To seek refuge in Allah – a powerful act of worship:
Isti’adhah is an act of worship. It is turning to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), for seeking refuge from shaytan. In other words, it is turning to an all powerful entity to get spiritual help, since a human alone cannot protect himself.
Isti’adhah is a form of drawing closer to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and seeking refuge with him from the evil of every evil creature.
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) commanded that we seek refuge from the satanic enemy, because the devil does not relent in his enmity if we treat him with kindness and leniency. The devil only seeks the destruction of the son of Adam due to the vicious enmity and hatred he has always had towards man’s father, Adam (alaihissalam).
Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) had multiple ways of doing Isti’adhah. The longest version is:
Translation
I seek refuge with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), the Hearing, the Knowing, from the cursed Shaytan, from his coercion, lures to arrogance and poems.
Meaning
“I seek refuge with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) from the cursed Shaytan so that he is prevented from affecting my religious or worldly affairs, or hindering me from adhering to what I was commanded, or luring me into what I was prohibited from.”
Indeed, only Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is able to prevent the evil of Shaytan from touching the son of Adam (alaihissalam). This is why Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) allowed us to be lenient and kind with the human devil, so that his soft nature might cause him to refrain from the evil he is indulging in. However, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) required us to seek refuge with him from the evil of Shaytan, because he neither accepts bribes nor does kindness affect him, for he is pure evil. Thus, only he who created Shaytan is able to stop his evil.