When the righteous deed was mentioned and a promise was made regarding it, it was connected to His saying: 'So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah.' This indicates that seeking refuge is among the righteous deeds for which Allah grants great reward. The meaning is: So when you intend to recite the Quran, seek refuge, just as His saying: 'When you stand for prayer, wash your faces,' and as you say: 'When you eat, mention the name of Allah.' If you say: Why did he express the intention of the action with the word of the action? I say: Because the action occurs with the intention and desire without any interval and according to it, and it is due to a strong cause and a clear association. And from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: I recited to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and I said: I seek refuge with the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing from the accursed devil. He said to me: 'O son of Umm Abd, say: I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed devil. This is how Gabriel, peace be upon him, taught me from the pen from the preserved tablet.' There is no authority for him, meaning no control and no guardianship over the allies of Allah, meaning: They do not accept from him nor obey him in what he wants from them in following his steps. His authority is only over those who take him as a protector and obey him, being polytheists. The pronoun refers to their Lord. It may also refer to the devil, in the sense: By him, and his deception and whispering.