Chapter Dividing – Surah al-Falaq

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Beneficent

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ {1}

1. Say: “I seek refuge in the Master of the (creative) act^[2] of dividing!

مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ {2}

2. From the evil of what He created,

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ {3}

3. And from the evil of the night^[3] when it intensifies,

وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ {4}

4. And from the evil of those who stir up trouble^[4] to relationships^[5],

وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ {5}

5. And also from the evil of the envious when he envies (I seek refuge in God)!”

^[1] Sent down in Madina, consists of 5 verses.

^[2] Falaq means “dividing” or “something that is divided”. Dividing is the common way in God’s creation process. In Biology, this is called mitosis or meiosis.

^[3]The word “ ghaasiq : غَاسِق” means “that which produces a sensation of cold” (Lisan al-Arab). It refers to the coldest and longest part of the night. At this time, sun rays have no effect on the Earth, the time of Isha is over (Al-Isra 17/78), and it is the time to rest for living beings. The expression “the darkness when it intensifies” refers to the beginning of the period after Isha. At this time, nobody should be disturbed without permission (an-Noor 24:58). In compliance with these verses, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not like to sleep before Isha and speak after Isha (Bukhari, Adhan, al-Qiraat fi’l-fajr 104; Muslim, al-Masajid and Mawadi as-salat 235 – (647)).

^[4] “an-Naffathat : النَّفَّاثَاتِ” has been assigned the meaning, “an-nufus an naffathat : النفوس النَّفَّاثَاتِ”. Nafth : نفث means “utterance of a word” (Maqayis). Some words damage the relationships between people. Those who try to damage or sever these relationships lie to those people. Since it is difficult to recognize them, one must take refuge in God from their evil (Qalam 68:8-13). The most dangerous of the people who damage the relationships are those who try to create a different perception by using the right thing in the wrong place. Doing this is called ‘magic’ or in Arabic ‘sihr’. The meaning of ‘sihr’ is showing something different from what it actually is. It is an illusion or a trick (Lisan al-Arab). Such a setup was used against Moses (pbuh) by the illusionists of Pharaoh that God describes as a “great magic” (al-A’raf 7:103-120). Although it is clearly stated in these verses and in many other verses that magic is an unrealistic thing, indeed a type of perception management, it is claimed in a narration attributed to Aisha (ra) (Bukhari, Tibb 47,49,50, Jizya 14, Adab 56; Muslim, Salam 43-2189) that a Jew cast a spell on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). According to verses al-Isra 17:47-48 in the Qur’an, these narrations are not likely to be true. In most of the interpretations and translations, it is claimed that the magic is real by translating the 4th verse of the chapter Al-Falaq as “from the evil of witch women who blow into knots and spit on them”. Such things are an indicator of how Muslims are disunited while they are in contradiction with the Qur’an.

^[5] The word we translate as “relationship” is “uqad : الْعُقَدِ” which is the plural form of “uqdah : العقدة”. Uqad refers to all kinds of well-established relationships. The wedding tie that binds both sides is called “uqdah al-nikah”, the contract of sale is called “uqdah al-bay’”, and profitable business relationships are also called “al-uqdah” (al-Ayn).

(We would like to present our sincere thanks to Yılmaz Kaşo and Erol Kaşo for their contributions.)