Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterShould Isti‘aathah be repeated in each Rak‘ah?
Question
What are the reported supplications that should be recited after the opening Takbeer? Should one recite the Isti‘aathah and Basmalah before the recitation of Al-Faatihah? Should they be repeated in the second Rak‘ah as well?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is prescribed for the worshipper to recite the opening supplication, make Isti‘aathah saying: “A‘oothu Billaahi min Ash-Shaytaan Ar-Rajeem” (i.e. I seek refuge in Allaah from The Accursed Satan), and Basmalah, saying: “Bismillaah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem” (i.e. In the Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Ever Merciful) after reciting Takbeerat Al-Ihraam (i.e. opening Takbeerah).
As for the repetition of Isti‘aathah and Basmalah in each Rak‘ah, the view of the majority of Muslim scholars is that they should be recited only in the first Rak‘ah.
Al-Hasan, ‘Ataa’, and Ibraaheem Al-Nakha‘i 
believed that it is recommended to repeat the Isti‘aathah and Basmalah in each Rak‘ah, and this is the opinion of the Shaafi‘i school of Fiqh.
They relied on the general meaning of the verse that reads (what means): {So when you recite the Quran, [first] seek refuge in Allaah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy].} [Quran 16:98]
There is no doubt that this verse indicates the permissibility of reciting the Isti‘aathah before reading the Quran in general without restricting it to the worshipper in prayer. Moreover, there are Hadeeths underlining that talking is forbidden during prayer. They indicate the impermissibility of talking during prayer without making a distinction between the Isti‘aathah and any other external talk during the prayer on which there is no evidence highlighting whether it is impermissible or permissible.
It is more cautious and prudent to abide merely by what was reported in the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This is to recite the Isti‘aathah in the first Rak‘ah only, as was reported in the Hadeeths.
For example, Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri 
said, "The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to recite this opening supplication during prayer: "A‘oothu billaahi As-Samee‘ Al-‘aleem min Ash-Shaytaan Ar-Rajeem: min Hamzihi wa Nafkhihi, wa Nafthihi." (i.e. I seek refuge in Allaah The Hearing The Knowing from Satan; his madness, arrogance and his poetry .) [Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi]
As for Al-Faatihah, the worshipper should recite the Basmalah each time before reciting it. It should be recited in a low tone if the prayer is silent (i.e. like Thuhr and ‘Asr) or out loud if it is a loud prayer (i.e. like Fajr, Maghrib and ‘Ishaa'). The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, often recited the Basmalah in a low tone more than he recited it out loud.
Allaah Knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
