Surah Al Falaq

This Surah is revealed in Makkah. It has five verses.

The Surah contains some divine teaching commands to the holy Prophet (S), in particular,
and to all Muslims, in general, to seek refuge with Allah from every kind of ill arising from
outer nature, dark and evil plotting and envy on the part of others.

Background

These two Surahs ( Surah Al Falaq & Surah Al Naas ), placed at the end of the Holy text in
the present arrangement, were revealed to teach the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) and his followers
how to seek Allah’s refuge from the unseen actions of sorcerers, devils and hostile human
beings. According to authentic reports, some Jews cast a magical spell on the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W). By virtue of the divine protection given to him, no magic could refrain or divert him
from discharging his duties as a Prophet. However, the spell cast by the Jew made him to
suffer from some disease. On that occasion, these two Surahs were revealed, and the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W) was directed to recite them, after which he was freed from the influence of
the witchcraft. Then the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) used to recite them every night before going
to sleep.

Translation

1:- Say, “I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak

2:- From the evil of everything He has created,
3:- And from the evil of the dark night when it penetrates,
4:- And from the evil of the women who blow on the knots,
5:- And from the evil of an envier when he envies.

Explanation

The term /falaq/ is based on /falq/ which originally means 'to split, to separate some from
others, daybreak’; and since at the time of the appearance of daylight the black curtain of
night breaks open, this word is used with the meaning of 'daybreak', as well as, /fajr/ which is
used for the 'break of dawn’.

1:- In the first verse of the Surah, the holy Prophet (S), himself, as a model and leader, is
addressed and the command is:

"Say: I take refuge with the Lord of the dawn,"

"From the evil of what He has created,"

We should seek refuge with Allah from the evil of all wicked creatures, wicked men, jinn,
animals and evil happenings; and from the evil of the 'carnal soul’.
2:- The phrase in the second verse does not mean that the divine creation, by itself, has an
evil because creation is the same as existence and existing is absolute goodness.
The Qur'an says:

"He Who has made everything which He has created Most good...”.
Evil appears where the creatures diverge from the laws of creation and separate from the
appointed path; for example, the sting (of insects) or the keen teeth of animals are their
weapons to defend themselves against their enemies, and the same is true for the weapon
we use against our enemies.
3:- The term /qasiq/ is derived from /qasaq/ which, as Raqib cites in Mufradat, means 'the
intense darkness of the night which appears at midnight'. Most of the sorcerers practice their
sorcery in hours of night. Moreover, this is the time when all harmful creatures come out and
try to subject people to their evil acts.
4:- The term /naffathat/ is derived from /naffth/ which originally means 'to emit a little water
out of the mouth'
This is one of the ways generally adopted by sorcerers, especially by women practicing
witchcraft.
5:- This verse shows that envy is the worst and the most disgraceful quality of the wicked
actions, because the Qur'an has counted it equal to the behaviour of savage animals, biting
snakes, and tempter Satans.
Normally, the basic reason of using black magic against someone is jealousy. In addition,
jealousy may prompt the envier to afflict other harms to a person. That is why it has been
specifically mentioned in this context.

Suran An Naas

This Surah was revealed in Makkah. It has six verses.

The human is always exposed to devilish temptations and the Satans, of Jinn and men, try
to penetrate into his heart. The higher the standard of his knowledge and degree of his
social position, the more intense the temptations of the Satans will be until they divert him
from the straight way and send him astray.

This Surah commands the holy Prophet (S), as a leader and as an example, to seek refuge
with Allah from the evil of any temptations.

The content of this Surah corresponds with the previous one, Surah Falaq.

Translation

1:- Say, “I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind,

2:- The King of mankind,
3:- The God of mankind,
4:- From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws (when Allah’s name is pronounced)
5:- The one who whispers in the hearts of people,
6:- Whether from among the Jinn or Mankind.

Explanation:-
In this Surah, which is the last Surah of the Holy Qur'an, the Prophet (S), again,personally
addressed, as an example to and a leader of people, and the command is:

"Say: I take refuge with the Lord of Mankind,"

“The King of Mankind,"
“The God of Mankind,"
It is interesting that, here three attributes of the magnificent attributes of Allah; Lordship,
Ownership, and Divinity, are emphasized, all of which are directly concerned with the training
of Man, and his rescue from the grips of the tempters.

1;- he confesses His Lordship and places himself under His guidance
2:- he knows himself as His object, and His obedient servant.
3:- he goes on the path of worshipping Him, and avoids worshipping others but Him.
Undoubtedly, the person who is actually qualified with these three attributes, and truly
believes in them, will be safe from the mischief of the tempters
4:- The term /waswas/ has the infinitive meaning 'to tempt' and sometimes it is used, as in
this verse, with the subjective meaning, 'tempter'.

The term /xannas/ is derived from /xunus/ with the meaning of 'to gather, to remain behind',
and /xannas/, here means 'Satan', because he hides himself at the name of Allah and hiding
is with the action of remaining behind, so, the word has been used in the sense of 'to hide'.

Therefore, the meaning of the verses are: 'Say I take refuge with Allah from the devilish
tempter who runs away and hides himself from the name of Allah.

Whispering’ in this verse means evil thoughts and scruples created in one’s heart. Normally
this is done by Satan, but when Allah’s name is pronounced and His refuge is sought, he
withdraws from his evil act.

5 & 6 :- This is an indication that even human beings can cast evil thoughts in an indirect
manner. One should beware of such people and seek Allah’s refuge from them.