Surah An-Naas (114) — Ayah 1

(Ayah 1 to 3) ➊ The meaning of seeking refuge has already been explained in the previous surah. When a person feels threatened by something, the first thing he does is seek refuge with his nurturer (the one who raises him), such as his mother or father, and clings to them so that they may save him. If they are weak and unable to save him, he requests protection from the king and seeks his refuge, because he believes that the king can save him through his power and army. If it becomes apparent that even the king is unable to save him from this danger, then he seeks refuge with that Being whom he considers the owner of unseen powers and whom he worships, because he knows that after all worldly means are exhausted, he can find refuge nowhere else except with Him.

In this surah, we are taught to seek refuge from the evil of the whisperer by invoking three attributes of Allah: If you wish to seek refuge with your nurturer, then instead of seeking refuge with someone who is nurturing only one or a few people and who is himself in need, seek refuge with the One who is the Lord of all people and the nurturer of all, who is not in need of anyone and everyone is in need of Him. If you wish to seek refuge with a powerful king, then instead of seeking refuge with those kings who are dependent on armies, whose authority is limited and temporary, and whose own life and benefit or harm are not in their own hands, seek refuge with the One who is the King of all people and whose power and sovereignty are not dependent on any army or commander. And if you wish to seek refuge with such a Being whom you consider worthy of worship due to His ownership of unseen powers, then there is only One who is the true God of all people, and only He can grant you refuge from those dangers before which all nurturers and all kings are helpless. Other than Him, no one owns unseen powers, no one else has any share in anything in the universe, and no one else has the right to be worshipped.

➋ In Surah Falaq, refuge is sought from all the evil of creation in general and specifically from three things among creation, with the attribute of Allah as {’’ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ ‘‘}, i.e., the darkness of night, those who blow on knots, and the envier, and in this surah, refuge is sought from only one thing—the evil of the retreating whisperer—with three attributes of Allah, because the first three things harm a person's body and soul, whereas the whisperer harms his faith, and the protection of faith is even more important than the protection of body and soul.

➌ In the first three verses, the word {’’ النَّاسِ ‘‘} is repeated, even though in the verses after {’’ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ‘‘}, the pronoun {’’ النَّاسِ ‘‘} could also have been used. The wisdom in this (and Allah knows best) seems to be that the evil of people's whispers is so frightening that the servant repeatedly refers to it, saying: O Allah! You are also the Lord of people, You are also the King of people, and You are also the God of people, so only You can grant refuge from the evil of people. In this surah, while seeking refuge with these three attributes, refuge from the evil of people is also repeatedly sought implicitly, and then with {’’ مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ…‘‘}, refuge from the evil of the whispers of people is explicitly sought. In Tafsir Qasimi, another wisdom is quoted from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Shaykh Nasir, the summary of which is that since those seeking refuge are also people, these relationships between Allah and people are repeatedly mentioned while seeking refuge, saying: O Allah! You are also the Lord of people, the King of people, and the true God of people, so when You are everything for people, who else besides You can grant them refuge? (Qasimi)

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).