أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
Aʿūdhu billāhi min al-shayṭān al-rajīm
Topic
“I take refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed”: said whenever one feels threatened, and before reciting the Quran.
What it means
The phrase is a plea for protection. Aʿūdhu means “I seek refuge”, and the one sought against is al-shayṭān al-rajīm, Satan the accursed. Faruqi says it is said whenever one feels threatened in any way. It is also spoken before reciting the Quran, and many Muslims say it when angry or afraid. The Quran commands it. When you recite the Quran, it says, seek refuge in God from Satan the accursed (16:98). The phrase places the speaker under God’s protection and admits that no one can guard himself against the whisperings of evil without God’s help. It is followed in recitation by the basmala.
Often misunderstood as
That it is a charm against evil, when it is a prayer that asks God for protection and expresses the speaker’s dependence on Him.
What the sources say
The Quran also tells the believer to seek refuge in God when an evil prompting from Satan comes to him (7:200).
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 57, listed as A‘ŪDHU BILLAHI MIN AL SHAYṬĀN AL RAJĪM.. The definition is restated here.