Tafsir of Surah al Falaq – Daybreak (Surah 113)

1) Say: I take refuge with the Lord of daybreak 2) from the evil of what He created, 3) from the evil of darkness as it gathers, 4) from the evil of those who blow on knots, 5) and from the evil of the envious when he envies.

“Say,” in order to take refuge “I take refuge” recourse, shelter and hold fast to “the Lord of daybreak,” the Cleaver of the seed and kernel,^[1] the Cleaver of the sky at dawn.^[2] “From the evil of what He created,” all that Allah created: man, jinn and animal. Therefore one takes refuge with their Creator from the evil they contain.^[3]

Next, Allah lists specific cases subsumed by the general import of the previous verse: “from the evil of darkness as it gathers,” i.e. from the evil of what happens at night when darkness envelops man, when many evil souls and harmful creatures disperse therein. “From the evil of those who blow on knots,” i.e. witches who would blow on knots to aid them in their sorcery which they had tied in the ways of their secret art. “From the evil of the envious when he envies,” the envier is one who wishes to see the removal of the blessings he sees in the envied, and does his utmost to have them removed. Man is therefore in need of seeking refuge from his evil and in order to render his plots vain. Included in the category of the envier is someone who afflicts others with the evil-eye because this only ever emanates from one who is envious and has an evil nature.

This chapter covers seeking refuge from all types of evil: general and specific. It also proves that magic is something real, its harm should be feared, and that one should take refuge with Allah from it and from those who practice it.^[4]

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Endnotes

1. al-An`am (6): 95
2. al-An`am (6): 96

3. Muslim reports from Qais ibn Hazim from `Uqbah ibn `Amir (RA) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

“ “Have you not the heard the verses that were revealed last night, the likes of which have never been heard? (They were): Say: I take refuge with the Lord of daybreak and Say: I take refuge with the Lord of mankind.”

In another wording the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

“ “Shall I not inform you of the best thing that those seeking refuge can seek refuge with?” I replied, “Of course.” He said, “Say: I take refuge with the Lord of daybreak and Say: I take refuge with the Lord of mankind.”

Tirmidhi records that `Uqbah ibn `Amir (RA) said,

“ “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded me to read the Mu`awwidhatayn after every prayer.”

Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Abu Dawud record that `Abdullah bin Habib said,

“ “We went out in search of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during a dark and rainy night. When we found him he said, ‘Speak!’ but I did not say anything. Again he said, ‘Speak!’ but I did not say anything. A third time he said, ‘Speak!’ upon which I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, what should I say?’ He replied, ‘Say, Say: He is Allah, the One and only and the Mu`awwidhatayn three times when you lie down to sleep and when you awake. They will suffice you against everything.’”

Tirmidhi also records the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (RA) from Abu Sa`id (RA) that,

“ “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to seek refuge from Jinn and the evil eye until the Mu`awwidhatayn were revealed. When they were revealed, he took to (reciting) them and abandoned (seeking refuge through) anything else.”

4. Bukhari records from `A’ishah (RA) that,

“ “The Prophet ﷺ was affected by magic such that he thought he had done things he had not done. This continued until one day, while in my presence, he supplicated and supplicated and then said, ‘`A’ishah! Do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I asked Him?’ I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, what?’ He replied, ‘Two men came to me, one of the sat near my head and the other near my feet. One of them asked the other, “What has harmed this man?” The other replied, “He is under the effect of magic.” The first one asked, “Who was it that worked magic on him?” The other replied, “Labid ibn al-`Asam, a Jew from the tribe of Banu Zurayq.” The first one asked, “With what has it been done?” The other replied, “With a comb and the hair stuck to it, and a skin of the pollen of a male date-palm tree.” The first one asked, “Where is it?” The other replied, “In the well of Dharwan.”’ Then the Prophet ﷺ went to the well with some of his companions and looked at it, surrounding the well there were date-palm trees. Then he returned to me and said, ‘By Allah! The water of that well was [red] as if infused with henna leaves, and its date palms were like the heads of devils.’ I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, did you remove those materials?’ He replied, ‘No, as for me then Allah has cured me and I feared [that by letting the people know of it] I would spread its evil amongst them.’ Then he ordered that the well be filled up with earth and that was done.”

Bukhari records from `A’ishah (RA) that,

“ “The Messenger of Allah was affected by magic such that he thought that he had had sexual relations with his wives when in fact he had not. (Sufyan [ibn `Uyaynah] said: this is the hardest kind of magic due to it having such an effect). Then [one day] he said, ‘`A’ishah! Do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning that which I asked Him? Two men came to me, one of the sat near my head and the other near my feet. One of them asked the other, “What is wrong with this man?” The other replied, “He is under the effect of magic.” The first one asked, “Who was it that worked magic on him?” The other replied, “Labid ibn al-`Asam, a man from the tribe of Banu Zurayq – an ally of the Jews and a hypocrite.” The first one asked, “With what has it been done?” The other replied, “With a comb and the hair stuck to it.” The first one asked, “Where is it?” The other replied, “In a skin pollen of a male date-palm tree kept under a stone in the well of Dharwan.”’ So the Prophet ﷺ went to that well and took out those things and said, ‘This is the well that I was shown. Its water was [red] as if infused with henna leaves and its date-palm trees looked like heads of devils.’ The Prophet ﷺ further said, ‘Those things were taken out.’ I asked, ‘Why do you not get treated [or bring it back with you]?’ He replied, ‘Allah has cured me and I dislike spreading its evil amongst the people.’”

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