Surat Al-Falaq (Dawn, Daybreak) is the 113th Sura of the Qu'ran. It is a brief 5-verse invocation, asking God for protection from evil. It is a Makkan sura.
It and Surat al-Nas are together termed the mu'awwidhatayn, or suras of refuge; dealing with roughly the same theme, they form a natural pair. There is a sunna tradition of reading it over the sick or before sleeping.
In verse 4, "those who blow on knots" refers to would-be witches; in the time of Muhammad, according to Abdallah Yusuf Ali, "women of a tribe would try to cast spells on enemies by tying a knot in rope and reciting spells and blowing on them." The "evil of the envious when he envies" is taken by some to allude to the Evil Eye, although it can equally well be taken literally.
Its text, in M. H. Shakir's translation, is:
"In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful"
- Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn,
- From the evil of what He has created,
- And from the evil of the utterly dark night when it comes,
- And from the evil of those who blow on knots,
- And from the evil of the envious when he envies.
In comparison, Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation the sura is:
"In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful"
- Say: 'I seek refuge with the Lord of the Dawn,
- From the mischief of created things;
- From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads;
- From the mischief of those who practice Secret Arts
- and from the mischief of the envious one as he practices envy.
| Preceded by: al-Ikhlas |
Sura 113 | Followed by: Al-Nas |
| Qur'an |