سُوْرَةُ الْفَلَقِ
Surah Al-Falaq (113) — Ayah 4
وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ ﴿4﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
"And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots,
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَمِن
wamin
And from
شَرِّ
sharri
(the) evil
ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ
l-nafāthāti
(of) the blowers
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْعُقَدِ
l-ʿuqadi
the knots
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 4) { وَ مِنْ شَرِّ النَّفّٰثٰتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ: ’’ النَّفّٰثٰتِ ‘‘ ’’نَفَّاثَةٌ‘‘} is the plural of {’’نَفَثَ يَنْفُثُ نَفْثًا‘‘}, which is derived from (ن، ض) (to blow, with which there is a little saliva), meaning women or groups who blow a lot. If in {’’نَفَّاثَةٌ‘‘} the "taa" is for exaggeration like in {’’عَلَّامَةٌ‘‘}, or if by {’’ النَّفّٰثٰتِ ‘‘} is meant souls, then besides women, men who blow a lot can also be meant. {’’ الْعُقَدِ ‘‘ ’’عُقْدَةٌ‘‘} is the plural, knots. According to Ibn Jarir and the early commentators, those who blow into knots refers to women or people who practice magic, because when they want to perform magic on someone, they obtain his hair or something of his, and while performing magic, they tie knots in a string or thread and keep blowing into them while reciting incantations. The special instruction to seek refuge from their evil is because they attack secretly. A person does not even realize why he is suffering; he considers it an illness and keeps seeking treatment, but the suffering keeps increasing.
Some people have said that by {’’ الْعُقَدِ ‘‘} (knots) is meant the firm resolve and determination of men, and by {’’ النَّفّٰثٰتِ ‘‘} is meant that just as knots in a rope are softened with saliva, in the same way, women with their smooth and flattering words change the firm resolves of men, and in this verse, there is an instruction to seek refuge from the evil of such women. Despite this meaning being interesting, it is against the interpretation of the early commentators, and most of those who give this meaning are those who do not believe in harm from magic, and they insist so much on their stance that they even refuse to accept the hadith narrated in Bukhari, Muslim, and many other books of hadith, in which it is mentioned that Labeed bin A'sam performed magic on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and due to this magic, he remained ill and distressed for some time. [ دیکھیے بخاري، کتاب الطب، باب ہل یستخرج السحر؟ :۵۷۶۵،۵۷۶۳ ]
Some people have said that by {’’ الْعُقَدِ ‘‘} (knots) is meant the firm resolve and determination of men, and by {’’ النَّفّٰثٰتِ ‘‘} is meant that just as knots in a rope are softened with saliva, in the same way, women with their smooth and flattering words change the firm resolves of men, and in this verse, there is an instruction to seek refuge from the evil of such women. Despite this meaning being interesting, it is against the interpretation of the early commentators, and most of those who give this meaning are those who do not believe in harm from magic, and they insist so much on their stance that they even refuse to accept the hadith narrated in Bukhari, Muslim, and many other books of hadith, in which it is mentioned that Labeed bin A'sam performed magic on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and due to this magic, he remained ill and distressed for some time. [ دیکھیے بخاري، کتاب الطب، باب ہل یستخرج السحر؟ :۵۷۶۵،۵۷۶۳ ]
