْغٌۭ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
"And if you are tempted by Satan, then seek refuge with Allah. Indeed, He ˹alone˺ is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing."
Deriving from the above ayah, the Sunnah is to recite this du'a:
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ مِنْ هَمْزِهِ، وَنَفْخِهِ، وَنَفْثِهِ
"I seek refuge with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Satan, from his spurs (poking), blowing and puffs (spits)"
We invoked the attribute of Allah "The All-Hearing and All-Knowing" since this is disturbance from the unseen world. Protection from the "whispering" of Syaithan that we do not physically hear but the "Was Was" (whispering) goes into our heart. Only Allah hears what the Syaithan is doing and able to give the protection that we need.
Hence we are acknowledging our weakness in front of Allah when we are reciting this du'a. We internalize the meaning of this du'a while sincerely seeking His protection. No harm can befall upon us except with the permission of Allah.
Here is a brief list of the tactics of Syaithan, eg:
To forget - When we forget to act upon anything good that we have intended to do, that is from Syaithan.
[Surah Al-Kahfi:63]
He (the servant of Musa a.s) replied, “Do you remember when we rested by the rock? ˹That is when˺ I forgot the fish. None made me forget to mention this except Satan. And the fish made its way into the sea miraculously.”
Sleepiness/ Laziness - When you have the intention of doing something but is hindered by feeling sleepy and weak, that is from Syaithan. When we seek refuge in Allah, we will be more energetic.
To feel scared or sad more than what is natural - When any normal person does not react in fear or sadness the way that you behave. High anxiety that overtakes you when others are generally calm.
Humanly fear is normal such as fear of an unchained Tiger in front of you, fear of earthquake shaking your home, etc. What is not normal is when you are overly in fear of the future, overly fear of a job interview, overly fear of getting married, etc.
When we seek refuge in Allah, we will be optimistic.
Procrastination is from Syaithan. Syaithan wants you to not do anything and loose everything. When we seek refuge in Allah, we will become more engrossed in what we are doing.
Was-Was, Syaitan's whispering - Eg. Disgusting thoughts that come from no where and appears in your mind. Sometimes you day dream. In normal situation, you will not be thinking of those. Syaithan entices you to think of those fantasy or evil action. He has no power to physically force you to do it but he whispers and influence you to act sinfully. On the day of judgement, this is what Syaithan will say to those who followed him:
[Quran Surah Ibrahim: 22]
".. I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves.. "
Please memorized the additional Ta'awuz that the Prophet s.a.w taught (as mentioned above).
In summary, we recite the Ta'awuz when :
- before we recite the Qur'an
- when we are to start the Solah
- when we are in solah before reciting anything
- before we enter the toilet
- when we are angry
- when we are frightened or in fear
- when we inclined to do evil
- when we are at a new unfamiliar place, recite this:
أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّةِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
“I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created.”
And Lastly: At anytime without any reason, we are allowed to recite the Ta'awuz for anything that may come from Syaithan without us realizing.
[Quran Surah Al-Hijr: 39 - 40]
Satan responded, “My Lord! For allowing me to stray I will surely tempt them on earth and mislead them all together, except Your chosen servants among them.”
Syaithan is unable to influence Allah's "chosen slaves". Those who are piously righteous in worshiping Allah and doing good deeds.
We must work our way to become among Allah's chosen servant. One of the way is to always seek refuge in Allah from Syaithan (i.e, reciting the Ta'awuz). We must make our lives free from the influence of Syaithan as much as possible to realize the goal of going to a place where there is not a single Syaithan, i.e Paradise.
After saying the "Ta'awuz" as mentioned above, we recite the "Basmalah" before reciting Ayah 1 of a Surah.
"Ta'awuz" is to get rid of the bad while "Basmalah" is to receive the good.
"Ta'awuz" is to get rid of Syaithan while "Basmalah" is to accept Allah.
Together, the Ta'awuz and Basmalah is:
--> To reject evil and affirm the good.
--> To reject False Deities and to hold on to believe in Allah.
[Al-Baqarah: 256]
".. So whoever renounces false gods and believes in Allah has certainly grasped the firmest, unfailing hand-hold. .."
The Taáwuz is recited EACH TIME before reciting any part of the Quran. It does not matter whether starting at the beginning of a Surah or in the middle of a Surah.
As for Basmalah, it is a tradition to recite it only at the begining of a Surah.
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INDEX (Ta'wuz Basmalah) :