Surah al-Falaq is the 113th Surah of the Glorious
Qur’an revealed in Makkah.
“Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the
Dawn,
From the evil of what He has
created,
From the evil of the dark night
when it overtakes
And from the evil of blowing on
knots (of the malignant witchcraft)
And from the evil of the envious
when he envies.”
Although, there are some traditions regarding the revelation
of this Surah that some Jews had performed some sort of magic on the Noble
Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), but this charge may be refuted on few grounds such as
this Surah is “Makkan” and confrontation of the Messenger with the Jews was in
Madinah. Moreover, if magic or sorcery could influence the Messenger
physically, then it could affect his soul also and ultimately the mission of
Islam. Allah is Powerful and Omnipotent and protected him from such influences.
Allah negates such charges of magic against His Messenger in Surah al-Furqan Ayah 8 and 9: “The unjust
ones say, “You are merely following a bewitched person.” Consider their various
views about you (Muhammad).They have gone astray and are not able to find the
right path.”
We should seek
protection from Allah against all wicked creatures, wicked men, animals, Jinn,
and evil happenings and from the evil of “carnal soul”.
The second Ayah
above does not mean that the Divine creation, by itself, has an evil because
creation is the same as existence and existing is absolute goodness. As
asserted in Surah al-Sajdah Ayah 7: “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.
In the third Ayah,
the word “Ghasiq” is derived from “Ghsaq” which means the intense darkness of
the night which appears at mid-night. Another meaning of the “Ghasiq” is “attacker”
or “evil creature” that uses the cover of the darkness of the night to attack,
because not only the wild and biting animals come out of their dens at night
and cause damage, but also filthy persons often misuse the darkness of the
night for their wicked aims.
In the fourth Ayah,
the word “Naffathat” is derived from “Naffth” which means to blow a little
water from mouth; hence the term is used for blowing. But many commentators
have interpreted this word to witches who blow on knots chanting in sorcery,
while some others interpreted it for “tempting women”, especially their own
wives. It does not mean that magic or sorcery was practiced on the Noble Messenger
(s.a.w.a.s.). It is like healthy persons seek refuge to Allah from deadly
diseases.
The last Ayah
refers to the envy which is the worst and most disgraceful quality of a wicked
person because Allah has counted it equal to the savage animals, biting snakes,
and tempter Shaitan.
In summary, the
main sources of evil are: dark night when it comes, those who blow on knots,
envious ones. Envy is the origin of many great sins. The Infallible Imam
Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) said: “Verily, envy eats faith as fire eats wood.” The
Infallible Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “The decay of religion is envy, arrogance
and pride.
The Noble Messenger
(s.a.w.a.s.) said: “Some Ayahs have been revealed to me, the likes of which
have not been revealed before; Surah Falaq and Surah Nas. Read them whenever
you get up and whenever you go to bed.”
Supplication: O Lord! We too seek refuge to You from the
evils of the envious ones, to protect us from being envious to others. O Lord!
Keep us safe and sound from the evils of those who ‘blow on knots’ and from
their temptations against the path of Justice and Truth.
Sources used:
The Glorious Qur’an (Urdu Translation) by Ayatullah Nasir
Makarem Shirazi
The Glorious Qur’an (English Translation) by Ayatullah Agha
H.M.M. Pooya Yazdi
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