Seeking Refuge From Allah Before Reciting Quran
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْمِ. إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُوْنَ. إِنَّمَا سُلْطَانُهُ عَلَى الَّذِيْنَ يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُ وَالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ بِهِ مُشْرِكُوْنَ. So, [in order to warn them,] when you read out the Quran [before them, first] seek the refuge of God from Satan the accursed. [78] [He will definitely whisper evil suggestions to you; but remember] he has no power on those who have professed faith and who trust their Lord alone. He has power only on those who have friendship with him and associate partners with God . (16:98-100) (Quranic Exegesis: Javed Ahmed Ghamidi) (Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem) _______________________________ [78] This directs the Prophet (sws) to seek God’s refuge when he presents the message of the Quran. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes: The potent affect of the Quran is dependent on the state of the heart of a person. If a person seeks refuge of God through his tongue only, it does not have any influence on him. However, when this supplication comes out from the depth of his heart, he is braced with such force that it gives him support to counter the onslaught of Satan and his accomplices. This onslaught is a consequence of the trial which the Almighty has ordained in this world for human beings. Hence there is no escape from this in any situation. The hidden potential of a person comes to the surface because of this. If a person has the support of the blessing of seeking refuge with the Almighty, he can never be defeated by Satan and his agents . (Amin Ahsan Islahi, Tadabbur-i Qur’an, vol. 4, 448)
You can say that this was direction specifically given to the Prophet (sws) because It has been said as a premise for actual discussion later in verses ( 101-103 ), where answers have been given for different accusations against the Quran. Just so a reminder to Prophet (sws) to stay firm on His belief and not get influenced by such accusations. The same suggestion has been made to Prophet (sws) in a differ ent way, see Quran ( 7:200 ) and right after that verse, a general attitude of God-fearing Muslims is also discussed in the same way as seeking refuge from Allah against Satan, s ee Quran ( 7:201 ). There is no need to establish an Obligation of something which has not been explicitly said to be one.