Tafsir Surah al Nas

 It was the last Sura, al-Nas. It came after al-Falaq. Maybe Makki, maybe Madani. It did not matter. What mattered was this: a man must seek good. He must ask God for it. God is the absolute good. A man must also seek refuge. For dangers are many. From outside. From within. And he must seek refuge only with God. From all harm.

Al-Falaq was about the outer harms. The things created, the night, the casters of knots, the envious. All from outside. But al-Nas was different. It spoke of the enemy within. This was the more dangerous foe.

A foe inside, no fear of foes outside.

The enemy within. He whispers. He deceives. He leads astray. He makes a man heedless. Ignorant. He poisons the heart. Makes a man blind to reason. So a man must seek refuge from both. But the inner foe, it is the greater.

The verses of al-Nas spoke differently. No 'and' to join the evils. The one sought for refuge, God, was named with three names. Not joined by 'and'.

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, The King of mankind, The God of mankind.

When a man has trouble, he goes to his protector. His guide. His manager. If that does not help, he goes to the ruler. The king. The one in power. And if all earthly help fails, then he goes to the Lord of all worlds. The God of mankind. The broken man, who has nowhere else to go, he turns to God.

This trinity, it is one. A unity, shown as three. The old ones spoke of it.  When trouble comes, a man goes to his guardian. Then to the king. Then, when all else fails, to his Lord. But here, the guardian, the ruler, the God, they are all in God. The one sought for refuge, in all three, is God. Not joined by 'and'.

The recitation was clear. "Malik of mankind." Not "Maalik." For the one who gives refuge is the King. He who acts with power, who stops all attackers, he is the King. He who brings peace and safety, he is the King. A "Maalik" has power, yes. But the King's power, his might in these matters of refuge, is stronger. Richer. So "Malik of mankind" He is. Not "Maalik." Though in al-Fatiha, "Maalik of the Day of Judgment" was called.

So, refuge from the inner foe. To the Powerful without. Only God. He has many Names. The Beautiful Names. But each has its showing. When a man seeks healing, he says, "O Healer! O Giver of Life!" He does not say, "O Inflictor of Sickness! O Giver of Death!" For the actions are different. Though the Doer is one. The names are different. Though the Named is one. The showings are different. Though the Absolute Shaper of all is one. Here, Lordship, Kingship, and Godship, all three for God alone, they are the source of help for any who seek refuge.

The evil in al-Falaq was from outside. This evil here, it is inside. It whispers. A man works with thought and will. First he thinks. Then he decides. If someone wants to change his will, his resolve, he poisons the thought. He ruins the mind. Makes it false. He whispers. Leads astray. From a lost thought, scattered purpose comes.

So it said: "From the evil of the Whisperer, the Sneaker." When a man remembers God, it hides. When he forgets, it shows itself. For the pious, when a phantom from Satan touches them, they remember. And then they see. They see the outlaw, Satan, ready to enter the heart. They know him. They know his false pilgrimage. They know his evil intent, waiting for the heart's door to open. The great ones, they guard their hearts. They know this outlaw. They know his false pilgrimage. They know he waits. They remember God's name. And he hides.

Guard the sanctuary of the heart all night,

So that no thought but His may enter this house.

Otherwise, he always whispers. Sometimes through men. Sometimes through jinn. From the evil of the Whisperer, the Sneaker. He whispers in the breasts of mankind, of jinn and men. The word "mankind" is repeated. Three times in the beginning. Once in the middle. Once at the end. They are different. The first "mankind" is all people. The middle "mankind" is those whom the jinn and men attack. The last "mankind" is with the jinn, the whisperers themselves. This Sura shows the three parts of seeking refuge. Just like the other one.

The Sheikh, may God bless him, after these two Suras, called the "Mu'awwidhatayn," said they came together. Even if they did, their messages are not the same. But they are alike. He wrote in his book, a valuable commentary, that the scholars had counted. The number of Suras. The number of verses. The number of words. The number of letters. The number of dots. Some were over a hundred. Some over a thousand. Some over a million. He wrote them all down.

Then others, they went deeper. They counted each letter. Each vowel mark. Each tanwin. Each shadda. All of them. They did this so that the Book might be guarded. From change. From addition. From subtraction. From movement, without leave of the Prophet, peace be upon him. What came down on his pure heart, that is what men have today.

The story of this tafsir begins with a Surah and ends with a Surah leading mankind to piety and guidance.

Every hour. Every moment. Every minute. Every Sura. Every verse. Every word. Every letter. Every mark. All of it was by God's grace. "No blessing is ours but from You." "No doing is mine, nor of another, in Your beneficence." This blessing, it is from His table. His feast. The Qur'an and the pure progeny, the speaking Qur'an, equal to the Holy Book. Because of them. This is not politeness. Not praise. It is honest humility. It is from Him. And from no other.

So, from His garden, His paradise, His spirit and solace, this work is offered. To God. "O You who accepts the little and forgives the much, accept from me the little and forgive me the much." The reward, for the pure souls of prophets, saints, martyrs, the righteous, the truthful. For the pure soul of the Seal of Prophethood, the Prophet, peace be upon him. For Ali. For Fatimah. For Hasan. For Husain. For Ali son of Husain. For Muhammad son of Ali. For Ja'far son of Muhammad. For Musa son of Ja'far. For Ali son of Musa. For Muhammad son of Ali. For Ali son of Muhammad. For Hasan son of Ali (peace be on all of them). For the Remnant of God, may our souls be sacrificed for him. "O You who accepts the little and forgives the much, accept from me the little."

O Lord! By Your Beautiful names, by Your saints, by Your mercy, by all Your heavenly books, by Your Holy Qur'an, which stands over all books, grant the divine order, the Qur'an and the progeny, the guardianship of the Household of the Prophet, Ali and his offspring, peace be upon them, their love, their guardianship, their imamate, to the people of the East and West. Guide them all. Prepare them for the presence and appearance of Your guardian. The enemies within and without. Those from whom refuge is sought in al-Falaq. Those from whom refuge is sought in al-Nas. Guide all humanity, in Muslim lands, in monotheistic lands, Christians and Jews, in all lands, believers and disbelievers, to the straight path. And prepare them all for the appearance and presence of Your guardian, may our souls be sacrificed for him.

We hope our fathers, mothers, those with rights over us, our teachers, may spirit and solace from the Holy Qur'an be upon their pure souls. All who have a right over us, from whose books we learned, from whose lessons we benefited, from whose pen and steps we gained, who helped us, did good, showed grace, gather them all at the table and feast of the Qur'an and the progeny. "No blessing is ours but from You."

And peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of God, and peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.