Daily Salat Part 2
Section 23 of 23 · Faraid in Islam · Ustadh Mahmud Kurkcu
The Words of Seeking Refuge
A question that arises is the difference between aʿūdhu billāh and naʿūdhu billāh. Aʿūdhu billāh means: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed one — from whom? From Shayṭān. Aʿūdhu billāhi min al-shayṭāni al-rajīm is the complete sentence: I seek refuge; the one who says it asks Allah (swt) to protect him — from what? From the evil of the devil, Shayṭān. Naʿūdhu billāh is the plural: we seek refuge in Allah — and not always from Shayṭān, but from many other things. If something ḥarām is seen happening, one says naʿūdhu billāh. Wa-ʿiyādhu billāh is the same thing: may Allah protect us from it. Naʿūdhu billāhi min dhālik: may Allah (swt) protect us from such an end, from this — from this evil action, whatever ḥarām it may be. There is another duʿāʾ that is always used: ḥafiẓanā Allāhu wa-iyyākum — may Allah protect you, and protect us, from such a bad thing. These are some of the words that are used. They are part of our adab.
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* Kept as said. A certificate of conversion to Islam is meant.
** Kept as said. The account that follows takes place before the Hijrah, while Ṣuhayb was in Makkah; he reached Madīnah only by leaving it.
*** Kept as said. The distance from Makkah to Madīnah is about 450 kilometres, some 280 miles.
**** Kept as recited. The āyah of Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt (29:45) reads inna ṣ-ṣalāta tanhā ʿani l-faḥshāʾi wa-l-munkar, ending at al-munkar; the third term, wa-l-baghy, belongs to Sūrat al-Naḥl (16:90), wa-yanhā ʿani l-faḥshāʾi wa-l-munkari wa-l-baghy.