In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A Gentle Commentary on the Book "Introductory Cards
to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Umar Naseef,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Falaq.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
and upon his family and all his Companions.
We continue with our gentle commentary
on the introductory cards,
and we have now reached Surah al-Falaq,
by the grace of Allah and with good fortune.
I would like to make three reflective pauses regarding it.
The first pause:
this tremendous surah
is among the very first things memorized
by a young child.
Even before memorizing it,
the child hears it from their parents
as they recite the surahs of protection (al-Mu'awwidhat)
at a very early age.
Thus, the child learns that the One whose refuge is sought
is Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He.
This connects directly to the second pause,
which is that after a person completes,
for example, an entire recitation (khatmah) of the Qur'an,
they ultimately arrive
at these two concluding surahs:
al-Falaq and an-Nas.
We are now considering Surah al-Falaq,
where one recites: "Say, 'I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak.'"
So in his beginnings,
in his childhood,
and in his state of weakness and vulnerability,
he sought refuge;
and after he has gained knowledge
and recited the entire Qur'an,
he still remains in need of seeking that very refuge.
In both states,
the One whose refuge is sought is Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He;
He alone protects from the evil of whatever He has created.
As for the third pause,
the surah opens
with the command: "Say."
We have encountered similar phrasing before,
and it corresponds directly with Surah an-Nas as well.
This opening command, "Say,"
reminds us that the supreme path of protection
against evil is divine revelation.
We may exert our own efforts
and try our best to guard against evils,
but complete protection
and ultimate refuge
are obtained solely through revelation.
The word "Say" points to this reality:
you do not seek refuge according to your own reasoning,
but rather through what your Lord has revealed to you.
I am reminded here of an exchange
I once had with someone
regarding the prayers used to seek protection for a child.
When I mentioned to him the hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"I seek refuge for you both in the perfect words of Allah,
from every devil and poisonous reptile,
and from every evil eye,"
with which the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to seek refuge for
al-Hasan and al-Husayn,
may Allah be pleased with them both—
it seemed that when I presented this supplication to him,
he deemed it too brief,
saying, "Is that all?"
In the same way, someone might look at al-Falaq and an-Nas
as short surahs,
wondering, "Is this truly sufficient for seeking refuge?"
Yes, it is indeed sufficient for seeking refuge,
because we receive this means of protection directly from Allah,
Glorified and Exalted is He.
And whatever comes from Allah
suffices above all else;
it is greater than anything else
and far more profound than anything else.
Indeed, it has been narrated regarding the virtues of this surah:
"You will never recite anything more profound with Allah
than 'Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak.'"
So let us be reassured: as long as we take the path of protection prescribed in Allah's revelation,
we can be confident that divine protection is assured, by Allah's leave.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and all his Companions.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.