Surah al Nas is one of the chapters most people default to in their prayers.
It’s short, easy to remember, and has so many virtues:
It is one of the muawwidhatayn; the two chapters seeking protection in Allah.
You were probably told to recite it in the mornings and evenings, as per the Sunnah, how it can be used to perform ruqya to protect from black magic…
But have you ever looked closer at the Surah and reflected on the deeper meaning within it?
When you pay attention to Surah al Nas, you realize that is teaching you far more about yourself than you may have imagined.
It is a chapter that brings your attention to two beings:
Your Lord, and your greatest enemy
By understanding your relation to them, this chapter of the Quran puts your entire life into perspective.
Know Your Lord
There are 3 powerful names of Allah mentioned in this Surah:
Al Rabb
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ
Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,
Rabb is often translated as “Lord”, but it also carries the connotation of a caretaker.
Al Rabb is someone who nurtures and develops us.
That is why the term often used for spiritual growth and development is “tarbiyah”
And is also why we invoke this name of Allah when we pray for our parents:
“…رَّبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًۭا”
“…My Lord, have mercy on them as they took care of me when I was young.”
[Quran, 17:24]
Al Malik
مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ
The King of mankind,
Allah is The King of Mankind, and His Kingship is not like any other.
How many kingdoms have come and gone over time?
How many rulers have lost land shortly after gaining it?
How many nations have perished after believing they will last forever?
Allah’s Kingship is not inherited or seized.
It can never be taken from Him, it lasts forever, and it encompasses all of creation:
That which we can see, and that which is unseen
Al Ilah
إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ
The God of mankind,
Allah is the ultimate deity; the sole being worthy of worship.
If you were to imagine each of these names mentioned as part of a pyramid, Al Ilah would be at the top, because it expresses Allah’s ultimate right over us.
By reaffirming His position, we are reminded of what our greatest priority is as His slaves.
This name reorients us and reminds us of our true purpose.
After such powerful and potent invocations, calling upon, praising, and recognizing how grand your Lord is, what is it that you could possibly be asking for?
What is it you see protection from so desperately in this chapter?
Know Your Enemy
The remainder of this Surah focuses on the danger we are seeking refuge from: Shaytan.
Across cultures, the image of the devil is sensationalised, to the extent that some people even fear him…
But Allah reminds us in this chapter of who Iblis really is:
.مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ . ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ . مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ
From the evil of the lurking whisperer, who whispers into the chests of mankind; from among jinn and mankind.”
“The one who whispers into the chests of men”
This is the extent of Shaytan’s power.
He has no control over our actions, no control over our destiny.
He can only whisper, but those whispers are easily disguised, and it is important for us to remain vigilant as to how Shaytan tricks and deceives us.
Ibn al Qayyim outlines six key strategies used by Shaytan to lead people astray. These serve as a roadmap for understanding his methods.
From the highest to the lowest, they are:
- Shirk (Associating partners with Allah): This is Shaytan’s ultimate goal. If he can get a person to fall into polytheism or disbelief, he has succeeded greatly.
- Bid‘ah (Innovation in religion): If shirk is not possible, Shaytan aims for innovation. Innovations are more dangerous than sins because the one committing them often believes they are doing something virtuous, and thus, they do not repent.
- Major sins: If innovation fails, Shaytan attempts to drag the believer into serious sins such as theft, adultery, or intoxication.
- Minor sins: Failing to achieve major sins, he settles for small, repetitive transgressions, knowing they can accumulate and desensitize the heart.
- Permissible distractions: If he cannot get a person to sin, he consumes their time with halal distractions—food, entertainment, and trivial matters—keeping them from higher spiritual aspirations.
- Misplacing priorities: His final trick is to keep a person busy with what is good, at the expense of what is best. He diverts ambition away from meaningful or impactful pursuits to merely acceptable ones.
Know Yourself!
In this short but powerful chapter you are getting to know your purpose in this world.
Surah al Nas reminds you of who your Master is, of who your Protector is, and from what you should seek protection from.
The greatest danger you face in this life is not a physical calamity, but a calamity of the heart.
It is to give in to the whispers and to follow them to the worst destination without ever turning back.
The final part of the Quran is packed full of timeless lessons, and while most of us memorize these verses, we often miss out on the deeper barakah within them.
That’s why we are excited to announce our newest project…
What is it? Find out more about it here
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