Sura al-Falaq: Difference between revisions

'''Sūra al-Falaq''' (Arabic: {{ia|سورة الفلق}}) is the 113th [[sura]] of the [[Qur'an]]. It is a [[Makki]] sura located in [[juz']] thirty. Sura al-Falaq is one of the [[Four Quls]]. In this sura, [[God]] orders the [[Prophet (s)]] to seek protection of God from every evil; especially, from the evil of the dark night, the evil of the witches and the evil of the envious ones. Suras al-Falaq and [[Sura al-Nas|al-Nas]] (Qur'an 114) are called [[al-Mu'awwidhatayn]], because they are recited to seek protection. About the merits of the [[recitation]] of Sura al-Falaq, it is narrated that whoever recites the two suras of al-Nas and al-Falq (Qur'an 113 and 114) is like a person who has recited all the books of divine [[prophets (a)]]. It is also narrated that the Prophet (s) considered the two suras al-Nas and al-Falaq the most beloved suras before God.

=== Naming ===

This [[sura]] is called "al-Falaq" which is adopted from its first verse.<ref>Khurramshāhī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān'', vol. 2, p. 1271.</ref> "Al-Falaq" means "daybreak".<ref>Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, al-mufradāt, under the word {{ia|«فلق»}}.</ref> Another name of this sura is "Mu'awwidha" which is derived from the verb "'Awadha" meaning "to seek protection".<ref>Khurramshāhī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān'', vol. 2, p. 1271.</ref> That is why Sura al-Falaq and Sura al-Nas are called "[[al-Mu'awwidhatayn]]". These two suras are also called Mushaqshaqatayn, because they are recited at the times of danger.<ref>Khurramshāhī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān'', vol. 2, p. 1271.</ref>

=== Number of Verses and Other Characteristics ===

In sura al-Falaq, [[God]] orders the [[Prophet (s)]] to seek the protection of God from every evil; especially, from the evil of the dark night, the evil of the witches and the evil of the envious ones. According to ''[[Tafsir al-Mizan]]'', "al-naffathat fi l-'uqad" does not only refer to witches but also anyone who practices magic.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 392-394.</ref> According to ''[[Tafsir-i nimuna]]'', Sura al-Falaq teaches the Prophet (s) to seek the protection of God from every evil and to trust in God.<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 27, p. 454.</ref>

About the [[occasion of revelation]] of this sura, there is a [[hadith]] mentioned in [[Sunni]] sources which [[Shi'a]] scholars have not accepted.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 394.</ref> In ''[[al-Durr al-manthur]]'', which is a Sunni commentary, it is mentioned that a [[Jewish]] man practiced magic on the Prophet (s). [[Jabra'il]] (Gabriel) went to the Prophet (s) and brought [[al-Mu'awwidhatayn]] (suras al-Falaq and [[Sura al-Nas|al-Nas]]) to him and told him, "A Jewish man practiced magic on you, and that his spell is in such well." The Prophet (s) sent [[Imam Ali (a)]] to bring that spell. He (a) then ordered Ali (a) to untie those knots and for each knot, he (a) recited one of the verses of al-Mu'awwidhatayn. When the knots were all untied and the two suras were finished, the Prophet (s) regained his health.<ref>Suyūṭī, ''al-Durr al-manthūr'', vol. 6, p. 417.</ref>

In the [[Tafsir|commentary]] of the verse four of Sura al-Falaq, [[Al-Sharif al-Radi|Sayyid Radi]] (d. [[406]]/1015-1016) wrote, "This (verse) is a metaphor and suggests seeking protection to God from the evil of women who use trickery to overturn the firm decisions of men (which are likened to knots due to decisions' strength) and weaken men's power by their trickery."<ref>Raḍī, ''Talkhīṣ al-bayān'', p. 280.</ref> Some [[Sunni]] [[exegete]]s did not accept magic and [[evil eye]]. However, Allama Tabataba'i wrote that this verse and [[Qur'an 2]]:102{{Enote|And they followed what the devils pursued during Solomon's reign —and Solomon was not faithless but it was the devils who were faithless—teaching the people magic and what was sent down to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut, who would not teach anyone without telling [him], 'We are only a test, so do not be faithless.' But they would learn from those two that with which they would cause a split between man and his wife—though they could not harm anyone with it except with Allah's leave. They would learn that which would harm them and bring them no benefit; though they certainly knew that anyone who buys it has no share in the Hereafter. Surely, evil is that for which they sold their souls, had they known!}} show that the [[Qur'an]] approves the reality of magic.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 393.</ref>

It is narrated from the [[Prophet (s)]] that whoever recites the two suras of [[Sura al-Nas|al-Nas]] and al-Falaq (Qur'an 113 and 114) is like someone who has recited all the books of divine prophets (a). It is narrated from [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]] that whoever recites the suras of [[al-Mu'awwidhatayn]] in three [[rak'a]]s of his [[night prayer]] ([[Shaf' prayer|Shaf']] and [[Watr prayer]]s), he will be told that, "O servant of God! The good news is for you that God accepted your Watr prayer."<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 491.</ref> It is reported that the Prophet (s) mentioned the two suras of al-Falaq and al-Nas are the most beloved suras before God.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 92, p. 368.</ref> It is also reported from the Prophet (s) that whoever recites the suras [[Qur'an 112]] (Sura al-Ikhlas), [[Qur'an 114]] (al-Nas) and al-Falaq ten times every night, it is as if he has recited the whole Qur'an and will be free of his [[sin]]s like the day he is born of his mother and if he dies on that day or night, he dies a [[martyr]].<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 491.</ref> About the benefits of Sura al-Falaq, it is reported that the Prophet (s) used to recite al-Mu'awwidhatayn to secure [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]] and [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] from any evil things.<ref>Khurramshāhī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān'', vol. 2, p. 1271-1272.</ref>