Seeking refuge
الاستعاذة
al-istiʿādhah
Every reciter says the istiʿādhah before starting. All ten agree on its wording — أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ — and that it is said aloud when reciting to others and quietly when reciting alone. What varies is not the istiʿādhah itself but how it is attached to what follows.
Beginning at the head of a sūrah
أوجه الابتداء بأول السورةYou have said the istiʿādhah and are about to begin. Four sequences are open, and all ten readers permit all four — the choice is the reciter's, not the reading's.
| # | Name | Sequence | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | قطع الجميعqaṭʿ al-jamīʿ | istiʿādhah‖basmalah‖verse | Break after the istiʿādhah, break again after the basmalah, then begin. |
| 2 | قطع الاستعاذة ووصل البسملة بأول السورةqaṭʿ al-istiʿādhah wa-waṣl al-basmalah | istiʿādhah‖basmalah+verse | Break after the istiʿādhah, then run the basmalah straight into the first verse. |
| 3 | وصل الاستعاذة بالبسملة وقطعهما عن السورةwaṣl al-istiʿādhah bi-l-basmalah | istiʿādhah+basmalah‖verse | Run the istiʿādhah into the basmalah, break, then begin the verse. |
| 4 | وصل الجميعwaṣl al-jamīʿ | istiʿādhah+basmalah+verse | Run all three together without any break. |
Sūrat al-Tawbah is the exception: it is never begun with the basmalah, so only two options remain — break after the istiʿādhah, or run it straight into the first verse.
The terms
English renders several of these the same way — “stop”, “pause”, “break” — so the Arabic term is the one worth learning. They are distinguished by whether you breathe, and whether you intend to carry on.
- الاستعاذةal-istiʿādhahseeking refuge
- Saying أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ before beginning to recite. Aloud when reciting to others, quietly when reciting alone.
- البسملةal-basmalahthe basmalah
- Saying بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ.
- القطعal-qaṭʿbreaking off
- Cutting the voice on a word intending to stop reciting altogether and turn to something else — not a pause within recitation, but the end of it.(Vol. I, p. 5 n. 2)
- الوقفal-waqfpausing
- Cutting the voice on a word for long enough to take a breath, intending to resume. This is the ordinary pause of recitation.(Vol. I, p. 5 n. 3)
- السكتal-saktbrief silence
- Cutting the voice for a moment without taking a breath — shorter than a waqf, and deliberately not a breath-break.
- الوصلal-waṣljoining
- Running straight on with no break of any kind.
- الابتداءal-ibtidāʾbeginning
- Starting recitation, whether at the head of a sūrah or partway into one.