Standing
Isti'ādhah and Bismillah
Seeking refuge, then beginning with the name of Allah.
أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ · بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Aʿūdhu billāhi min ash-shayṭān ir-rajīm · Bismillāh ir-Raḥmān ir-Raḥīm
I take shelter with Allah from the devil, the one driven away. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Giver of mercy.
Why it is said here
The Qur'an itself instructs it: 'When you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from the rejected devil' (16:98). Recitation is the moment your attention is most worth stealing, so you ask for cover first, then start in His name and not your own.
aʿūdhuroot ع و ذ
أَعُوذُ
I take shelter, I run for protection
ar-rajīmroot ر ج م
الرَّجِيمِ
the one driven away, expelled
bismiroot س م و
بِسْمِ
in the name of
ar-Raḥmānroot ر ح م
الرَّحْمَنِ
the Most Merciful — mercy as who He is
ar-Raḥīmroot ر ح م
الرَّحِيمِ
the Giver of mercy — mercy as what He does
- Ar-Raḥmān
- Ar-Raḥīm
Recommended before recitation in the prayer.
Where the schools differ: Whether Bismillah is counted as an āyah of Al-Fātiḥah, and whether it is said aloud, is a long-standing difference: the Shāfiʿīs recite it aloud as part of the surah, the Ḥanafīs and Mālikīs keep it quiet or leave it in loud prayers. Both practices come from the reports.
Qur'an 16:98; Muslim 399; al-Bukhārī 743 (ṣaḥīḥ)
Every statement of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these. Āyah references open here in AyaSeerah with the canonical text, translation and abridged tafsīr; ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com. Nothing here has to be taken on trust.