Sura al-Falaq
This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Falaq; to read its text see text:Sura al-Falaq.
Sūra al-Falaq (Arabic: 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.
| al-Ikhlas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sura Number | 113 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Revelation | |
| Revelation Number | 20 |
| Makki/Madani | Makki |
| Information | |
| Verse Count | 5 |
| Word Count | 23 |
| Letter Count | 73\ |
Suras al-Falaq and 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.
Introduction
- Naming
This sura is called "al-Falaq" which is adopted from its first verse.[1] "Al-Falaq" means "daybreak".[2]
Another name of this sura is "Mu'awwidha" which is derived from the verb "'Awadha" meaning "to seek protection".[3] 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.[4]
- Place and Order of Revelation
Sura al-Falaq is a Makki sura and the twentieth sura revealed to the Prophet (s). In the current order of the Qur'an, this sura is 113th sura[5] located in juz' thirty.
- Number of Verses and Other Characteristics
Sura al-Falaq has five verses, twenty three words and seventy three letters. Regarding volume, this sura is among Mufassalat suras. Sura al-Falaq is among the Four Quls which are the four suras beginning with "qul" (say).[6]
Content
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.[7] 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.[8]
| Seek the protection of God from the evil of beings | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| First point: verse 1 Introducing God the protection of Whom needs to be sought | Second point: verse 2-5 Evils from which one needs to be sought protection of God | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| One needs to seek the protection of God Who creates beings out of non-existence | Second group: verses 4-5 Human evils | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| First example: verse 4 Evil people and witches | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second example: verse 5 The envious ones | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Occasion of Revelation
About the occasion of revelation of this sura, there is a hadith mentioned in Sunni sources which Shi'a scholars have not accepted.[10]
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 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 (s) 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.[11]
In Tafsir al-Mizan, Allama Tabataba'i wrote that there is no reason for the Prophet (s) to be physically resistant to magic and would not become ill by magic; however, verses of the Qur'an suggest that the heart and mind of the Prophet (s) are safe from the magic and influence of satanic powers.[12]
Exegetes' Views about Magic
In the commentary of the verse four of Sura al-Falaq, Sayyid Radi (d. 406/1015-6) 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."[13]
Some Sunni exegetes did not accept magic and evil eye. However, Allama Tabataba'i wrote that this verse and Qur'an 2:102[14] show that the Qur'an approves the reality of magic.[15]
Merits and Benefits
It is narrated from the Prophet (s) that whoever recites the two suras of 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'as of his night prayer (Shaf' and Watr prayers), he will be told that, "O servant of God! The good news is for you that God accepted your Watr prayer."[16]
It is reported that the Prophet (s) mentioned the two suras of al-Falaq and al-Nas are the most beloved suras before God.[17] 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 sins like the day he is born of his mother and if he dies on that day or night, he dies a martyr.[18] 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.[19]
See also
External Links
Notes
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1271.
- ↑ Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, al-mufradāt, under the word «فلق».
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1271.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1271.
- ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 166.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1271.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 392-394.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 454.
- ↑ Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 394.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 417.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 394.
- ↑ Raḍī, Talkhīṣ al-bayān, p. 280.
- ↑ 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!
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 393.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 491.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 92, p. 368.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 491.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1271-1272.
References
- Khurramshāhī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn. Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī. Tehran: Dūstān-Nāhīd, 1377 Sh.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1403 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh.
- Maʿrifat, Muḥammad Hādī. Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān. Tehran: Sāzmān-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, 1371 Sh.
- Raḍī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn. Talkhīṣ al-bayān fī mujāzāt al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Wizārṭ al-Thiqāfat wa l-Irshād al-Islāmī, 1407 AH.
- Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad. Al-mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qurʾān. Edited by Ṣafwān ʿAdnān Dāwūdī. Beirut: Dār al-ʿIlm, 1412 AH.
- Suyūṭī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abū Bakr al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr. Qom: Kitābkhāna-yi Āyatollāh Marʿashī, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1382 Sh.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān. Tehran: Maktabat al-ʿIlmīyya, 1338 Sh.