Saying The Isti^adhah الاستعاذة

 
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

(A^udhu billahi minash-shaytanir-rajim)

(I seek Allah’s protection from the harm of the deprived and expelled Devil.)

The meaning of the isti^adhah is:  I seek the protection of Allah to preserve me against the harm of Satan, who is a deviant and transgressing blasphemer among the jinn.

By scholarly consensus, the isti^adhah, or seeking Allah’s protection from the devil, is not a part of the Qur’an.  However, the saying of most of the scholars (jumhur) is that it is liked for one to begin with the isti^adhah before starting to recite the Qur’an.  It was mentioned by some that one says the isti^adhah after finishing reciting the Qur’an relying on the saying of Allah in Surah an-Nahl, 98:

{فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْءَانَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ}

However, the jumhur said that the meaning of this ayah is:  [If you want to recite the Qur’an start with the isti^adhah].  The same technique is used in the hadith of the Prophet , sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, narrated by al-Humaydiyy and at-Tabaraniyy:  << إذا أكلت فسم الله >> which means:  <<If you want to eat, start by mentioning the name of Allah.>>

Ar-rajim (الرجيم) means the one who is deprived from any goodness, or the one who is expelled and degraded.