Isti'adha and Basmalah: How to Start Reciting the Qur'an

The isti'adha and basmala are the two phrases that open your recitation. You first say a'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim, 'I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled', then bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim at the start of every surah except at-Tawbah. Reciters join the two to a surah's first ayah in four accepted ways.

This guide is for beginners and for anyone who recites regularly but was never shown the details. It covers the wording and its evidence, when to say the isti'adha aloud, the four ways of joining the two phrases, how to move from one surah to the next, both situations involving Surah at-Tawbah, and the tajweed inside the words themselves. The details follow the recitation of Hafs 'an 'Asim, the riwayah of the mushaf most learners use.

What is the isti'adha?

The isti'adha (also spelt isti'adhah, and called ta'awwudh) is the phrase you say to seek Allah's protection from Shaytan before you recite, and its standard wording is a'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim. It is a supplication rather than an ayah, and you say it because Allah commands it at exactly this moment:

This is the wording the reciters chose, and it is the same form the Prophet ﷺ taught when he saw a man overcome with anger: if the man said it, what he felt would leave him (al-Bukhari 6115). A longer wording is also authentic. When the Prophet ﷺ stood for the night prayer, after the opening takbir and praise, he would say:

Either wording is correct. Most scholars hold that saying the isti'adha before you recite is recommended (mustahabb), while others, including Shaykh al-Albani, held that it is obligatory because of the command in 16:98 (islamqa). Say it aloud when you are reciting aloud and someone is listening, for example when you begin reading to your teacher, and quietly in the prayer, when you recite on your own, or in a group when someone else has already begun. That is the guidance tajweed teachers give; whichever applies, do not skip it.

What is the basmalah, and when do you say it?

The basmalah is bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, 'In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful', and you say it at the beginning of every surah except Surah at-Tawbah (islamqa). In the mushaf of Hafs it is numbered as the first ayah of al-Fatihah; at the head of the other surahs it is written but not given a number.

The basmalah marks where one surah ends and the next begins. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said the Prophet ﷺ did not recognise the separation between surahs until bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim was revealed to him (Abu Dawud 788, graded sahih by al-Albani). When a new surah came down, he recited it with the basmalah at its head:

Recite it with care rather than as a quick formula. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) described the Prophet's ﷺ recitation as drawn out, and then recited the basmalah to show it, lengthening bismillah, ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim (al-Bukhari 5046).

Starting in the middle of a surah

When you start in the middle of a surah, you still say the isti'adha, and the basmalah becomes optional. The Standing Committee held that it is not recommended there (islamqa), as did Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin, while another IslamQA answer notes that saying it does no harm (islamqa). Some imams of recitation, among them al-Shatibi, preferred the basmalah before ayat that open with a pronoun referring to Allah, such as 41:47, so that it does not follow straight on from the word ar-rajim. Both practices fall within what the scholars allowed, so ask your teacher which they follow and keep to it.

What are the four ways to join the isti'adha and basmalah to a surah?

There are four accepted ways to join the isti'adha, the basmalah and the first ayah of a surah, and they differ only in where you pause, the same skill covered in our guide to waqf and ibtida. All four are correct in the recitation of Hafs. The table uses Surah an-Nas as the example, so you can try each one aloud now.

How do you move from one surah to the next?

When you finish one surah and carry straight on into the next, you say the basmalah between them without repeating the isti'adha, and there are three accepted ways to do it. A fourth combination is not allowed: joining the end of the surah to the basmalah and then stopping on the basmalah. The basmalah belongs to the beginnings of surahs, not their ends, and a listener could take it as part of the surah before. This applies between any two surahs, in order or not.

Why is there no basmalah at the start of Surah at-Tawbah?

Surah at-Tawbah is the only surah that does not open with the basmalah, because the Companions did not write it there in the mushaf, and none of the reciters read it there. Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin explained that the Prophet ﷺ never instructed the basmalah to be written between al-Anfal and at-Tawbah, so the Companions did not write it, and because they were unsure whether the two were one surah, they kept a separation between them without it (islamqa).

Starting your recitation at at-Tawbah

If you begin reading at the start of at-Tawbah, say the isti'adha and then go to the first ayah with no basmalah. You may pause after the isti'adha or join it to the ayah; both are correct. Shaykh Ibn Baz explained that the isti'adha comes before bara'atun min Allah, not after the first ayah, and that the isti'adha alone is enough. If you start partway through the surah, the isti'adha is again enough; reciters differed over adding the basmalah inside at-Tawbah, so follow your teacher.

Arriving at at-Tawbah from al-Anfal

If you are reading al-Anfal and continue into at-Tawbah, you say neither the isti'adha nor the basmalah, because you are continuing rather than starting. All the reciters allow three ways here: stop at the end of al-Anfal and breathe (waqf), make a brief pause without taking a breath (saktah), or join the two directly (wasl). If you join, the tanwin at the end of 8:75 meets the bāʾ of bara'atun, which is iqlab, one of the nun sakinah and tanwin rules.

Do you repeat the isti'adha if you stop reading?

You do not repeat the isti'adha after a short interruption, such as a sneeze, returning a greeting or answering a quick question, as long as you meant to carry on. If you stop with no intention of continuing, or the break goes on for a long time, say it again when you return. IslamQA sets this out with quotations from an-Nawawi, Ibn al-Jazari and others (islamqa).

How do you pronounce the isti'adha and basmalah correctly?

The isti'adha and basmalah pack several tajweed rules into a few words, and because you say them so often, a mistake in them gets repeated thousands of times. The table lists what to listen for in each word.

If any of these are new, our guides to the laam in the word Allah and madd rules explain them properly. Keep your stopping lengths consistent: if you hold ar-rajim for four counts, hold ar-Rahim for four as well.

These rules are easy to read and surprisingly easy to get wrong aloud, so the quickest fix is to recite them to someone who can hear you. You can find a Qur'an or Arabic teacher and ask them to listen to your isti'adha and basmalah in the first few minutes of a lesson. For the wider manners of recitation, see the etiquettes of reciting the Qur'an.