قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ۞ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ ۞ إِلَهِ النَّاسِ ۞ مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ۞ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ۞ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ”
Say, ‘I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, against the harm of the slinking whisperer, who whispers into the hearts of mankind, whether they be jinn or men.’ [114]
To be recited 3 times
Brief Commentary
This surah is included in the morning and evening supplications as the Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said that reciting this surah along with surah Al-Ikhlas [112] and Al-Falaq [113] three times every morning and evening will suffice a person for protection from everything [1]
The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said about this surah and surah Al-Falaq [113], “No one seeks refuge like the one who seeks it through these two surahs” [2]
The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) once said to a companion, “Have you seen the verses revealed tonight, those which no one has ever seen anything like them? Surah Al-Falaq [113], and Surah Al-Naas [114]” [3]
Imam Ibnul-Qayyim said, “The need of a person for these two surahs is greater than their need for air, food, drink, and clothing [4]
“Lord of mankind” is an attribute of Allah which encompasses His protection and nurturing of us, and the fact that He is the one who looks after all our affairs. This verse therefore affirms the Oneness of Allah in terms of His Lordship
“King of mankind” is an attribute of Allah that progressively follows Him being the Lord. Since He is our Lord who looks after all of our affairs, He is therefore our King who has full control and ownership over us. This verse therefore affirms the Oneness of Allah in terms of His names & attributes as the true King can only be so due to His perfect names and attributes
“God of mankind” also progressively follows Him being our Lord and King. Since He is the one who has these attributes, then it is incumbent upon us to worship Him and take him as our God. This verse therefore affirms the Oneness of Allah in terms of His [deserving of] worship
After praising Allah and affirming His true Oneness through the three types of tawheed (Lordship, names & attributes, and worship), we begin to clarify what we seek refuge from, which is the shaytan
The shaytan is described as the “slinking whisperer”. This is because he is in two states with regards to the people. When a person is weak and doesn’t remember Allah, the shaytan is constantly whispering evil in his ear, therefore he is the whisperer. However, when a person becomes strong and remembers Allah, the shaytan retreats as he is prevented from affecting this individual, therefore he is described as slinking/retreating
When a person doesn’t remember Allah, the shaytan has free access to this individual, such that he is able to whisper directly to his heart, so it is imperative that we seek refuge in Allah from him as he is in direct contact with our hearts
The last verse in this surah clarifies that the shaytan that leads us to evil is not always from the jinn, rather there are humans who also push us to do evil, so we seek refuge in Allah from them too
