After reciting the opening supplication, we move on to what is known as the اِسْتِعاذَة isti’aadhah - saying أعوذُ بِاللهِ مِن الشيطانِ الرجيمِ.
The first part - أعوذ باللهِ is commonly translated as ‘I seek refuge in Allah’, but this translation would be better placed with the verb form استعاذ - which is the verb used by Allah in verse 36 of Surah Fussilat, when He says, “And if there comes to you from Shaytan an evil suggestion, then seek refuge - قاستعِذ - in Allaah.”
The verb form of أعوذ, however, being devoid of the additional letters س and ت that we see at the beginning of استعاذ - no longer carries the meaning of seeking something out, but rather indicates that we have complied with Allah’s command to seek the refuge, that we have exerted the efforts needed to seek it, and that we are currently in the state of taking refuge in Him.
Thus, when we say أعوذ باللهِ what we are essentially saying is, “I acknowledge that You alone can provide me shelter and protection from all harm and evil, or any adverse circumstances, and thus I hereby turn to You as as refuge and sanctuary, to safeguard, guide and protect me.”