Quranic Passage 10

Surah 114 (An-Nas)

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ

مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ

إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ

مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ

ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ

مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

Translation

1. Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, 2. The King of mankind, 3. The God of Mankind, 4. From the mischief of the whisperer who withdraws, 5. Who whispers into the hearts of mankind, 6. Among jinns and among mankind.

Main Theme(s)

The main themes are: God as refuge; God as Lord; God as Protector.

This passage is from the theme of God’s relationship with the creation. It says that only He can help in times of need, in this case from jinn and men. Humans should seek help only from Him. He created everything so controls everything, even mischief makers. It is a warning to those who whisper evil or bad ideas to humans, and then disappear and leave them on their own. The Holy Qur’an states:

“…for Satan is to man an avowed enemy!” (12:5, Yusuf)

God is a protector from these things and it is one of the surahs of protection.

Importance of these Themes in a Muslim’s life today

Through these verses Muslims get to know the kind of evils or mischief they have to be wary of, e.g. jinn, humans or internal whisperings such as jealousy. This means they should be aware of what’s happening to them so they can recognise the signs of mischief and temptations. Praying and doing good deeds strengthens reliance on God. The Holy Qur’an declares:

“…and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.” (20:14, Taha)

Reciting this surah with the other ‘qul’s’ is a source of protection. God is the King so it is He who people should seek refuge with.