Surah Al-Falaq - سورة الفلق

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir explanation) for Surah

 Al-Falaq - تفسير بن كثير لسورة الفلق

An-Nasa'i recorded that Ibn `Abis Al-Juhani said that the Prophet said to him,

يَا ابْنَ عَابِسٍ أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ أَوْ أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِأَفْضَلِ مَا يَتَعَوَّذُ بِهِ الْمُتَعَوِّذُونَ؟

(O Ibn `Abis! Shall I guide you to -- or inform you -- of the best thing that those who seek protection use for protection) He replied, "Of course, O Messenger of Allah!'' The Prophet said,

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ

هَاتَانِ السُّورَتَانِ

(Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of Al-Falaq.'')( and (Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.'')( These two Surahs (are the best protection).) Imam Malik recorded from `A'ishah that whenever the Messenger of Allah was suffering from an ailment, he would recite the Mu`awwidhatayn over himself and blow (over himself). Then if his pain became severe, `A'ishah said that she would recite the Mu`awwidhatayn over him and take his hand and wipe it over himself seeking the blessing of those Surahs. Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah all recorded this Hadith.

It has been reported from Abu Sa`id that the Messenger of Allah used to seek protection against the evil eyes of the Jinns and mankind. But when the Mu`awwi- dhatayn were revea- led, he used them (for protection) and aban- doned all else besides them. At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah recorded this. At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.''

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبّ الْفَلَقِ- مِن شَرّ مَا خَلَقَ- وَمِن شَرّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ- وَمِن شَرّ النَّفَّـثَـتِ فِى الْعُقَدِ- وَمِن شَرّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

(1. Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of Al-Falaq,'') (2. "From the evil of what He has created,'') (3. "And from the evil of the Ghasiq when Waqab,'') (4. "And from the evil of the blowers in knots,'') (5. "And from the evil of the envier when he envies.'') Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Jabir said, "Al-Falaq is the morning.'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas, "Al-Falaq is the morning.'' The same has been reported from Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Abdullah bin Muhammad bin `Aqil, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi and Ibn Zayd. Malik also reported a similar statement from Zayd bin Aslam. Al-Qurazi, Ibn Zayd and Ibn Jarir all said, "This is like Allah's saying,

فَالِقُ الإِصْبَاحِ

(He is the Cleaver of the daybreak.).'' (6:96) Allah said,

مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

(From the evil of what He has created,) This means from the evil of all created things. Thabit Al-Bunani and Al-Hasan Al-Basri both said, "Hell, Iblis and his progeny, from among that which He (Allah) created.''

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

(And from the evil of the Ghasiq when Waqab,) Mujahid said, "Ghasiq is the night, and `when it Waqab' refers to the setting of the sun.'' Al-Bukhari mentioned this from him. Ibn Abi Najih also reported a similar narration from him (Mujahid).

The same was said by Ibn `Abbas, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Ad-Dahhak, Khusayf, Al-Hasan and Qatadah. They said, "Verily, it is the night when it advances with its darkness.'' Az-Zuhri said,

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

(And from the evil of the Ghasiq when Waqab,) "This means the sun when it sets.'' Abu Al-Muhazzim reported that Abu Hurayrah said,

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

(And from the evil of the Ghasiq when Waqab, ) "This means the star.'' Ibn Zayd said, "The Arabs used to say, `Al-Ghasiq is the declination (of the position) of the heavenly body known as Pleiades. The number of those who were ill and stricken with plague would increase whenever it would decline, and their number would lessen whenever it rose.'''

Ibn Jarir said, "Others have said that it is the moon.''

The support for the people who hold this position (that it means the moon) is a narration that Imam Ahmad recorded from Al-Harith bin Abi Salamah. He said that `A'ishah said, "The Messenger of Allah took me by my hand and showed me the moon when it rose, and he said,

تَعَوَّذِي بِاللهِ مِنْ شَرِّ هَذَا الْغَاسِقِ إِذَا وَقَبَ

(Seek refuge with Allah from the evil of this Ghasiq when it becomes dark.)'' At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i both recorded this Hadith in their Books of Tafsir in their Sunans. Allah said,

وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّـثَـتِ فِى الْعُقَدِ

(And from the evil of the blowers in knots,) Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak all said, "This means the witches.'' Mujahid said, "When they perform their spells and blow into the knots.''

In another Hadith it has been reported that Jibril came to the Prophet and said, "Are you suffering from any ailment, O Muhammad'' The Prophet replied,

نَعَمْ

(Yes.) So Jibril said, "In the Name of Allah, I recite prayer (Ruqyah) over you, from every illness that harms you, from the evil of every envious person and evil eye. May Allah cure you.''

In the Book of Medicine of his Sahih, Al-Bukhari recorded that `A'ishah said, "The Messenger of Allah was bewitched until he thought that he had relations with his wives, but he had not had relations with them.'' Sufyan said, "This is the worst form of magic when it reaches this stage.'' So the Prophet said,

يَا عَائِشَةُ، أَعَلِمْتِ أَنَّ اللهَ قَدْ أَفْتَانِي فِيمَا اسْتَفْتَيْتُهُ فِيهِ؟ أَتَانِي رَجُلَانِ فَقَعَدَ أَحَدُهُمَا عِنْدَ رَأْسِي وَالْاخَرُ عِنْدَ رِجْلَيَّ، فَقَال الَّذِي عِنْدَ رَأْسِي لِلْاخَرِ: مَا بَالُ الرَّجُلِ؟ قَالَ: مَطْبُوبٌ، قَالَ: وَمَنْ طَبَّهُ، قَالَ: لَبِيدُ بْنُ أَعْصَمَ: رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي زُرَيْقٍ حَلِيفٌ لِيَهُودَ، كَانَ مُنَافِقًا، قَالَ: وَفِيمَ؟ قَالَ: فِي مُشْطٍ وَمُشَاطَةٍ، قَالَ: وَأَيْنَ؟ قَالَ: فِي جُفِّ طَلْعَةٍ ذَكَرٍ، تَحْتَ رَاعُوفَةٍ فِي بِئْرِ ذَرْوَانَ

(O `A'ishah! Do you know that Allah has answered me concerning that which I asked Him Two men came to me and one of them sat by my head while the other sat by my feet. The one who was sitting by my head said to the other one, `What is wrong with this man' The other replied, `He is bewitched.' The first one said, `Who bewitched him' The other replied, `Labid bin A`sam. He is a man from the tribe of Banu Zurayq who is an ally of the Jews, and a hypocrite.' The first one asked, `With what (did he bewitch him)' The other replied, `With a comb and hair from the comb.' The first one asked, `Where (is the comb)' The other answered, `In the dried bark of a male date palm under a rock in a well called Dharwan.') `A'ishah said, "So he went to the well to remove it (the comb with the hair). Then he said,

هَذِهِ الْبِئْرُ الَّتِي أُرِيتُهَا، وَكَأَنَّ مَاءَهَا نُقَاعَةُ الحِنَّاءِ،وَكَأَنَّ نَخْلَهَا رُؤُوسُ الشَّيَاطِين

(This is the well that I saw. It was as if its water had henna soaked in it and its palm trees were like the heads of devils.) So he removed it (of the well). Then I (`A'ishah) said, `Will you not make this public' He replied,

أَمَّا اللهُ فَقَدْ شَفَانِي، وَأَكْرَهُ أَنْ أُثِيرَ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ شَرًّا

(Allah has cured me and I hate to spread (the news of) wickedness to any of the people.)''

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبّ النَّاسِ- مَلِكِ النَّاسِ- إِلَـهِ النَّاسِ- مِن شَرّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ- الَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ- مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

(1. Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of An-Nas,'') (2. "The King of An-Nas,'') (3. "The God of An-Nas,'') (4. "From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws.'') (5. "Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.'') (6. "Of Jinn and An-Nas.'') These are three attributes from the attributes of the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic. They are lordship, sovereignty and divinity. Thus, He is the Lord of everything, the King of everything and the God of everything. All things are created by Him, owned by Him, and subservient to Him. Therefore, He commands whoever is seeking protection to seek refuge with the One Who has these attributes from the evil of the whisperer who withdraws. This (the whisperer) is the devil that is assigned to man. For verily, there is not any of the Children of Adam except that he has a companion that beautifies wicked deeds for him. This devil will go to any lengths to confuse and confound him. The only person who is safe is He Whom Allah protects.

It is confirmed in the Sahih that he (the Prophet ) said,

مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا قَدْ وُكِّلَ بِهِ قَرِينُهُ

(There is not a single one of you except that his companion (a devil) has been assigned to him.) They (the Companions) said, "What about you, O Messenger of Allah'' He replied,

نَعَمْ، إِلَّا أَنَّ اللهَ أَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ فَأَسْلَمَ، فَلَا يَأْمُرُنِي إِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ

(Yes. However, Allah has helped me against him and he has accepted Islam. Thus, he only commands me to do good.) It is also confirmed in the Two Sahihs from Anas, who reported the story of Safiyyah when she came to visit the Prophet while he was performing I`tikaf, that he went out with her during the night to walk her back to her house. So, two men from the Ansar met him (on the way). When they saw the Prophet , they began walking swiftly. So, the Messenger of Allah said,

عَلَى رِسْلِكُمَا، إِنَّهَا صَفِيَّةُ بِنْتُ حُيَيَ

(Slow down! This is Safiyyah bint Huyay!) They said, "Glory be to Allah, O Messenger of Allah!'' He said,

«إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَجْرِي مِنِ ابْنِ آدَمَ مَجْرَى الدَّم، وَإِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَنْ يَقْذِفَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمَا شَيْئًا، أَوْ قَالَ: شَرًّا»

(Verily, Shaytan runs in the Son of Adam like the running of the blood. And verily, I feared that he might cast something into your hearts -- or he said -- evil.) Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said concerning Allah's statement,

الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ

(The whisperer (Al-Waswas) who withdraws.) "The devil who is squatting (perched) upon the heart of the Son of Adam. So when he becomes absentminded and heedless he whispers. Then, when he remembers Allah he withdraws.'' Mujahid and Qatadah also said this.

Al-Mu`tamir bin Sulayman reported that his father said, "It has been mentioned to me that Shaytan is Al-Waswas. He blows into the heart of the Son of Adam when he is sad and when he is happy. But when he (man) remembers Allah, Shaytan withdraws.'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas;

الْوَسْوَاسِ

(The whisperer.) "He is Shaytan. He whispers and then when he is obeyed, he withdraws.'' As for Allah's saying;

الَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ

(Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.) Is this specific for the Children of Adam as is apparent, or is it general, including both mankind and Jinns

There are two views concerning this. This is because they (the Jinns) are also included in the usage of the word An-Nas (the people) in most cases.

Ibn Jarir said, "The phrase Rijalun min Al-Jinn (Men from the Jinns) has been used in reference to them, so it is not strange for the word An-Nas to be applied to them also.'' Then Allah says,

مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

(Of Jinn and An-Nas.) Is this explanatory of Allah's statement,

الَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ

(Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.) Then, Allah explains this by saying,

مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

(Of Jinn and An-Nas.) This is supportive of the second view. It has also been said that Allah's saying,

مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

(Of Jinn and An-Nas) is an explanation of who is it that whispers into the breasts of mankind from the devils of mankind and Jinns. This is similar to Allah's saying,

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نِبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً شَيَـطِينَ الإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِى بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُوراً

o(And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies -- Shayatin among mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion.) (6:112) Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "A man came to the Prophet and said, `O Messenger of Allah! Sometimes I say things to myself that I would rather fall from the sky than say (aloud openly). ' The Prophet said,

اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرٌ الْحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي رَدَّ كَيْدَهُ إِلَى الْوَسْوَسَةِ

(Allah is Most Great! Allah is Most Great! All praise is due to Allah Who sent his (Shaytan's) plot back as only a whisper.)'' Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith.

This is the end of the Tafsir. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of all that exists.

(Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of this publication. If, however, any errors are noticed by the reader, we would kindly request notification to be corrected in future editions.)

Surah Al-Falaq - سورة الفلق

Muhammad Muhsin Khan - Muhammad Taqi-ud Din al Hilali Translation

1. Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the daybreak,
2. "From the evil of what He has created;
3. "And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon as it sets or goes away).
4. "And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots,
5. "And from the evil of the envier when he envies." the L