Seeking refuge: how it is done, before the recitation or after it?

Al-Aswad said: When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) began the prayer, he would say "Allahu Akbar" and then say these words: "O Allah, You are free of all imperfection, and all praise is Yours. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god besides You." After that he would recite the ta'awwudh (seeking refuge in Allah from Shaytan) and then recite Surah al-Fatihah.

Al-Aswad said: I heard Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), when beginning the prayer, say "Allahu Akbar" and then say these words: "O Allah, You are free of all imperfection, and all praise is Yours. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god besides You." After that he recited the ta'awwudh.

Nafi' said: For the ta'awwudh, Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." Or he would say: "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytan."

Abdullah bin Muslim bin Yasar said: Once I was reciting "A'udhu billahi al-Sami' al-'Alim" (I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing), and my father said: "What is this? Say: 'A'udhu billahi min al-shaytan al-rajim' (I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan). Allah Almighty is, in any case, All-Hearing and All-Knowing."

Ayyub said: Muhammad used to recite the ta'awwudh before Surah al-Fatihah and after Surah al-Fatihah. In his ta'awwudh he used to say: "I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the whisperings of the devils, and I seek refuge in Allah lest they come near me."

Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say at the beginning of the prayer: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the accursed Shaytan: from the madness he inflicts, the arrogance he instils, and the poetry he inspires."