Tafseer & Summary of Surah An-Nas (114) from Quran

1. Surah 114
The Mankind

2. What’s Al-Mu’awwidhatayn (‫املعوذتني‬) – Verses of Refuge?
Surah Falaq (113) Surah Nas (114)

3. When Should they be recited :
1. After finishing every FARD prayer – 3+1+1+3+1 = 9 times (Sunan Abu Dawud #5082)
2. Morning & evening adhkar – 3+3 = 6 times (At-Trimidhi #1456)
3. On the third raka'ah of a Witr prayer by the Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬, he recited Al Ikhlas and al Mu'awwidhatayn (Abu Dawud#1213)
4. Every night Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬ before went to sleep, he collected his palms, then puffed them while reciting Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, and
An-Nas, then rub the reachable parts of his body using his palms, starting from his head, his face, and parts of body. He repeated
that three times. (Bukhari:4630) – 3 times (So, Total = Daily recommended at least 19 times!!)
5. Narrated ‘Aisha: “whenever Allah’s apostle became sick, he would recite Mu’awwidhatayn (Surah Al-falaq and Surah An-Nas)
and then blow his breath over his body. When he became seriously ill, I used to recite (these two suras) and rub his hands over
his body hoping for its blessings. (Sahih Al-Bukhari vol.6 bk.6 no.535)
The Virtues of Mu’awwidhatayn
• Messenger of Allah (‫)ﷺ‬ said: “Do you not see that there have been revealed to me verses tonight the like of which has not
been seen before? Those are Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas. They are the Mu’awwadhatayn.” (Sahih Muslim No.1775)
• Divine fortress and a weapon from Allah (SWT) to repel all evils
• Both these surahs are duas, taught by Allah (swt), Himself
• The objective of Surah Ikhlas & Mu’awwadhatayn is to firmly establish the meaning of Tawhid (Monotheism) in the souls

4. ِ
‫ب‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ب‬ ُ‫ذ‬‫و‬ُ‫ع‬َ‫أ‬ ۡ‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬
‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬
١
ِ ِ
‫ِل‬َ‫م‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬
٢
ِ‫ه‬ َ
‫َل‬
ِ
‫ا‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬
٣
ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ
ِ‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫َن‬‫َخ‬
٤
ِ
‫ف‬ ُ
ِِ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ُ‫ي‬ ‫ي‬ِ‫َّل‬‫أ‬
ِ‫ور‬ُ‫د‬ ُ
‫ص‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬
٥
‫أ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ة‬‫ن‬ِ‫ج‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ َ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬
٦
Mankind ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫)أ‬
• An-Nas is the plural of Insan (human). It also means – who can be seen.
• Mention of mankind especially associated with Allah’s divine attributes,
brings man closer to Allah’s protection and care.
• All creations of Allah are subjected to hardships. But INTERNAL evils
or Satanic Waswasa are restricted only to Mankind.
• One of its root words is Nasiyya – to be FORGETFUL.
• A power that Allah has given to shaitan is, to make people forget.
• The biggest thing that we always forget is that Allah is continuously
watching us and keeping records of our activities. We also forgot the
covenant that we have made with Allah, that’s why we are called Naas.
• When our soul was first created, we testified that Allah is our Lord:
Allah(swt) asked us, “Am I not your Lord?” We said, “yes, we have testified.” Allah(swt) said, hope you
should say this on the day of resurrection,” indeed, we forgot it. (Surah A’raf 7:172)

5. Why Allah starts the Surah with Qul (Say! -ۡ‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬)?
• Say! - ۡ
‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬
) ) is a direct Command from Allah (swt) Himself
• When we are repeating with our tongue, we are being obedient, we are confessing that we
are so weak & vulnerable – we need desperate help from Allah (swt) to ward off any
evil, we are acknowledging that we are not at all self-sufficient, we are letting our ego go,
thus we seek refuge with Allah with utmost Humility & Sincerity in a continuous basis
• This helplessness, desperation, vulnerability will bring humbleness & a feeling of shame
to disobey Allah – that’s Worship of Allah - Tawhid - Tawakkul
• Allah (swt) is teaching our Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬ the etiquette of seeking help=Dua
• Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬ taught his ummah
• Now it’s an obligation on us to teach it to others

6. 3 Magnificent Attributes of Allah(swt):
1. ِ
‫ب‬َ‫ر‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬ = Lord of Mankind
2. ِ ِ
‫ِل‬َ‫م‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬ = King of Mankind
3. ِ‫ه‬ َ
‫َل‬
ِ
‫ا‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬ = God of Mankind
• Rabb means -- Creator, Owner, Organizer, Provider, Protector,
Master, Planner, Sustainer, Nourisher, Giver of all gifts & security.
• The one who nurtures -- upbrings all His creations from deficiency
to perfection – out of extreme love.
The word Malik (King) means :
i. There’s no one above Him, everything is below Him
ii. He has the authority to set rules/boundary
iii. Controls actions of all His creations
iv. Manages their affairs
v. Grants them honor or humiliation
The word Ilaha (Diety) means :
i. Ilah is All Perfect, above & beyond any needs
ii. Everything & everyone is His slave
iii. One & only, worthy of Worship (obeying commandments)
iv. All Mighty & Majestic
v. All Powerful
vi. All knowing, all seeing
Worship Obedience

7. Why Allah is our One & only Ilah (from Quran)?
• “We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them for a mere play” – (Al-Anbiya’
21:16)
• “Did you think that We had created you without any purpose, and that you would not be brought back to
Us?” So Exalted be Allah, the True King: Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but
He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!” – (Surah Al-Mu’minoon 23:115, 116)
• “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)”– (Al-
Dhaariyaat 51:56)
• “Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the
AllMighty, the Oft-Forgiving” - (Al-Mulk 67:2)
• “So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a
partner in the worship of his Lord” (Al-Kahf 18:110).
• “See they not that they are put in trial once or twice every year (with different kinds of calamities, disease,
famine)? Yet, they turn not in repentance, nor do they learn a lesson (from it)” – (At-Tawbah 9:126)

8. What does Sharr (ِّ
‫َر‬‫ش‬) mean?
1) External Evil - pain, loss, injury, calamity, grief, distress, affliction
2) Anything that leads to evil - Internal Evil. Disbelief, idolatry and all sins
(arrogancy, anger, hypocrisy, fahishah, dishonesty, moral decline, any sort of
disobedience or innovation to Allah’s commandments)
‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ َ
‫ش‬
‫أ‬ ِ
ِ‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫َن‬‫َخ‬ۡ‫ل‬
٤

9. ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ
ِ‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬
‫أ‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫َن‬‫َخ‬ۡ‫ل‬
٤
• A whisper is a hidden or quiet voice, which is uttered softly to avoid detection by others. It is conveyed to
someone, which is only heard by the one to whom it is murmured
• “We have appointed for every Prophet enemies — Shayatin among mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with
adorned speech as a delusion.” (Surah Al-An’am 6:112)
• Shaitan knows each & everyone of our flaws & weaknesses – thus he works accordingly
• It begins as a whisper evil thought desire or evil intention will.
• Shaitan then makes him/her forget all its consequences and belittles the outcome of the sin, until the
victim sees nothing but the fulfilment of his/her desires.
• Then our desires become our Ilah, we become ungrateful & disobedient to Allah.
“Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over
you except that I called you, and you responded to me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor
can you help me. I deny your former act in associating me (Shaytan) as a partner with Allah (by obeying me in the life
of the world). Verily, there is a painful torment for the Zalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).” (Ibraaheem 14:22)
WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF DEEN – HOW TO KNOW WHAT ARE THE SINS??

10. ِ
ِ‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
‫أ‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫َن‬‫َخ‬ۡ‫ل‬
٤
Dhikr
• It is derived from Khunus, which means to hide after appearing and to retreat after coming into view.
• When once Shaitan fails in his attempt to whisper evil, he withdraws, then he again returns to make the
second and the third and the next attempt over and over again
• At the mention of the “Name of Allah” the devil makes a swift but lengthy withdrawal, for the Name of
Allah is enough to tame or subdue him
• “Say: Lord, I seek refuge with You from the promptings of Shaytans”. (Surah Al-Muminun, 23:97)
• “The fact is that if ever an evil suggestion from Shaytan so much as touches those, who are God-fearing people,
they immediately get alerted and clearly see the right course they should adopt.” (Surah Al-A’raf, 7:201).
• ‘Surely, Shaytan is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy’(Surah Faatir 35:6)
• ‘Did I not command you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaytan . Verily, he is a plain enemy to
you’(Surah Yaa-Seen 36:60)

11. ‫ي‬ِ‫َّل‬‫أ‬
ُ
ِِ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ُ‫ي‬
ُ
‫ص‬ ِ
‫ف‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ‫ور‬ُ‫د‬
٥
Dhikr
• The word ‘yuwaswisu’ (continuously whispers) is repeated again by Allah(swt) implies
that the whispering is being done again and again and again.
• We all have a Jinn that is assigned to make evil suggestions to us & he is called a Qareen
• [Iblees] said, "My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to
them on earth, and I will mislead them all (Surah Al-Hijr 15:39)
• He encourages us to do evil deeds and keeps us away from doing good deeds
• One of the main suggestions he makes is to encourage us is
1) To DELAY doing good things with the hope that eventually we will give up or
2) Will make us FORGET to do the good deed

12. ِ
‫ف‬ ُ
ِِ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ُ‫ي‬ ‫ي‬ِ‫َّل‬‫أ‬
ُ
‫ص‬
ِ‫ور‬ُ‫د‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬
٥
Dhikr
• Chest(ِ‫ور‬ُ‫د‬ ُ
‫ص‬) is mentioned, not hearts Qalb ‫ب‬ْ‫ل‬َ‫ق‬
) )
• Whispering in the chests and whispering in the hearts are different. Our heart is like a castle,
and around the castle (heart) is a field (chest). Shaytan have access to this field – surrounding
the castle – continuously trying to find a way inside. But the heart/castle is locked. So Shaitan
can reach our chest but has no access to our hearts.
• The only one who has the key and can grant such access is us. If we humbly ask Allah’s(swt)
refuge (ِ‫ي‬ِ‫ج‬‫لر‬‫ٱ‬ِ‫ن‬‫ه‬ َ‫ط‬ۡ‫ي‬‫لش‬‫ٱ‬َ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬ ِ‫َلل‬‫ِٱ‬‫ب‬ُ‫ذ‬‫عو‬‫أ‬) – Shaytan will step back & waiting for another opportunity.
• But if we let him in – he will cause us to get distant from Allah(swt) and make the evil deeds
and thoughts to start looking beautiful, tempting and irresistible to us.
• “So that Allah might test what is in your chest, and purify what is in your heart. And Allah is Knowing
of that within the chests.” (Surat Ali ‘Imran, 3:154).

13. َ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ‫ة‬‫ن‬ِ‫ج‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬َ‫و‬
٦
• The Jinn can see us while we cannot see them (And the Jinn, We created from the smokeless flame o fire. (Al-Hijr 15:27)
• They are mostly to be found in unclean places like bathrooms, garbage dumps and graveyards
• We need to always keep ourselves clean & pure (if possible, in the state of Wudu)
• Shaitan is extremely persistent & patient with his task to misguide people
• Iblis was expelled from Jannah because of his Arrogance.
• He tries his best to instill the arrogance into our hearts by making us Angry. (ِ‫ي‬ِ‫ج‬‫لر‬‫ٱ‬ِ‫ن‬‫ه‬ َ‫ط‬ۡ‫ي‬‫لش‬‫ٱ‬َ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬ ِ‫َلل‬‫ِٱ‬‫ب‬ُ‫ذ‬‫عو‬‫)أ‬ & Wudu.
• Instilling this ego & anger, he then breaks up family, breaks up the unity, refrains people to acquire the
truth/knowledge of Deen, introduces us to bidah, enslaves us to our own desires
• Saying Bismillah, before entering home, before eating or drinking, will also keep the Shaitan from entering
the house or partaking with a person in his food, or drink
• Similarly, mentioning the name of Allah before entering the toilet or taking off clothes will prevent the Jinn
from seeing a persons awrah or harming him – (Al-Tirmidhi, 551). ‫ث‬ِ‫ئ‬‫سا‬‫ب‬َ‫َخ‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ِ
‫ث‬ْ‫ب‬‫ُـ‬‫َخ‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ َ‫ن‬ ِ‫م‬ َ‫ِـك‬‫ب‬ ُ‫ذ‬‫و‬‫ع‬َ‫أ‬ ‫ي‬ِ‫ن‬
ِ
‫ا‬ ‫ُـم‬‫ه‬‫لل‬‫ا‬
• Strength of faith and religion in general will also prevent the Jinn from harming a person

14. َ‫و‬ ِ‫ة‬‫ن‬ِ‫ج‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ َ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫ن‬‫ل‬‫أ‬
٦
• Those people who let the devil into their hearts eventually become the ambassadors of the
devil himself
i. They transform into human devils. They become partners with the devils
ii. This is when these people begin giving us evil suggestions
iii. Normally these Human Devils are not strangers, that’s why they are the most
dangerous ones; they are in fact Family, Friends, Leaders, Co-Workers, Teachers,
who look sincere & loves us - to convince us enough to misguide us - leading to
hellfire.
iv. They spread Ideas, Thoughts, Propagandas that are contrary to the truth, causes us to
doubt ourselves, our faith, entices us to the intense love for this Worldly Life, Greed
& Disobedience to Allah (swt)

15. Surah Al-Falaq Surah An-Nas
Seeking refuge with: ُ‫ذ‬‫ُو‬‫ع‬َ‫أ‬ ۡ‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬
1. Rabb of the Daybreak (ِ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ف‬ۡ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ِ
‫ب‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ب‬)
Seeking refuge with : ُ‫ذ‬‫ُو‬‫ع‬َ‫أ‬ ۡ‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬
1. Rabb ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫الن‬ ِ
‫ب‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ب‬)
2. Malik ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫الن‬ ِ ِ
‫ِل‬َ‫م‬)
3. Ilah ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫الن‬ ِ ‫ه‬
‫َل‬ِ‫ا‬)
Seeking protection FROM :
1. Evils from all created beings ( َ
‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫خ‬ ‫سا‬َ‫م‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬)
2. Evil of Darkness ( َ‫ب‬َ‫ق‬َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ذ‬
ِ
‫ا‬ ٍ‫ق‬ ِ‫ساس‬َ‫غ‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬)
3. Evil of Black Magic ( ِ
‫ف‬ ِ
‫ت‬‫ه‬َ‫ث‬‫ه‬‫ف‬‫لن‬‫أ‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
ِ‫د‬َ‫د‬ُ‫ع‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ )
4. Evil of Envy/Jealousy ( َ‫س‬َ‫ح‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ذ‬
ِ
‫ا‬ ٍ‫د‬ ِ‫ساس‬َ‫ح‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬
َ‫د‬ )
Seeking protection FROM :
1. WHOM = The Whisperer, who comes & goes ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫َن‬‫َخ‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ
ِ‫ا‬َ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ َ
‫ش‬ ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬)
2. WHERE = Who whispers into the chests ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫لن‬‫أ‬ ِ‫ور‬ُ‫د‬ ُ
‫ص‬ ِ
‫ف‬ ُ
ِِ‫و‬ ۡ‫س‬َ‫و‬ُ‫ي‬ ‫ي‬ِ‫َّل‬‫)أ‬
3. WHO = Jinn & Man ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫لن‬‫أ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ة‬‫ن‬ِ‫ج‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ َ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬)
Protection of dangers from the external sources Protection of our heart from being corrupted
These evils are beyond our control These evils can be controlled by us with the remembrance of Allah
Protects our worldly life Protects our soul thus our hereafter
Allah is called out only once Allah is called out thrice (shows the importance) for protection of our Deen
Ends dealing with the jealous Dedicated to seek refuge from jealous Shaitan

16. Surah An-Nas Surah Fatiha
Last Surah of the Quran (asking for Refuge = Dua) First Surah of the Quran (asking for Guidance = Dua)
3 attributes of Allah are repeated in both surahs
1. Rabb ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫الن‬ ِ
‫ب‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ب‬)
2. Malik ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫الن‬ ِ ِ
‫ِل‬َ‫م‬)
3. Ilah ( ِ
ِ‫سا‬‫الن‬ ِ ‫ه‬
‫َل‬ِ‫ا‬)
1. Rabb (َ‫ني‬ِ‫م‬َ‫ل‬‫ه‬َ‫ع‬ۡ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ
‫ب‬َ‫)ر‬
2. Malik (ِ‫ين‬ِ‫ل‬‫أ‬ ِ‫م‬ۡ‫و‬َ‫ي‬ ِ ِ
‫ِل‬‫ه‬َ‫م‬)
3. Ilah (ُ‫د‬ُ‫ب‬ۡ‫ع‬َ‫ن‬ َ‫ك‬‫َّي‬
ِ
‫)ا‬
We are asking Allah to PROTECT us from the one
who is constantly struggling to get us out of the
straight path
We are asking Allah to HELP us in guidance to the straight
path
Evil whispers from
i. Jinn and
ii. Mankind
Misleading by the misguided people
i. by will (e.g Jews), knowing of the truth and;
ii. out of ignorance (e.g Christians), who are not aware
The Surah is divided in 2 parts :
1. Whom we seek protection [in Allah]
2. Protection from What [whisperings of Shaytan]
This Surah is also divided in 2 parts :
1. Why should we worship Allah(swt)
2. How should we Worship (through Guidance)
Both these surahs are Duas. Allah is teaching us the etiquette of making Dua to Him in a similar pattern:
1) Praising Allah with His Divine names
2) Completely submitting only to Him with utmost humbleness, sincerity & servitude
3) Accepting our weakness & beseeching His divine help for protection & guidance
4) Committing to the obedience of His commandments