Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Firstly:

It is proven

that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to

seek refuge with Allaah before reciting al-Faatihah in the prayer. Narrated

by Abu Dawood (775) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

Secondly:

The scholars

differed as to the ruling on seeking refuge with Allaah before reciting

al-Faatihah in the prayer. Some of them were of the view that it is

obligatory. This is the view of ‘Ata’, al-Thawri, al-Awzaa’i and Dawood, as

was narrated by Ibn Hazm in al-Muhalla (3/247-248), and it was the

view favoured by him. It was also narrated from Ahmad and was favoured by

Ibn Battah, as it says in al-Insaaf (2/119). Among later scholars

this view was favoured by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on them

all).

Others were

of the view that it is only mustahabb and is not obligatory. This is the

view of the majority of scholars among the Sahaabah and Taabi’een and of the

Imams Abu Haneefah and al-Shaafa’i, and Ahmad according to the well known

view of his madhhab.

See:

Tabyeen al-Haqaa’iq (1/107); al-Majmoo’ (3/280-282), al-Mughni

(1/283); al-Fataawa al-Kubra by Ibn Taymiyah (5/332).

Those who

say that it is obligatory quoted as evidence the verse in which Allaah says

(interpretation of the meaning):

“So when

you want to recite the Qur’aan, seek refuge with Allaah from Shaytaan

(Satan), the outcast (the cursed one)”

[al-Nahl

16:98]

They said:

In this verse there is the command to seek refuge with Allaah, and the basic

principle is that a command means that something is obligatory, so long as

there is no other evidence to indicate that what is meant in the command is

mustahabb.

Ibn Hazm

said in al-Muhalla (2/279):

With regard

to the view of Abu Haneefah and al-Shaafa’i, that seeking refuge with Allaah

is not obligatory, this is wrong, because Allaah, may He be exalted, says:

“So when you want to recite the Qur’aan, seek refuge with Allaah from

Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one)”. When Allaah commands

something, it is wrong for anyone to say without any evidence from the

Qur’aan or Sunnah that this is not obligatory, especially His command to

pray for Him to protect us from the tricks of the shaytaan.  So this command

is definitely obligatory, because avoiding the shaytaan and fleeing from him

and asking for protection against him are things that no one can dispute are

obligatory. Moreover, Allaah has enjoined that upon us when reading Qur’aan.

End quote.

The majority

of scholars responded by noting that there is other evidence which indicates

that it is mustahabb rather than obligatory. This other evidence is:

1 – The

hadeeth about the man who did not pray properly. The Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught him how to pray and said: “When you

go to pray, say takbeer, then recite whatever you can of the Qur’aan. Then

bow …” Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim (397). And he did not tell him to

seek refuge with Allaah.

Imam

al-Shaafa’i said in al-Umm (1/208):

If he omits

it by mistake or out of ignorance or deliberately, he does not have to

repeat it or do the prostration of forgetfulness, but I regard it as makrooh

to omit it deliberately. If he omits it in the first rak’ah, I prefer for

him to say it in some other rak’ah. The only thing that keeps me from

telling him to repeat the prayer is the fact that when the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught a man what is sufficient

in prayer he said: “say takbeer, then recite…”, and it is not narrated that

he told him to seek refuge with Allaah or recite the opening du’aa’. This

indicates that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) regarded the opening du’aa’ as something optional, and that

seeking refuge with Allaah is something that does not invalidate the prayer

if it is omitted. End quote.

2 –It says

in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (4/6):

The majority

quoted as evidence that the command means that it is recommended and not

obligatory the fact that the salaf were unanimously agreed that it is

Sunnah. End quote.

The scholars

of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas also favoured the view that it

is mustahabb and not obligatory, as did Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.

It says in

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/383):

What is the

ruling on one who forgets to seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed

shaytaan and remembers after finishing the prayer, if he remembers that he

did not say A’oodhu Billaahi min al-shaytaan il-rajeem (I seek refuge

with Allaah from the accursed shaytaan) whilst he was praying?

They

replied:

Seeing

refuge with Allaah is Sunnah, and it does not matter if it is omitted from

the prayer whether deliberately or by mistake. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn

‘Uthaymeen was asked: Should one seek refuge with Allaah in every rak’ah or

only in the first rak’ah?

He replied:

Seeking

refuge with Allaah from the accursed shaytaan in prayer is Sunnah.

The scholars

(may Allaah have mercy on them) differed as to whether one should seek

refuge with Allaah in every rak’ah or only in the first rak’ah, based on the

recitation in prayer – is it regarded as one recitation or is the recitation

in each rak’ah separate?

It seems to

me that the recitation in prayer is one recitation, so one should seek

refuge with Allaah in the first rak’ah, unless there happens something that

requires seeking refuge with Allaah, such as if there come whispers from the

shaytaan (waswaas), because if whispers come from the shaytaan, the

Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined spitting

drily to the left three times and seeking refuge with Allaah from the

accursed shaytaan. End quote.

Majmoo’

Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (13/110)

This view is

also favoured in the answer to question no.

65847.

And Allaah

knows best.