Etiquettes of The Quran: Seeking Protection | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

Etiquettes of the Qur'an: Seeking Protection

As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. How often does it happen to us that we begin an act of goodness, a good deed, and as we are doing that deed and as we are hoping to complete it, we are derailed, we are deterred by something. We don't know what it is, it comes in different forms — sometimes it's through a phone call, sometimes it's because of someone speaking to me, sometimes it's my own thoughts just going into space. It happens so often to us.

And why does that happen? And how do we avoid that? Because we actually want to complete the act.

Acts are based upon how they end — but we're unable to end it correctly because we lose our way somewhere in the middle. We start it off properly, then boom, in the middle of our salāt, we've lost our khushūʿ. Or we start reciting the Qur'an and then boom, in a few minutes into it, we just lose concentration and we can't put our mind to it. This is something which every human deals with.

And that is why one of the greatest etiquettes of the Qur'an is to begin your ʿamal of recitation of the Qur'an with a foundation — with a strong, pure foundation. And this strong, pure foundation allows you to continue reciting in a manner that you are content with, in a manner that you are not deterred by Shayṭān from. And this foundation or this beginning allows us to be protected from any internal and external deterrences.

The Qur'anic Command to Seek Refuge

How does that happen? Well, Allah told the Prophet ﷺ:

That when you recite the Qur'an, read the taʿawwudh — the istiʿādhah — that we know from the back of our hands. Read it every single time you recite the Qur'an.

That deterrence comes from Iblīs, who has made a promise to Allah that he would do whatever he can — whatever is in his means — to find a way to take us off the ʿamal, to deviate us from that action, to pull us away, to misguide us. So Allah is telling the Prophet ﷺ: when you intend to recite the Qur'an — just as إِذَا قُمْتَ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلْ means when you intend to stand for Salāt then make Wuḍū — it is not saying that you recite the taʿawwudh after the qirāʾah; it is saying when you intend to recite the Qur'an, make sure you begin with reciting أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. Because this will protect you from Shayṭān, who is constantly trying to get you.

He is constantly whispering in your heart. So if we don't start with this — if we just pick up the Qur'an and begin — it's going to be a few minutes before we lose it. But when we sit down and we begin with the correct beginning, the foundation of أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ, this will allow our heart to be at ease. This will allow our heart to truly benefit from the Qur'an.

The Prophetic Practice of the Istiʿādhah

And this is something which is prophetic — not only is it important for us to do it, the Prophet ﷺ himself did it and the command was given to him. This is why Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه says that one day the Prophet ﷺ stood up at night time for Salāh. He began his Salāh and he said:

The ḥamd and the thanāʾ that we recite in the beginning of our prayer. And then the next thing that he said was:

In one narration:

(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Hadith 775; Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 242; Sunan Ibn Mājah, Hadith 804)

There are different variant wordings — four different wordings are found within our prophetic tradition. The first one is أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. This is derived from the āyah:

That when Shayṭān tries to poke you and tries to get to you, read أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. And at the end of the āyah, Allah refers to His qualities of السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ — the ones that you should call upon.

So the Prophet ﷺ would start his Salāt or begin the recitation of the Qur'an with this. Another narration adds مِنْ هَمْزِهِ وَنَفْخِهِ وَنَفْثِهِ — which means: I seek protection from the whispers and the pokings of Shayṭān. Do not allow him to get to me. Give me a solid iron barrier around me so that he can't get to us, he can't touch us, because we would begin in the right form.

And the third — which is the most common one, and the one the Prophet ﷺ would most predominantly use when reciting the Qur'an — is the one that we use today: أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ.

ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, our dear mother, Umm al-Muʾminīn, says that when she was waiting for her innocence to be proven from Allah, the Prophet ﷺ was sitting in front of her with Abū Bakr and her mother رضي الله عنهما. And as the āyāt came down, the Prophet ﷺ began reciting the āyāt that proved her innocence by saying:

And then he started the recitation of the āyāt. We often find ourselves reading those two statements the fastest — because we have to get to the āyāt that we're reciting. We're reciting Sūrah Yāsīn today. We're reciting Sūrah al-Raḥmān today. And why is it that the better we get at reciting a sūrah, or the more we master a sūrah, the faster we start reciting it? Just because we know the sūrah extremely well doesn't mean that we're supposed to recite it fast. It should mean that we're supposed to recite it with more tafakkur and with more reflection. Nonetheless, this is the beginning — this is the foundation — that allows us to protect our qirāʾah.

The Meaning of the Istiʿādhah

Now, what does this even mean — أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ? A lot of times we are unable to understand the importance of something based upon the fact that we don't understand the words.

أَعُوذُ — which is called the istiʿādhah — the root letters of it coming from the verb of ifʿāl, إِعَاذَة, refers to seeking protection. Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah says that إِعَاذَة is الْفِرَارُ وَالْهُرُوبُ مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ وَالْفِرَارُ إِلَى الصَّدِيقِ — like to run away from an enemy and to turn towards a friend that can protect you. That's what إِعَاذَة means: to run away from an enemy and seek protection within a friend or a companion. And that's exactly what إِعَاذَة — or أَعُوذُ — does for us.

And it's not physical protection that we're asking for, because there are many other words in the Arabic language which refer to physical protection. It actually refers to just comfort. This is why Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah, when explaining this, continues to say that when a child seeks comfort in the lap or in the hug of his or her mother, the Arabic word used for that is أَعَاذَ إِلَى أُمِّهَا — he ran and sought comfort in his mother. The word is إِعَاذَة, which is أَعُوذُ — the same letters are being used.

Not because he was scared, but just because he was restless. He was anxious. He was experiencing some form of anxiety. And the way to seek comfort was in the lap. Many of us till today — even though we're older — the hug of the mother, the smile of the mother gives us that peace. That's what إِعَاذَة means: Oh Allah, just give me peace. Give me ease while I'm reciting the Qur'an.

And not only when reciting the Qur'an — at any time of my life where I'm struggling. Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah says that when one says أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ, it will remove that sense of anxiety, that feeling of uneasiness or restlessness.

The Meaning of "Shayṭān al-Rajīm"

From who? From Shayṭān al-Rajīm — the devil who has been cast far away. Shayṭān comes from the root letters of الشَّيْطَان, which can mean one of two things. One, it means fire — which is where Shayṭān was made from. And number two, it refers to something which is far away. So Shayṭān is far away from the mercy of Allah.

So we begin with this. And the next thing that we do is start with بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ. أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ negates Shayṭān's ability, and بِسْمِ اللَّهِ affirms the help of Allah. Just like our kalimah — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — we negate that there is no one worthy of worship, and then we affirm that Allah is the only God that is worthy of worship and worthy of our obedience.

So this is a small construct — a snippet of the understanding of these two sentences that we should recite before we begin the Qur'an.

The Four Foundations for Reciting the Qur'an

Foundation One: The Istiʿādhah

The first foundation is the istiʿādhah — أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ — so that Shayṭān does not affect us when we're reciting the Qur'an and does not turn us away from it. Without this etiquette, it doesn't matter how much we read — Shayṭān is taking a part in it.

This is why in the next āyah, after the āyah where Allah says when you recite the Qur'an to seek refuge, Allah mentions:

That he has no power over those that believe and that have trust in Allah. He has no power over them. So for those people who read the istiʿādhah when reciting the Qur'an, Shayṭān loses any power to touch them. He loses his signal towards them. He loses the power to come close to them, because we have the protection of Allah engulfed around us. So now we can recite with ease — we can recite without any inner distractions. Because the majority of the time when we're pushed away from ibādah, it's not because of external distractions — it's because of internal distractions.

Foundation Two: The Basmala

Number two: we recite the basmala. Don't leave the basmala out. And it is also an adab of the Qur'an — an etiquette of the Qur'an — that if you are reciting the Qur'an and you start talking to somebody else, as soon as you come back, you read أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ again. It's a new beginning. We don't have to read the basmala again — the basmala should be recited once in the beginning of the act. But when we start again, we recite the istiʿādhah again.

If you sneeze or if you cough or if you yawn, then it's okay. But other than that — if you talk, pick up a phone call, or start eating something — then you should start all over again and say أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ.

That being said, Ibn ʿArabī rahimahullah even speaks about sneezing or yawning while reciting the Qur'an. He says we should make sure that when we either yawn or sneeze, we cover our mouth — just like we would do when we're speaking to someone in front of us. Because it is an adab of the Qur'an that when Allah is speaking to us through the Qur'an, we don't — even out of pure ghaflah, unawareness — just sneeze or yawn with the Qur'an wide open. Rather, we should cover our mouth like we would do when we speak to someone that we respect.

Foundation Three: A Clean Place of Recitation

The third thing that is important as a foundation for reciting the Qur'an is that we are sitting in a clean area. Just like how we would not want to have a conversation with a loved one in an area which is filthy, Imām al-Nawawī says we should not want to have a conversation with Allah — or allow Him to speak to us through the Qur'an — in a place which is filthy. Not necessarily najis, but just dirty. Allow the areas that you're sitting in to be clean, to be pure, to have a nice smell.

Imām al-Nawawī speaks about the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn like Sufyān al-Thawrī and Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, where they would beautify the room in which they would recite the Qur'an — just so that they could have this euphoric experience when connecting to Allah. They feel good about it.

Foundation Four: Personal Purity

And number four: being in a state of purity — especially when you're holding the Qur'an. When you're holding the Qur'an, it is impermissible to hold it without having wuḍū. But it is permissible to read without wuḍū, though it is still encouraged that we try to have wuḍū when reading the Qur'an.

Conclusion

So: you have the istiʿādhah — أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ — which is the first foundation, so that Shayṭān doesn't affect us when we're reciting the Qur'an. You have the basmala. The place that we are reciting should be clean and pure. And we ourselves should be pure and clean. These four things will create a foundation for us to recite the Qur'an without distractions — to recite the Qur'an in a manner that now it can affect us, that now we can take benefit from it.

Without these four things, we can recite as much as we want, as long as we want — but we've lost out on the foundation. We didn't do what we were supposed to do in the beginning. All of this will still, of course, be rewarding and will still, inshāʾAllāh, be effective — but not at that level it could have been if we began with these etiquettes and allowed ourselves to benefit from these virtues.

May Allah make us amongst those that every single time we open up the book of Allah, we begin with:

This may be elementary for a lot of us, but at the same time, many of us read it without even thinking about it. Recite it, understand what it does for us, and have some form of comprehension of the power of this — that it can protect me from any inner distractions. So now when you are distracted internally, you'll say: I read أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ. I can't be distracted. And you'll continue reciting, inshāʾAllāh.

رَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا — May Allah bless you all. We see you again next week, inshāʾAllāh. As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.