“قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ۞ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ ۞ إِلَهِ النَّاسِ ۞ مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ۞ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ۞ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ”
Say, ‘I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, against the harm of the slinking whisperer, who whispers into the hearts of mankind, whether they be jinn or men.’ [114]
To be recited 3 times
Brief Commentary
- This surah is included in the morning and evening supplications as the Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said that reciting this surah along with surah Al-Ikhlas [112] and Al-Falaq [113] three times every morning and evening will suffice a person for protection from everything [1]
- The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said about this surah and surah Al-Falaq [113], “No one seeks refuge like the one who seeks it through these two surahs” [2]
- The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) once said to a companion, “Have you seen the verses revealed tonight, those which no one has ever seen anything like them? Surah Al-Falaq [113], and Surah Al-Naas [114]” [3]
- Imam Ibnul-Qayyim said, “The need of a person for these two surahs is greater than their need for air, food, drink, and clothing [4]
- “Lord of mankind” is an attribute of Allah which encompasses His protection and nurturing of us, and the fact that He is the one who looks after all our affairs. This verse therefore affirms the Oneness of Allah in terms of His Lordship
- “King of mankind” is an attribute of Allah that progressively follows Him being the Lord. Since He is our Lord who looks after all of our affairs, He is therefore our King who has full control and ownership over us. This verse therefore affirms the Oneness of Allah in terms of His names & attributes as the true King can only be so due to His perfect names and attributes
- “God of mankind” also progressively follows Him being our Lord and King. Since He is the one who has these attributes, then it is incumbent upon us to worship Him and take him as our God. This verse therefore affirms the Oneness of Allah in terms of His [deserving of] worship
- After praising Allah and affirming His true Oneness through the three types of tawheed (Lordship, names & attributes, and worship), we begin to clarify what we seek refuge from, which is the shaytan
- The shaytan is described as the “slinking whisperer”. This is because he is in two states with regards to the people. When a person is weak and doesn’t remember Allah, the shaytan is constantly whispering evil in his ear, therefore he is the whisperer. However, when a person becomes strong and remembers Allah, the shaytan retreats as he is prevented from affecting this individual, therefore he is described as slinking/retreating
- When a person doesn’t remember Allah, the shaytan has free access to this individual, such that he is able to whisper directly to his heart, so it is imperative that we seek refuge in Allah from him as he is in direct contact with our hearts
- The last verse in this surah clarifies that the shaytan that leads us to evil is not always from the jinn, rather there are humans who also push us to do evil, so we seek refuge in Allah from them too
Benefits & Action Points
- When you say you seek refuge in Allah, think about the state of refugees around the world, they leave the worst behind them to seek refuge elsewhere as they believe this place will save them from their current state. This is how we should feel when we seek refuge in Allah, that we are doomed without this refuge and we really need it
- When we recite Surah Al-Ikhlas, we refer to Allah as “the self-Sufficient Master” whom we all depend on, and this surah teaches us how we depend on Allah
- Surah Al-Falaq teaches us how to seek refuge from external sources of harm, and this surah teaches us how to seek refuge from internal sources of harm, as following the whispers of shaytan will lead us to commit sins, therefore we would cause ourselves to be harmed and punished
- Surah Al-Falaq teaches us how to seek refuge from the harms that we cannot control, and this surah teaches us to seek refuge from the harms that we can control
- Surah Al-Falaq teaches us how to seek refuge from harms related to this life, and this surah teaches us how to seek refuge from harms related to the hereafter
- In Surah Al-Falaq, we seek refuge in Allah once from four different sources of evil, but in this surah we seek refuge in Allah 3 times from one source of evil. This teaches us that the evil/harms related to the hereafter are far greater than those related to this life
________________________________________
- Hadith, reported by Abu Dawud, hadith number 5082, Al-Tirmidhi, hadith number 3575, and Al-Nasaa’i, hadith number 5428
- Hadith, reported by Al-Nasaa’i, hadith number 5429
- Hadith, reported in Sahih Muslim, hadith number 814
- “Bada’i Al-Fawaid” 2/199 by Ibunl-Qayyim
Hadith Commentary 