Al-Falaq

Soorah 113:1-5

An-Naas

Soorah 114:1-6

Name and Background

Teachings and Commentary

Ayub A. Hamid

 

Name and Background

The last two Soorahs of the Qur-aan will be discussed together.

The names of both of these Soorahs have been taken from the first verse respectively.

These Soorahs teach how the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the believers should seek only Allaah’s refuge from the dangers they face while trying to succeed in living according to the guidance provided by the Qur-aan. The Qur-aan starts with al-Faatiĥah wherein the believers humbly request Allaah to show them the straight path. The whole Qur-aan showed that path, guiding the Islamic movement through all its phases until it succeeded in its mission and victory was declared in Soorah An-Naŝr and defeat of the opponents proclaimed in Soorah Al-Lahab. Then, the guidance was concluded with a concise statement of Towĥeed – the essence of Islam – in Soorah Ikhlaaŝ. Now the Qur-aan is concluding with advice to believers to seek refuge in their Master who showed them the straight path so that they can continue on that path under His protection.

The concept of seeking refuge automatically implies two things: firstly, the seeker feels that he on his own cannot fend off the danger from which refuge is being sought; secondly, the entity whose refuge is sought has the power, resources and means to protect the refugee. These Soorahs teach that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala is the only One Who has that power, authority, means and resources to protect a believer who seeks His refuge.

As both of these Soorahs teach mankind to seek refuge in Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala, collectively they are called “Mu‘awwi dzatain” – “the two refuge-seeking” Soorahs.

Teachings

Al-Falaq 113:1-5

In the name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1 Proclaim! I seek refuge in the Lord Who brings things out, 2 from the evil of what He has created, 3 from the evil of the darkness as it overspreads, 4 from the evil of the blowers on knots (who practise secret arts or witchcraft) 5 and from the evil of the envier when he envies.

An-Naas 114:1-6

 

In the name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1 Proclaim! I seek refuge in the Lord of people, 2 the King of people, 3 the God of people, 4from the evil of the whisperings of the incessant retreating whisperer, 5 who whispers into the minds of people – 6 whether he is from jinns or human beings.

Commentary

1 Proclaim! I seek refuge in the Lord Who brings things out, 2 from the evil of what He has created, 3 from the evil of the darkness as it overspreads, 4 from the evil of the blowers on knots (who practise secret arts or witchcraft) 5 and from the evil of the envier when he envies.

Instead of using Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala’s Names, the refuge has been sought by using an attribute of Allaah as “the Lord Who brings things out”. The attribute indicates that He is the Lord of things from the evil of which we are seeking His refuge. This implies that as the Lord, He is the only real source of protection from the evil that may emanate from the things that He has created.

The Arabic word used in the first verse is “Falaq” which is usually translated as “Dawn”. The literal meaning of Falaq is “to bring out by splitting or breaking open” such as bringing the plant out by breaking the seed open and by breaking the earth open, or breaking the dawn by making the light come piercing through the darkness. The Qur-aan has used this word for both of these meanings:

“It is Allaah who splits and sprouts a grain-seed or a fruit-stone… He causes the dawn to break;…” (Al-An‘aam 6:95-96)

Thus there is no reason to restrict the translation to “dawn”. It is a general term that is applicable to all things that Allaah brings out by splitting or breaking open whatever is covering them or holding them back, including for example, water springing out of earth, or rain coming out of clouds or an offspring coming out of the womb or an egg, and so on and so forth. Hence, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala is the Lord that brings things out.

The refuge of the Lord Who creates or brings things out has been sought in general from the risks posed by, or evil of, everything He has created. The Creator, Lord or Master of the creation is the only One Who has power over His creations and can protect from their evil – none else can. The point to note is that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala did not create evil; He created everything for a useful role and for goodness in this world. Evil does not have its own distinct existence. In addition to the evil that people commit, the evil includes the risk of problems and dangers inherent in the imperfections of all the creations within this temporary universe. They have been designed with built-in imperfections in order to end at a predetermined time. It is only after this temporary test that a perfect and everlasting universe will be created. Until then, only He can shield His slaves from the problems that may arise out of the people and things that He has created.

After this general request, refuge from three specific risks is being requested in this Soorah and a fourth one in Soorah An-Naas.

1.       The risks that are posed by the darkness of night[1]. Nights are dangerous. Dangerous animals emerge and become active at night, and so do criminals. Nights used to be even more dangerous, rather dreadful, at the time of the revelation of these verses because of the danger of night raids from enemies. The opponents of the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam also used to conspire to attack and kill him at night, so that the murderer could not be identified. Because of these dangers, the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam advised the Muslims, “When the sun sets, devils spread out in the land, so keep your children at home and hold your animals in their barns, until the night departs.” Although, not the subject matter being discussed here, an ancillary lesson we should keep in mind is that the youth who stay out at night fall prey to devils and commit immoral and inappropriate acts. Thus it is extremely important that Muslim youth should not stay out late at nights.

2.       The evil of the blowers on knots. This refers to those who practise secret arts, magic or witchcraft type of activities. One of the techniques they use to cast a spell is to blow on a thread and tie a knot on every blow, usually seven times. Most of the witchcraft as we know it is usually invalid superstitious practice that is totally ineffective. But some magic taught by Shayŧaan or secret arts taught by angels in the past and handed down over the ages may have an effect on the faculty of mental perception of people. An example is the effect of Egyptian magicians on Moosa ‘alayhissalaam (Moses) and the audience at that time. But that effect can be nullified by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala’s help or by recitation of His words or by Du‘aa to Him. One of the ways the opponents of the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam tried to harm him was through magic. One magician of Madeenah, Labeed ibn A‘ŝam, cast a spell on the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam that was nullified within a day by Du‘aa and recitation of the Qur-aan. Those Muslims who establish their relationship with Allaah, continue to bless their hearts and minds with the remembrance of Allaah and continue to seek Allaah’s refuge through du‘aa will remain safe and protected from the evils of such things. Those who, instead of relying on Allaah, seek other means to protect themselves from the effect of such things lose the protection of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala.

3.       The evil of the envier when he envies. The Arabic word Ĥasad means a feeling of jealousy against another person who has been endowed with some success or something good, and the jealous person wishes that the endowed person is deprived of that success or goodness. As long as the jealous person just burns in his own jealousy and does not take any step under the influence of jealousy, it is hurting only the jealous person, not the victim of his jealousy. But when the jealous person does something to hurt the victim in any way, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala’s help can protect the victim from the evils of the jealous person’s behaviour. Muslims must in particular remember the jealousy of Shayŧaan against us and his vow to remove us from the straight path of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala’s Deen. We must continue to seek Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala’s refuge to protect ourselves from the machinations of the Shayŧaan. That is the only effective way of protection from his incitements.

1 Proclaim! I seek refuge in the Lord of people, 2 the King of people, 3 the God of people, 4from the evil of the whisperings of the incessant retreating whisperer, 5 who whispers into the minds of people – 6 whether he is from jinns or human beings.

This Soorah uses three attributes of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala to seek His protection: Lord of people Who takes care of their needs and provides sustenance, King of people Who rules over them on His own authority and power, and God of people only Who is worthy of and has the legitimate right to be worshipped. Being the Lord, King and God, only He has the power, means and authority to protect people from the machinations, temptations and incitements of the Shayŧaan who wants people to express their gratitude to others for the bounties of Allaah, to disobey Him while obeying their own wishes or wishes of other people, and join others with Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala in worship and devotion.

Shayŧaan incites people by continually whispering his bad ideas and notions into the minds of people. These incitements come in the form of friendly advice, good ideas, and useful innovations. It is done in a manner that people do not even feel that they are being misguided. It continues until the barrier is broken and the person decides to try it only once. Then the next time it becomes easier and easier to have the person repeat the same behaviour until it becomes a part of his personality. Then the incitement starts on the next more serious level of the bad behaviour.  The irony is that despite the repeated suggestions in various convincing ways, the Shayŧaan never takes the responsibility of the action of his victim, because all he did was suggest, the decision to act was the person’s own. All these meanings are covered in the “Waswaasilkhannaas” – “whisperings of the incessant retreating whisperer”.

The most important thing to remember in this respect is that such Shayŧaan can be a Jinn who is not visible or a human being, your friend, your colleague and your peer with whom you spend time or to whom you listen. Anyone who suggests something to you that should not be done, regardless of the excuse or the convincing reasons the person uses, is a Shayŧaan from whom you must seek the refuge of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala.