الفلق

Insights fromSūrah al-Falaq

[Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of whatever He has created, and from the evil of the night when it descends, and from the evil of those ˹witches˺ blowing on knots, and from the evil of an envier when they envy.”] (113:1–5)

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, begins Sūrat al-Falaq with the command to seek refuge in Him and to take shelter with Him—Mighty and Exalted—from the evil of what He has created. Thus Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says:

﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ﴾

[Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak.]

Meaning: say—I seek refuge, I hold fast, and I take shelter with the Lord of al-Falaq, who is the dawn when it appears and emerges from the darkness of night. The term al-falaq also encompasses everything that splits and breaks open, such as seeds and date-stones, and other things besides.

Allah, Exalted is He, says in Sūrat al-Anʿām:

﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَالِقُ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى﴾

[Indeed, Allah is the Splitter of the grain and the date-stone.]

Meaning: He is the One who splits the grain and the date-stone, who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living. Your Lord is the One who splits the dry, lifeless seed and stone, bringing forth living vegetation from that seed and stone which had no movement or life.

Allah, Exalted is He, also says:

﴿فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ﴾

[The Splitter of the dawn.]

Meaning: He is the One who splits light from darkness—removing darkness by means of light, and bringing about the daylight by unveiling light from its concealment. This refers to the morning; thus al-iṣbāḥ means the dawn. Allah, Exalted is He, named the emergence of the morning and its appearance an infilaq (splitting), because infilaq means to split something apart and separate one part from another. This is from the beauty and precision of Qur’ānic expression.

It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) that he said: it means creation. Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (RA), after mentioning the various opinions, said: it is obligatory that what is intended by it is everything to which the name falaq applies, for Allah, Exalted is He, is the Lord of all of that.^[1]

Al-Qurṭubī (RA) said: al-falaq means splitting. One says: falaqtu al-shayʾ falaqan—meaning: I split it. Everything that splits from something else—such as animals, the morning, grain, date-stones, and water—is falaq. He said: what is meant by al-falaq here is the morning itself.^[2]

Thus, the indication of al-falaq encompasses everything that splits and from which something else emerges, and from that is the dawn. This reflects the eloquence of the Qur’ānic expression in encompassing all intended meanings within a single, concise wording.

In this lies a strong drawing of attention to the greatness of Allah’s planning and governance in all that He causes to split and emerge from creation. For you—O one who seeks refuge—are seeking protection with the Mighty One who is the Lord of al-Falaq, its Owner, the One fully capable over it, and uniquely in control of it—Mighty and Majestic. Indeed, you have sought refuge with your Magnificent Lord.

Seeking refuge (al-taʿawwudh) means to take shelter, to seek protection, and to hold fast to Allah, Exalted is He.

Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted, specifies and clarifies what the one seeking refuge is to be protected from. Thus Allah says:

﴿مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ﴾

[From the evil of what He has created.]

Meaning: from all the evils of everything Allah has created. All types of evils and all their sources are encompassed—whether they arise from jinn, humans, animals, insects, or any other of Allah’s creations. This even includes the evils of the soul of the one seeking refuge himself—from the evil of what Allah, Exalted is He, has created.

Then Allah, Glorified is He, singles out from the general category of the evil of what He created, the evil of the night when it grows dark and spreads its darkness:

﴿وَمِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ﴾

[And from the evil of the darkness when it settles.]

Meaning: and I seek refuge in You, O my Lord, from the evil of what You have created, and specifically:

﴿وَمِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ﴾

[from the evil of the ghāsiq], which is the night,

﴿إِذَا وَقَبَ﴾

[when it settles], meaning: when its darkness enters into everything.

Ibn ʿAbbās (RA), Mujāhid, and others said: al-ghāsiq refers to the night. The linguists said regarding the meaning of waqaba: it entered into everything and caused it to become dark. Al-ghasaq means darkness. ^[3]

This is due to what the night contains of hidden and sudden evils.

Then Allah, Exalted is He, specifically mentions the evil of sorcery and what occurs within it of blowing. Allah says:

﴿وَمِنْ شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ﴾

[And from the evil of the blowers in knots.]

Meaning: I seek refuge in You, O my Lord, from the evil of the female sorcerers who blow from their mouths and tie knots—performing magic and talismans which they write and place within what they tie, whether paper, threads, cloth, or other materials.

The blowers were specified because sorcery was predominantly practiced by women. From the richness of Qur’ānic expression is the comprehensiveness of the meaning of seeking refuge from all forms of blowing—its types, its conditions, its motives, and its causes. Likewise, the wording “Al-Uqad” (the knots) encompasses every type of knot tied by sorcerers, in all its forms and states.

Al-nafth (blowing) is spitting lightly without saliva—this clarifies that sorcery does indeed have an effect, and that by the power of Allah, Exalted is He, magic can be undone, dissolved, and its effects removed through this magnificent sūrah, due to its powerful impact in nullifying and breaking sorcery. It is also a protection from it for the one who consistently recites it.

This demonstrates the great favor of Allah, Exalted is He, upon the believers—through what He has facilitated for them and guided them to—so that this effect may be a sign and a proof by which faith and reliance upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic, are strengthened. This, in turn, necessitates His praise, His gratitude, and steadfast obedience to Him—Glorious and Exalted is He.

This also affirms that the Qur’an is a source of healing and well-being from every form of evil, as is stated in the magnificent verses concerning it. Allah, Exalted is He, says in Sūrat al-Isrāʾ:

﴿وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا﴾

[And We send down of the Qur’an that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it increases the wrongdoers only in loss.]

The Qur’an describes its destruction of falsehood using a form that indicates continuity and renewal:

﴿وَنُنَزِّلُ﴾

[And We keep sending down]

This wording conveys successive and repeated healing after healing, mercy after mercy, and the continual infliction of loss upon the wrongdoers—loss after loss. Thus, its action and effect are constant through repetition and renewal, marked by abundance and strength of impact.

Allah, Exalted is He, begins by mentioning the Qur’an’s healing effect upon the believers, then its mercy for them, and finally the loss incurred by the wrongdoers:

﴿مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ﴾

[That which is healing.]

Meaning: it is a comprehensive, continuous, and enduring healing—encompassing physical illnesses, ailments, and diseases, as well as the diseases that afflict hearts: doubt, hypocrisy, deviation, misguidance, fear, satanic whispers, ignorance of the truth, and other afflictions that may befall the believing servant.

It also heals the hearts by establishing the truth, and through the verses of supplication contained within it: when one afflicted with distress supplicates with them, his distress is removed; and when the oppressed supplicates with them, oppression is lifted from him.

After the sūrah has addressed protection from all forms of evil in general, and then specified those evils that occur under the cover of night, Allah—Blessed and Exalted—is He—concludes this noble sūrah by seeking refuge from the evils of envy. Thus Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

﴿وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ﴾

[And from the evil of an envier when he envies.]

Meaning: I seek refuge and protection with You, O my Lord, from the evil of the envier when he directs his envy toward the one envied.

Envy (al-ḥasad) is wishing for the removal of a blessing. The scholars, may Allah have mercy upon them, said: the envier does not cause harm except when he manifests his envy through action or speech—when envy drives him to inflict harm upon the one envied.^[4] This establishes and clarifies that envy does indeed have an effect upon the one envied.

From this is the evil eye (al-ʿayn), as the Prophet ﷺ said:

“When one of you sees in himself, his wealth, or his brother something that pleases him, let him supplicate for blessing, for indeed the evil eye is real.”^[5]

The evil eye is a result of envy, or of admiration. Therefore, a person protects himself from this through the Muʿawwidhāt, among which is this great and blessed sūrah.

From the grace of Allah, Exalted is He, is that this magnificent sūrah encompasses all evils—their sources, their types, and their most dangerous times. It also affirms that sorcery has a reality and effect, and that envy likewise has a reality and effect—necessitating protection and prevention, and the treatment of their effects through recitation of the Muʿawwidhāt. This is a great blessing for the believers.

This clearly demonstrates the blessing of the Noble Qur’an—that it is healing, well-being, and guidance. Thus, the believer must remain steadfast upon it. This great effect of the Qur’an also affirms conclusively that it is the Speech of Allah, Exalted is He, without doubt or uncertainty.

I praise Allah, Exalted is He, and thank Him for the blessing He bestowed upon me by granting me the honor of this work, and for enabling me to complete Sūrah al-Falaq.

Our Lord, accept from us—indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. And accept our repentance—indeed, You are the Ever-Accepting of repentance, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muḥammad and upon all his family.

Footnote:

[1] Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān (24/745)

[2] Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (20/174)

[3] Ibn al-Jawzī, Zād al-Masīr fī ʿIlm al-Tafsīr (8/334)

[4] Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (20/177)

[5] Al-Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak ʿalā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, no. 7707