Fatimah hasn’t been very active for the past month. In fact, the inactivity has caused me to draw back to the ayaat,
وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلْجَلَـٰلِ وَٱلْإِكْرَامِ
“All that is on earth will perish.”
“But will abide forever the Face of thy Lord, full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour”
[Al-Rahman 55; Ayahs 26-27]
Insha Allah, however, July will be filled with a heap of awesome new posts! Allahumma ameen!
To begin… A‘oothu billaahi min al-shaytaani al-rajeem. Bismillahi al-rahmani al-raheem.
If you haven’t guessed already, today’s post is about the isti‘aathah and the basmalah.
The isti‘aathah and basmalah have six rulings all together. Within these rulings branch sub-rulings. Insha Allah I will try my best to set these out in the clearest manner possible.
In case you’re not top notch in Arabic, al-isti‘aathah is:
أعوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
A‘oothu billahi min al-shaytaani al-rajeem
And the basmalah is:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Bismillahi Al-rahmani Al-raheem
Rule 1: it is mustahab (recommended) to say the isti‘aathah at the beginning of each surah, or when beginning from within it. Note, however, that one isti‘aathah is enough for reciting the entire Quran, so long that the recitation is not cut off.
Examples:
a) Beginning the Quran with surat Al-Faatiha. The isti‘aathah is said, and the recitation has begun. This one isti‘aathah is enough for all the recitation you do, even if it were surat Baqarah, Aali ‘Imraan, Al-Nisaa’, etc. so long the recitation is continual and not cut off by talk, or physical distraction that causes the recitation to stop momentarily.
b) You are reading surat Al-Baqarah. You begin with an isti‘aathah, then you read four pages. You stop reciting for duhur salah, when you begin reciting again from page 5, it is up to you to say the isti‘aathah again or not, however it is recommended.
Rule 2: it is sunnah mu’akkadah (emphasised sunnah) to say the basmalah at the beginning of every surah, except surat Al-Tawba.
Rule 3: in the middle of a surah, it is up to the reader entirely whether they wish to say the basmalah (which indeed is better) or not to say it at all.
Rule 4: the reciter has the option to join the isti‘aathah with the basmalah with the beginning of a surah. Doing this can be done in four manners:
a) wasl al-jamee‘ (connecting all three): isti‘aathah, basmalah and first ayah in one breath, example:
أعوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم الٓمّۤ
b) joining theisti‘aathah and basmalah in one breath and cutting them off from the beginning of the surah by a breath. Example:
أعوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
الٓمّۤ
c) cutting theisti‘aathah from the basmalah by a breath, and joining the basmalah with the first ayah in one breath, example:
أعوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم الٓمّۤ
d) qate’ al-jamee‘ (breaking all three): cutting the isti‘aathah from the basmalah by a breath. Then breaking the basmalah from the first ayah by a breath. Example:
أعوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
الٓمّۤ
Rule 5: the basmalah between two surahs. Three rules of joining/cutting are permissible, where one is not.
The premissible:
a) wasl al-jamee‘ (connecting all three): the last ayah of the former surah, with the basmalah, with the first ayah of the latter surah all in one breath, example:
وَالْحَمْد للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
b) qate’ al-jamee‘ (breaking all three): the last ayah from the basmalah by a breath. And the basmalah from the first ayah by a breath. Example:
وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
ص وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ
c) breaking the last ayah of the former surah from the basmalah by a breath. And joining the basmalah with the first ayah of the latter surah in one breath, example:
وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
ص وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ
The impermissible:
d) joining the last ayah of the former surah with the basmalah in one breath, then breaking the basmalah from the first ayah of the latter surah by a breath, example:
وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
ص وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ
Rule 6: there is no basmalah at the beginning of surat Al-Tawbah (also called Baraa’ah). If reading from the beginning of the surah, then an isti‘aathah is enough. If wishing to join it on from Surat Al-Anfaal the reciter has three options:
a) joining the last ayah of surat Al-Anfaal with surat Al-Tawba without doing a sakt (breathless pause), or taking a breath. Example:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ (75) بَرَاءَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
b) to join the last ayah of surat Al-Anfaal with a sakt only – a short pause without taking a breath – for a length of two counts, example:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ (75) بَرَاءَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
c) to stop after the last ayah and take a breath, then immediately start surat Al-Tawba, example:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ (75) بَرَاءَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
There you have it. Six rulings. Lots of sub-rulings. It took me a while, but insha Allah they are all down pat now. 
It’s best to actually write these down… it was the onlyway it ever got into my noggin…
If you have any questions, buzz in, would love to help out any confused minds…
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