Surah Al-Falaq, Ayah 5

Which was revealed in Makkah

The Position of Ibn Mas`ud concerning Al-Mu`awwidhatayn

Imam Ahmad recorded from Zirr bin Hubaysh that Ubayy bin Ka`b told him that Ibn Mas`ud did not record the Mu`awwidhatayn in his Mushaf (copy of the Qur'an). So Ubayy said, "I testify that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed me that Jibril said to him,

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ

(Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of Al-Falaq.")(113:1) So he said it. And Jibril said to him,

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ

(Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.") (114:1) So he said it. Therefore, we say what the Prophet said."

The Virtues of Surahs Al-Falaq and An-Nas

In his Sahih, Muslim recorded on the authority of `Uqbah bin `Amir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

The word Sharr: ` Allamah Ibn Qayyim's Exposition

Verse [ 113:2] مِن شَرِّ‌ مَا خَلَقَ (From the evil of everything He has created.) ` Allamah Ibn Qayyim expounds that the word sharr (evil) is employed in two different senses: [ 1] pain, loss, injury, trouble, grief, distress and affliction which affect man directly, and they are by themselves troubles and afflictions; and [ 2] the factors that cause losses, injuries and afflictions. The second type covers unbelief, idolatry and all sins. The things from which the Qur'an and Sunnah require man to seek refuge in Allah are either of these two types. The Traditional supplication that is masnun after salah includes seeking of refuge from four things: [ 1] punishment of the grave; [ 2] punishment of the Hell-Fire; [ 3] hardships and privations of life; and [ 4] trials and tribulations of death. Of these, the first two are afflictions and punishments in their own right, and the last two are causes of afflictions and punishments.

This chapter, containing five verses, was revealed at Makkah. It is a prayer for protection. The title of the chapter is derived from verse no. 1, which asks people to seek refuge in ‘the Lord of the Dawn or Daybreak’ from every kind of ill arising from outer nature and from the envy and the dark and evil plottings of others. God is the One who rends the darkness of night and brings out from it the light of dawn. It is this God who can remove the dark clouds of trouble overshadowing a man and bring him into the sunshine of well-being. The present world has been made with a view to putting human beings to the test. So, here there is evil along with good. The only way for man to be safe from the ill effects of evil is to seek refuge in God against it. Evil is of different kinds. For example, the mischief indulged in by evil-hearted people in the dead of the night, and the practitioners of witchcraft. Similarly, there are individuals who, seeing others living prosperously, become jealous and make the latter the victims of their jealousy-inspired actions. A believer should seek refuge in God from the mischief of all such people, and undoubtedly it is God alone who has the power to protect man from all kinds of evil.