الفلق
Al Falaq
Also known as: Al-Mu'awwidhatain (first of the two refuge surahs), Al-Muqashqishah
Verses
5
Revelation
Makki
Period
Early Meccan
Surah No.
113 / 114
Al-Falaq is the first of the two Mu'awwidhatayn (the two surahs of seeking refuge). It commands the Prophet and all believers to seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from four categories of evil: the evil of everything He created, the evil of darkness when it settles, the evil of those who blow on knots (practitioners of magic), and the evil of the envier when he envies. The surah covers the full spectrum of external harms, natural, cosmic, occult, and interpersonal.
أسباب النزول
Al-Falaq and An-Nas were revealed together, according to the narration of Uqbah ibn Amir, who reported that the Prophet said these two surahs were revealed to him and nothing like them had ever been seen. They were revealed in response to a magic spell (sihr) cast on the Prophet by Labid ibn al-A'sam, which the Prophet was experiencing as illness and confusion. Jibril informed him of the spell, and upon reciting these surahs the Prophet recovered.
“Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of that which He created.”
The surah grounds refuge in a specific divine attribute: "Rabb al-Falaq" (Lord of the breaking dawn), pointing to Allah's power over the transition from darkness to light as the foundation for all protection from evil.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite Al-Falaq and An-Nas before sleeping, upon waking, and after the morning and evening prayers, blowing over his hands and wiping his body. He said: "No person has sought refuge by anything like these two surahs." (Abu Dawud)