Auzubillah Minashaitan Nirajeem (أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ) means “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.” In Islamic terminology this phrase is called the Ta’awwudh (تَعَوُّذ) or Isti’adhah (اِسْتِعَاذَة). It is grounded in a direct Quranic command in Surah An-Nahl 16:98 and is the verbal shield the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ recommended in moments of anger, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts.
This guide covers the literal meaning, the full Arabic with diacritics, every common transliteration variant, the eight contexts where Muslims recite it, a side-by-side comparison of three classical Quran translations of 16:98, the famous Bukhari hadith on anger, and a four-madhhab table on whether ta’awwudh is recited in every rakah of salah. The differences across schools matter, and most blog posts skip them.
Key takeaways:
- Meaning: “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.” Known as the Ta’awwudh.
- Quranic origin: Commanded in Surah An-Nahl 16:98 — recite ta’awwudh before reading the Quran.
- Anger hadith: The Prophet ﷺ called it “a word” that dissolves rage (Sahih al-Bukhari 6115).
- When to say it: Before Quran recitation, in salah before Al-Fatihah, when angry, anxious, or struck by intrusive thoughts.
- Fiqh status: Sunnah in Hanafi, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools; the Maliki school does not legislate it inside salah.
Table of Contents
What Auzubillah Minashaitan Nirajeem Means
The phrase auzubillah minashaitan nirajeem is a four-part Arabic plea for divine protection. Translated literally: “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the one driven away.” Each clause carries weight. A’udhu (أَعُوذُ) is a first-person verb meaning “I take shelter” or “I take refuge.” Billah (بِاللَّهِ) is the prepositional phrase “in Allah.” Min ash-shaytan (مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ) means “from Satan.” Ar-rajeem (الرَّجِيمِ) is an adjective describing Shaytan.
The word rajeem (الرَّجِيم) deserves attention. It comes from the Arabic root r-j-m (ر-ج-م), which carries the meaning of “to stone” or “to pelt.” In classical usage rajeem means one who has been pelted with stones, driven away, expelled, and cursed. The Quran uses this exact adjective for Iblis after his refusal to bow before Adam (peace be upon him). Calling Shaytan ar-rajeem reminds the speaker that the enemy already lost. The phrase as a whole is called the Ta’awwudh (تَعَوُّذ) — the act of seeking refuge — or the Isti’adhah (اِسْتِعَاذَة), the request for protection.
Arabic, Transliteration, and Word-by-Word Breakdown
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
Without diacritics: أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
Transliteration: A’udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem.
Translation: “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.”
The phrase has four meaningful units. The table below breaks each one down by English meaning, transliteration, Arabic spelling, literal sense, and grammatical function. Reading the phrase this way reveals why scholars consider it a complete supplication in five short words.
| English | Transliteration | Arabic | Literal sense | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I seek refuge | a’udhu | أَعُوذُ | “I take shelter” | First-person verb (root: ‘-w-dh) |
| in Allah | billahi | بِاللَّهِ | “by Allah” / “with Allah” | Preposition bi- + Allah |
| from Satan | min ash-shaytan | مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ | “from the devil” | Preposition min + definite noun |
| the accursed / the rejected one | ir-rajeem | الرَّجِيمِ | “the one pelted with stones” | Adjective qualifying ash-shaytan |
How to Pronounce It
The opening a’udhu begins with a hamza (a glottal stop) and a long “oo” in the second syllable: a-OO-dhu, not aw-zoo. The dh is the Arabic letter ذ (dhal) — pronounced like the th in “this,” not the z in “zoo.” In shaytan the sh is the same as English “sh.” In rajeem the long “ee” carries the stress: ra-JEEM. The video below walks through each syllable with native pronunciation.
Related:
Common Spellings: auzubillah vs audhubillah vs a’udhu billahi
Search engines and Islamic websites carry the same Arabic phrase under at least six different English spellings. The reason is simple: there is no single standardized Romanization of Arabic. Different languages and traditions render the same letters in different ways. The Arabic letter ذ (dhal) is written as z in Urdu and Persian transliterations and as dh in academic transliteration. The vowel u can become oo, ou, or au depending on the writer’s ear and language background. None of these is wrong — they are different paths to the same Arabic.
| Spelling | Closest to | Region / source | Same meaning? |
|---|---|---|---|
| auzubillah minashaitan nirajeem | Indo-Pak pronunciation (ذ → z) | South Asia (Urdu, Hindi, Bengali) | Yes |
| audhubillah minashaitan nirajeem | Common phonetic spelling (ذ → dh) | Most English Islamic websites | Yes |
| a’udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem | Academic transliteration with hamza | Scholarly works, Quran translations | Yes |
| aoozubillah minashaitan nirajeem | Phonetic “oo” vowel (Indo-Pak) | South Asia (informal) | Yes |
| aoothubillah minashaitan nirajeem | Phonetic “th” rendering of ذ | Some Southeast Asian sites | Yes |
| audhu billah min ash-shaytan ar-rajim | Mixed academic / phonetic | English-speaking converts | Yes |
The trailing word rajeem is also written ir-rajeem, ir rajim, or ar-rajim — the difference is whether the writer attaches the definite article al- as ir- (after the vowel i) or as ar- (after the vowel a). All forms refer to the same Arabic phrase — أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ — and are equally valid.
When to Recite Ta’awwudh: 8 Contexts
The Ta’awwudh is not reserved for one moment. The Sunnah and the practice of the early generations show it functioning across many situations — before recitation, inside salah, in moments of emotional disturbance, and in daily protective adhkar. The eight contexts below are the most established in the Sunnah and the books of fiqh.
- Before reciting the Quran. This is the direct command of Surah An-Nahl 16:98. The verse instructs the believer to seek refuge in Allah before beginning the recitation, not after.
- At the start of salah. After the opening takbir and before reciting Surah Al-Fatihah in the first rakah. The exact ruling differs across madhhabs (covered in the fiqh table below).
- When feeling angry. The Prophet ﷺ identified ta’awwudh as the “word” that dissolves rage in the famous Bukhari hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari 6115). Anger is the moment Shaytan has the most access; the phrase is the spiritual circuit-breaker.
- When feeling fearful or anxious. The classical scholars treat fear and anxiety as openings Shaytan exploits. The Ta’awwudh is a verbal closing of those openings.
- When experiencing waswasa. Intrusive thoughts — doubts about faith, obsessive worries about purity, sudden blasphemous thoughts — are classified in the Sunnah as whisperings of Shaytan. Reciting ta’awwudh is the prescribed first response.
- Before entering the bathroom. Many scholars recommend pairing the bathroom dua (Allahumma inni a’udhu bika minal khubuthi wal khaba’ith) with a preceding ta’awwudh, since the bathroom is a place where evil and impurity are present.
- When seeing or hearing something disturbing. Hearing a sudden cry in the night, witnessing a frightening scene, or being exposed to harmful speech — all are moments to fortify the heart with the Ta’awwudh.
- As part of the morning and evening adhkar. The protective adhkar (such as the three Quls and Ayat al-Kursi) are sometimes prefaced by the Ta’awwudh in classical compilations of hisn al-Muslim.
Quranic Origin: Surah An-Nahl 16:98
The single verse that establishes ta’awwudh as a religious practice is ayah 98 of Surah An-Nahl — a Makki surah of 128 verses, named after the bee. The command is direct, addressed to the reader of the Quran, and uses an imperative verb. The Arabic and three classical English translations are below.
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
| Translator | Rendering of Quran 16:98 |
|---|---|
| Sahih International | “When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed.” |
| Pickthall | “And when thou recitest the Qur’an, seek refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast.” |
| Yusuf Ali | “When thou dost read the Qur’an, seek Allah’s protection from Satan the rejected one.” |
Ibn Kathir’s classical tafsir of this verse makes a quietly important grammatical observation: the imperative verb fasta’idh (فَاسْتَعِذْ, “then seek refuge”) is paired with the conditional idha qara’ta (“when you read”). The structure tells the reader to seek refuge before beginning recitation, not after — even though the word “before” does not appear in the verse. The classical scholars derived this timing from the verb form and from the practice of the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions, who always opened recitation with the Ta’awwudh.
The four schools of Sunni jurisprudence agree that this verse establishes ta’awwudh as a confirmed practice (Sunnah mu’akkadah or mustahabb). A minority of classical scholars, including some early authorities, held that ta’awwudh is wajib (obligatory) at least for the very first ayah of any recitation, on the grounds that the verse uses an imperative verb. The mainstream majority position, however, settled on Sunnah — emphasized and rewarded, but not sinful to omit.
The Anger Hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari 6115
The most famous prophetic teaching on the Ta’awwudh outside of recitation is found in the Book of Manners (Kitab al-Adab) of Sahih al-Bukhari. The narrator is Sulaiman ibn Surad, a Companion. He records an incident in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ:
Two men were trading insults in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ. One of them grew red-faced and the veins of his neck swelled with rage. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I know a word, the saying of which would cause him to relax if he were to say it: ‘A’udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem’ — I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed. If he said it, what he is feeling would leave him.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari 6115, Book 78, Hadith 142)
The same narration is preserved in Sunan Abi Dawud 4781 (Book 43, Hadith 9), graded sahih by Al-Albani. The wording in both sources is consistent: the Prophet ﷺ calls the ta’awwudh “a word” that, if said in the moment of rage, would dissolve the anger. The grammar is conditional — the Prophet ﷺ did not force the angry man to say it; he stated the protective effect and left the choice with the man himself.
Why anger specifically? The classical commentators on the hadith answer in one line: anger is the moment Shaytan has the most direct access to a person’s tongue, hands, and judgement. The Prophet ﷺ identified the source of the rage — Shaytan’s influence — and prescribed the exact verbal counter to it. The Ta’awwudh is the spiritual circuit-breaker: by naming the source and seeking refuge from it, the believer cuts the current Shaytan is using to inflame the heart.
Ta’awwudh in Salah: The Four Madhhabs
The placement of ta’awwudh inside salah — whether it is recited in every rakah or only the first, audibly or silently — is one of the small fiqh details that varies across the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. None of the four schools considers it an obligatory part of the salah whose omission invalidates the prayer. The differences are about the sunnah practice and the audibility. The table below summarises the position of each madhhab.
| Madhhab | When recited | Audibly or silently | Ruling status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanafi | First rakah only, after the opening takbir and before Al-Fatihah | Silently | Sunnah |
| Maliki | Not recited inside salah at all | — | Not part of salah in this school |
| Shafi’i | Every rakah, before each recitation of Al-Fatihah | Silently (audibly in some opinions during loud prayers) | Sunnah mu’akkadah (emphasized) |
| Hanbali | First rakah only, after the opening du’a and before Al-Fatihah | Silently | Sunnah |
The Maliki position deserves a note. Imam Malik held that the ta’awwudh in salah is not legislated in the Sunnah specifically for prayer — the Quranic command in 16:98 attaches the practice to recitation in general, but he did not find a clear narration establishing it as a fixed component of the salah itself. So a Maliki worshipper begins Al-Fatihah directly after the opening du’a (or, in some forms, directly after the takbir), without inserting ta’awwudh.
For a regular Muslim who is not strictly following one madhhab, the safe and well-supported practice is: recite ta’awwudh quietly in the first rakah, after the opening takbir and any opening du’a, and before Surah Al-Fatihah. Doing it in every rakah follows the Shafi’i view and is also valid. The intent matters more than the particular school — the worshipper is seeking refuge in Allah at the threshold of the Quran, exactly as 16:98 commands.
Auzubillah vs Bismillah: What’s the Difference?
The Ta’awwudh and the Basmala (Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem) are often paired but they do different work. The Ta’awwudh is protective: it pushes evil away by seeking refuge in Allah from Shaytan. The Bismillah is invocative: it invokes the name of Allah for blessing and beginning. They are not interchangeable. One closes a door against harm; the other opens a door to mercy.
The order matters. The Quranic sequence in 16:98 is: seek refuge first, then recite. The recitation itself begins with Bismillah (except Surah At-Tawbah, which has no Bismillah at its head). So the full opening of any Quranic recitation is: auzubillah minashaitan nirajeem → bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem → the verses. Reversing the order is not how the Sunnah teaches it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Auzubillah Minashaitan Nirajeem mean in English?
It means “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.” The Arabic is أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. The phrase is a five-word plea built from a’udhu (I seek refuge), billahi (in Allah), min ash-shaytan (from Satan), and ir-rajeem (the accursed, the one driven away). It is known in Islamic terminology as the Ta’awwudh or Isti’adhah.
When should I say Auzubillah Minashaitan Nirajeem?
The most established contexts are: before reciting any portion of the Quran (commanded in Surah An-Nahl 16:98), at the start of salah before Surah Al-Fatihah, when feeling angry (Sahih al-Bukhari 6115), when struck by anxiety, fear, or intrusive thoughts (waswasa), before entering the bathroom, and when witnessing something disturbing. It is also part of many compilations of the morning and evening protective adhkar.
Is Auzubillah Minashaitan Nirajeem a verse from the Quran?
No, the Ta’awwudh is not itself a Quranic verse. It is the prescribed phrase Muslims use to fulfill the command found in Surah An-Nahl 16:98: “When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed.” The verse commands the act of seeking refuge; the Ta’awwudh is the wording established by the Sunnah and the practice of the Prophet ﷺ for fulfilling that command.
What is the difference between Auzubillah and Bismillah?
Auzubillah is protective — it seeks refuge in Allah from Shaytan, pushing evil away. Bismillah is invocative — it invokes the name of Allah at the start of an action, drawing blessing in. The two are paired: ta’awwudh first, bismillah second, then the action or recitation. The Quranic sequence in 16:98 places refuge before recitation, and the recitation itself begins with bismillah.
Do I have to say Ta’awwudh in every rakah of prayer?
It depends on the school of jurisprudence you follow. The Hanafi and Hanbali schools say it once, in the first rakah only. The Shafi’i school says it in every rakah, before each recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah. The Maliki school does not consider it part of salah at all. None of the four schools treats it as obligatory in a way that would invalidate the prayer if missed. Recite it silently in the first rakah and you are within the mainstream.
Is reciting Ta’awwudh before the Quran fard or sunnah?
The mainstream position across the four Sunni madhhabs is that ta’awwudh before recitation is Sunnah mu’akkadah (an emphasized Sunnah) or mustahabb (recommended) — rewarded if done, not sinful if omitted. A minority of classical scholars, citing the imperative verb in 16:98, held that it is wajib (obligatory) at least for the very first ayah of any recitation. The safer practice is to never skip it.
The Ta’awwudh is one of the simplest yet most powerful phrases in the Sunnah. Five Arabic words, a single thought, and an entire posture of the heart toward Allah and away from Shaytan. Carry it with you in moments of anger, anxiety, before opening the Quran, and at the threshold of salah. Let it become a reflex — a habit of refuge.
