B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
Eed Mubaarak
Teachings of the Qur'aan
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 sall 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-Faatihah 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-Nasr and defeat of the
opponents proclaimed in Soorah Al-Lahab. Then, the guidance was concluded with
a concise statement of Towheed - the essence of Islam - in Soorah Ikhlaas. 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, 4 from 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 sall 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 sall
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 Shaytaan 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 sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam tried to harm him was through magic. One magician of Madeenah, Labeed
ibn A'sam, cast a spell on the Prophet sall 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 Hasad 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 Shaytaan 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 Shaytaan. 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, 4 from 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 Shaytaan 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.
Shaytaan 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 Shaytaan 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 Shaytaan 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 Shaytaan from whom you
must seek the refuge of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala.
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[1] Based on a Hadeeth from 'Aaisha radhiallaahu 'anha, some
people think the word "Ghaasiq" in this verse means "moon", but the words of
the verse are clearly describing the spreading of the darkness, not the moon.
The scholars have interpreted the mention of the moon in the said Hadeeth to
indicate the night being the time of appearance of moon. The moon's presence is
noticed only because of the darkness of the night. Even the light reflected by
the moon is more beneficial to a perpetrator attacking his prey than to the
victim.
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Copyright © 2008 Ayub A. Hamid
All rights reserved
This document may be used, only with this copyright notice
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title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be
attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all
other rights, which are reserved.
Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur'aan,
not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives
interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details.
Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur'aan is in fact only an
expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu
wa Ta'aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur'aan itself. Only the
original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur'aan.
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Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic
thinker residing in Canada for the last 33 years. His recently published books
are:
1. Islam - Does It Make Sense?
2. Unveiling the Commands-The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar
and Jilbaab.
3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth.
4. A Book Unlike Any Other.
5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms.
6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs.
http://soundvisioncanada.com/shop/pbrowse.asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004
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The following soowar 'Teachings of the Qur'aan' series by
Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:-
Al Faatihah
Al Baqarah
Aali 'Imraan
A Nisaa'
Al Maaidah
Al An'aam
Al A'raaf
Al Anfaal
At Teen
Al`Alaq
Al Qadr
Al Bayyinah
Al Zilzaal
Al Aadiyatt
Al Qaari`ah
At Takaathur
Al`Asr
Al Humazah
Al Feel
Al Quraish
Al Maa`oon
Al-Kowthar
Al Kaafiroon
Al Nasr
Al Lahab
Al Ikhlaas
K a r i m a
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