If, while reciting, a person remembers the istiʿādhah in the middle of his allotted portion, he should stop, pronounce it, and then begin again from the start of that portion. Others say he should utter the istiʿādhah and then return to the very place where he had broken off. The first view is transmitted through the chains of the Ḥijāz and Iraq, while the second comes through the chains of Syria and Egypt.
Sixth point. Al-Zahrawī relates: the verse was revealed in connection with the prayer, and we have been encouraged—but not obliged—to seek refuge outside the prayer. Another scholar says: it was obligatory upon the Prophet alone—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and we have merely followed his example.
Seventh point. It is related from Abū Hurayrah that the istiʿādhah is to be said after the recitation; this was also the opinion of Dāwūd. Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī comments: “Some people’s confusion went so far that they claimed the reciter should seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan only after he has finished reading the Qur’an.” Yet Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī narrated explicitly that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—would seek refuge in his prayer before beginning the recitation.
What, then, is the benefit of seeking refuge from the accursed Satan at the time of recitation? We reply: its benefit is to comply with the divine command. Religious duties have no benefit beyond our faithful fulfillment of them—carrying out what is enjoined and avoiding what is forbidden. It has also been said that its benefit is specifically to obey the command to seek protection from Satan’s whispering during recitation, as the Exalted says: “We sent not any messenger or prophet before you, but when he recited, Satan cast into his recitation…” (al-Ḥajj 22:52).
Ibn al-ʿArabī adds: “One of the strangest statements we have encountered is Imām Mālik’s remark in al-Majmūʿa while explaining the verse, ‘So when you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan’ (al-Naḥl 16:98). He said: This is after the recitation of the Mother of the Qur’an (Sūrat al-Fātiḥah) for the one who is praying. Such an opinion is supported by neither transmitted report nor sound reasoning. If, as some maintain, the istiʿādhah is to be uttered after finishing the recitation, then restricting it to Fātiḥah in the prayer is an extravagant claim, one that does not accord with Mālik’s foundational method or his understanding. Allah knows best the reality of this narration.”
Eighth point: On the merit of seeking refuge. Muslim relates that Sulaymān ibn Ṣurad said: Two men exchanged insults in the presence of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—until one of them became angry, his face reddened, and the veins of his neck swelled. The Prophet looked at him and said, “I know a word which, if he were to say it, what he feels would leave him: ‘I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.’ ” Someone who had heard the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—went over to the man and said, “Do you know what he just said…"