Intro. to S. 113.
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INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY: SURAT Al·Falaq, 113.
This early Makkan Sura provides the antidote to superstition and fear by
teaching us to seek refuge in Allah from every kind of ill arising from outer
nature and from dark and evil plottings and envy on the part of others.
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Sura AI-Falaq 113 Ayat 1-4 Juz' 30 IJ.J'~I _):'1
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In the rnune of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.
1. Say: I seek refuge6301
With the Lord of the riawn. 6302
2. From the mischief
Of created things;6303
3. From the mischief
Of Darkness as it overspreads;6304
4. From the mischief
Of those who blow on knots;6305
6301. In Allah's created world, there are all kinds of forces and counter-forces,
especially those pUI in motion by beings who have been endowed with some sort of will.
The forces of good may be compared to light, and those of evil 10 darkness. Allah can
cleave the depths of darkness and produce light (vi. 96), and therefore we should cast
off fear and take refuge in divine guidance and goodness.
6302. Falaq is the Dawn or Daybreak, the cleaving of darkness and the manifestation
of light. This may be understood in various senses: (I) literally, when the darkness of
the night is at its worst, rays of light pierce through and produce the dawn; (2) when
the darkness of ignorance is at its worst, the light of Allah pierces through the soul and
gives it enlightenment: xxiv. 35; (3) non-existence is darkness, and life and activity may
be typified by light. The author and source of all true light is Allah, and if we seck Him,
we are free from ignorance, superstition, fear, and every kind of evil.
6303. See n. 6301 above. Our trust in Allah is the refuge from every kind of fear
and superstition, every kind of danger and evil. Three special kinds of mischief are
specified in the next three verses, against which our best guard is our trust in A11ah, the
Light of the heavens and the earth. They are: (1) physical dangers, typified by darkness.
(2) physical dangers within us, typified by Secret Arts, and (3) physical dangers from
without us, resulting from a perverted will, which seeks to destroy any good that we
enjoy.
6304. The darkness of the night, physical darkness, is a good type of physical dangers
and difficulties. Many people arc afraid of physical darkness, and all are afraid of physical
injuries, accidents, and calamities. We should not fear, but having taken reasonable
precautions, trust in Allah.
6305. 'Those (feminine) who blow on knots', this having been a favourite form of
witchcraft practised by perverted women. Such secret arts cause psychological terror. They
may be what is called magic, or secret plottings, or the display of false and seductive
charms (iii. 14), or the spreading of false and secret rumours or slanders to frighten men
or deter them from right action. There is fraud in such things, but men are swayed by
it. They should cast off fear and do their duty.
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5.113, A.5
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5. And from the mischief
Of the envious one
As he practises envy.6306
6306. Malignant envy, translated into action, seeks to destroy the happiness or the
material or spiritual good enjoyed by other people. The best guard against it is trust in
Allah with purity of hean.
• 2031 •
