سُوْرَةُ الْفَلَقِ
Surah Al-Falaq (113) — Ayah 3
وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ ﴿3﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
"And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon as it sets or goes away),
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَمِن
wamin
And from
شَرِّ
sharri
(the) evil
غَاسِقٍ
ghāsiqin
(of) darkness
إِذَا
idhā
when
وَقَبَ
waqaba
it spreads
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 3) ➊ { وَ مِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ:} Although after seeking refuge from the evil of all creation, nothing remains from whose evil refuge should be sought, yet among the creation, the lesson is given to seek refuge especially from the evil of a few things, because these are very frightening and there is a great need to seek refuge from their evil.
➋ The meaning of { ’’ غَاسِقٍ ‘‘} is dark, intensely dark. In Qamus it is: {’’غَسَقَ اللَّيْلُ أَيْ اِشْتَدَّتْ ظُلْمَتُهٗ‘‘} “That is, the meaning of {’’غَسَقَ اللَّيْلُ ‘‘} is that the darkness of the night became very intense.” In Surah Bani Isra’il it is said: « اِلٰى غَسَقِ الَّيْلِ» [ بني إسرائیل : ۸۷ ] “Until the night becomes intensely dark.” {’’ وَقَبَ ‘‘} (verb) means to enter, to disappear. Farra’ has explained the meaning of {’’ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘} as: {’’ اَللَّيْلُ إِذَا دَخَلَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَ أَظْلَمَ‘‘} “When the night covers everything and becomes dark.” The instruction to seek refuge especially from the evil of the dark night is because in the dark night there are countless evils and dangers; most criminals, thieves, robbers, adulterers, murderers, and those who attack at night come out at night. Plans to kill the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were also made at night, so that neither could he defend himself nor could the killer be identified. The danger from wild animals such as lions, leopards, wolves, etc., and from creatures of the earth such as snakes, scorpions, etc., increases at night, and everyone knows the discomfort caused by mosquitoes, bedbugs, etc., at night. According to doctors’ research, most germs of diseases are produced in darkness and are destroyed in sunlight. In darkness, the fear of imaginary things increases even more. On top of all this, because all these evils occur in darkness, a person cannot protect himself from them, so the teaching is given to seek refuge from the evils of the dark night.
➌ It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the moon, he said: [ يَا عَائِشَةُ! اسْتَعِيْذِيْ بِاللّٰهِ مِنْ شَرِّ هٰذَا، فَإِنَّ هٰذَا هُوَ الْغَاسِقُ إِذَا وَقَبَ ] [ ترمذي، تفسیر القرآن، باب ومن سورۃ المعوذتین : ۳۳۶۶، وصححہ الترمذي والألباني ] “O Aisha! Seek Allah’s refuge from its evil, for this is {’’ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘}.” In this case, the meaning of {’’ غَاسِقٍ ‘‘} is “the one with darkness” and the meaning of {’’ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘} is {’’ إِذَا غَابَ ‘‘}, that is, “when it disappears.” Shah Rafiuddin has translated it as: “And from the evil of the one who brings darkness, when it hides.” That is, when the moon sets, it spreads darkness. Some commentators have taken {’’ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘} to mean the sun, because when the sun disappears, it causes intense darkness to spread. In any case, there is no contradiction between these interpretations and the first interpretation, because the intent is to seek refuge from the evil of darkness.
➋ The meaning of { ’’ غَاسِقٍ ‘‘} is dark, intensely dark. In Qamus it is: {’’غَسَقَ اللَّيْلُ أَيْ اِشْتَدَّتْ ظُلْمَتُهٗ‘‘} “That is, the meaning of {’’غَسَقَ اللَّيْلُ ‘‘} is that the darkness of the night became very intense.” In Surah Bani Isra’il it is said: « اِلٰى غَسَقِ الَّيْلِ» [ بني إسرائیل : ۸۷ ] “Until the night becomes intensely dark.” {’’ وَقَبَ ‘‘} (verb) means to enter, to disappear. Farra’ has explained the meaning of {’’ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘} as: {’’ اَللَّيْلُ إِذَا دَخَلَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَ أَظْلَمَ‘‘} “When the night covers everything and becomes dark.” The instruction to seek refuge especially from the evil of the dark night is because in the dark night there are countless evils and dangers; most criminals, thieves, robbers, adulterers, murderers, and those who attack at night come out at night. Plans to kill the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were also made at night, so that neither could he defend himself nor could the killer be identified. The danger from wild animals such as lions, leopards, wolves, etc., and from creatures of the earth such as snakes, scorpions, etc., increases at night, and everyone knows the discomfort caused by mosquitoes, bedbugs, etc., at night. According to doctors’ research, most germs of diseases are produced in darkness and are destroyed in sunlight. In darkness, the fear of imaginary things increases even more. On top of all this, because all these evils occur in darkness, a person cannot protect himself from them, so the teaching is given to seek refuge from the evils of the dark night.
➌ It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the moon, he said: [ يَا عَائِشَةُ! اسْتَعِيْذِيْ بِاللّٰهِ مِنْ شَرِّ هٰذَا، فَإِنَّ هٰذَا هُوَ الْغَاسِقُ إِذَا وَقَبَ ] [ ترمذي، تفسیر القرآن، باب ومن سورۃ المعوذتین : ۳۳۶۶، وصححہ الترمذي والألباني ] “O Aisha! Seek Allah’s refuge from its evil, for this is {’’ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘}.” In this case, the meaning of {’’ غَاسِقٍ ‘‘} is “the one with darkness” and the meaning of {’’ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘} is {’’ إِذَا غَابَ ‘‘}, that is, “when it disappears.” Shah Rafiuddin has translated it as: “And from the evil of the one who brings darkness, when it hides.” That is, when the moon sets, it spreads darkness. Some commentators have taken {’’ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ‘‘} to mean the sun, because when the sun disappears, it causes intense darkness to spread. In any case, there is no contradiction between these interpretations and the first interpretation, because the intent is to seek refuge from the evil of darkness.
