Learning The Surah of Al-Quran: Surah al-Falaq (113)& Surah an-Nas(114)

The last TWO surahs of the Quran, al-Falaq and an-Nas, were revealed together and are usually recited together. These surahs were revealed during a time when Prophet saw's health and memory had been slightly affected by witchcraft or black magic as practised on him by a Jewish man in Madinah named Labid. This man had gotten hold of some of the Prophet saw’s hair and put a spell on it, which led to him feeling weak, tired and sometimes confused about whether or not he had done something or gone somewhere. Then the Prophet saw had a dream about the spell and how to overcome it, and when he awoke , the Angel Jibra’il (peace be upon him) came to him with these two surahs and confirmed that his dream was true. Before their revelation, the Prophet used to say various du’a against all kinds of illnesses, troubles and evils; after they were revealed he abandoned all other prayers and repeated these over and over, urging his followers to do the same.

‘Seeking refuge’ means to ask for protection and help from someone against something which you feel powerless to face or handle. The right attitude of the believer when he faces any difficulty is to realize that he has no power by himself, but only that which Allah may give him. Although everything that Allah has created is good in its own way and has its own special purpose, evil does appear from some of His creatures.

The evil work of devils, jinn or magic of the effects of the ‘negative vibrations’ of hatred and jealousy are unpleasant to think of ,but very real. Rather than looking at anyone or anything to help us, the most obvious and logical thing to do is to ask help from the Lord of the creature, the One who created it in the first place and Who is completely Powerful over it.

Whenever a person faced with a trying situation such as hunger, the death of the family member, losing one’s job, an unexplainable or serious illness, a fire or accident, being bitten by a snake or scorpion, being attacked by criminals, etc, he or she should recite surah al-Falaq and an-Nas, REPEATEDLY AS NECESSARY.

Beyond this obvious cases, these surahs should also be recited in the face of ‘invisible’ enemies;when a person feels that he is unable to concentrate in his prayer or has been unable to offer it on time as usual, when feeling sad or depressed, angry or overcome by other strong emotions, when troubled by the hatred or jealousy of others, when he has been a victim of gossip or slander, and so forth.

These words of comfort, light and protection come as a beautiful conclusion to God’s last Holy Book; a generous and merciful gift from the Lord of all the Worlds.

TRANSLATION:

Surah al-Falaq (113: The Dawn)

In the name of Allah, the Kindest and Most Merciful One..

1. Say: ' I seek safety and protection in the Lord of the Dawn
2. from the evil of the things He created,
3. and from the evil of the darkness when it is very strong,
4. and from the evil of people who practise witchcraft,
5. and from the evil of the envious one when he envies.

Surah an-Nas (114: The People)

In the name of Allah, the Kindest and the Most Merciful One..

1. Say: 'I seek safety and protection in the Lord of all people,
2. the Kind of all people,
3. the God of all people,
4. from the evil of those who whisper secretly,
5. who whisper (evil) into the hearts of people
6. from (those evil ones of) the jinn and the people.'