Ala-Maududi
(113:1) Say:[1] “I seek refuge[2] with the Lord of the rising
day;[3]
1. As qul (say) is a part of the message which was conveyed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) by
revelation for preaching his prophetic message, its first addressee is the Prophet (peace be
upon him) himself but after him every believer is also its addressee.
2. The act of seeking refuge necessarily consists of three parts:
(1) The act of seeking refuge itself.
(2) The seeker of refuge.
(3) He whose refuge is sought.
Seeking refuge implies feeling fear of something and seeking protection of another, or taking
cover of it, or clinging to it, or going under its shelter for safety. The seeker after refuge
in any case is the person, who feels that he cannot by himself resist and fight the thing that
he fears, but stands in need of refuge with another for protection. Then the one whose refuge is
sought must necessarily be a person or being about whom the seeker after refuge believes that he
or it alone can protect him from the calamity. Now, one kind of refuge is that which is obtained
according to natural laws in the physical world from a perceptible material object or person or
power, for example, taking shelter in a fort for protection against the enemy’s attack, or
taking cover in a trench or behind a heap of earth, or wall, for protection against a shower of
bullets, or taking refuge with a man or government, for protection from a powerful tyrant or
taking refuge in the shade of a tree or building for protection from the sun. Contrary to this,
the other kind of refuge is that which is sought in a supernatural Being from every kind of
danger and every kind of material, moral or spiritual harm and injury on the basis of the belief
that that Being is ruler over the physical world and can protect in supersensory ways the one
who seeks His refuge. This second kind of refuge is the one that is implied not only in Surah
Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nass but wherever in the Quran and the Hadith mention has been made of
seeking refuge with Allah, it implies this particular kind of refuge, and it is a necessary
corollary of the doctrine of Tauhid that this kind of refuge should be sought from no one but
Allah. The polytheists sought this kind of protection, and seek even today, from other beings
than Allah, e.g. the jinn, or gods and goddesses. The materialists also turn for this to
material means and resources, for they do not believe in any supernatural power. But the
believer only turns to Allah and seeks refuge only with Him, against all such calamities and
misfortunes to ward off which he feels he has no power.
For example, about the polytheists it has been said in the Quran: And that from among men some
people used to seek refuge with some people from among the jinn (Surah Al-Jinn, Ayat 16).
And explaining it in (Surah Al-Jinn, Ayat 6)
we have cited Abdullah bin Abbas’s tradition that when the polytheistic Arabs had to pass a
night in an uninhabited valley, they would call out, saying: We seek refuge of the lord of this
valley (i.e. of the jinn who is ruler and master of this valley). Contrary to this, about
Pharaoh it has been said: When he witnessed the great signs presented by the Prophet Moses
(peace be upon him), he showed arrogance on account of his might. (Surah Adh- Dhariyat, Ayat 39).
As for the attitude and conduct of the God-worshippers the Quran says that they seek Allah’s
refuge for protection against the evil of everything that they fear, whether it is material or
moral or spiritual. Thus, about Mary it has been said that when God’s angel appeared before her
suddenly in human guise (when she did not know that he was an angel), she cried out: I seek the
merciful God’s refuge from you, if you are a pious man. (Surah Maryam, Ayat 18).
When the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) made an improper petition to Allah, and was rebuked by
Allah in response, he immediately submitted: My Lord, I seek Your protection lest I should ask
of You anything of which I have no knowledge. (Surah Hud, Ayat 47) When the Prophet
Moses (peace be upon him) commanded the children of Israel to sacrifice a cow, and they said
that perhaps he was having a jest with them, he replied: I crave Allah’s protection from
behaving like ignorant people. (Surah
Al-Baqarah, Ayat 67).
The same is the case with all the acts of seeking refuge which have been reported in respect of
the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the books of Hadith. For instance, consider the following
prayers that the Prophet (peace be upon him) made:
Aishah has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray, saying: O God, I seek Your
refuge from the evil of the works which I did and from the evil of the works which I did not do.
(i.e. if I have done a wrong, I seek refuge from its evil results, and if I have not done a work
which I should have done, I seek refuge from the loss that I have incurred, or from that I
should do what I should not do). (Muslim).
Ibn Umar has reported that one of the supplications of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was to the
effect: O God, I seek Your refuge from being deprived of a blessing that You have bestowed on me
and from being deprived of the well-being that You have granted me and I seek refuge lest Your
wrath should descend on me suddenly, and I seek refuge from every kind of Your displeasure.
(Muslim).
Zaid bin Arqam has reported that the Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah used to pray: O God,
I seek Your refuge from the knowledge which is not beneficial, from the heart which does not
fear You, from the soul which is never satisfied, and from the prayer which is not answered.
(Muslim).
Abu Hurairah has reported that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to pray: O God, I seek Your
refuge from hunger, for it is a most evil thing with which one may have to pass a night, and I
seek Your refuge from dishonesty, for it is sheer evil-mindedness. (Abu Daud).
Anas has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray: O God, I seek Your refuge
from leprosy and madness and all evil diseases. (Abu Daud).
Aishah has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray in these words: O God, I
seek Your refuge from the mischief of the fire and from the evil of affluence and poverty.
(Tirmidhi, Abu Daud).
Shakal bin Humaid requested the Prophet (peace be upon him) to teach him some prayer. He told him
to say: O God, I seek Your refuge from the evil of my hearing, from the evil of my sight, from
the evil of my tongue, from the evil of my heart, and from the evil of my lust, (Tirmidhi, Abu
Daud).
Atlas bin Malik has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say: O God, I seek Your
refuge from helplessness, indolence, cowardice, old age and stinginess, and I seek Your refuge
from the torment of the grave and from the mischief of life and death, (and according to a
tradition in Muslim also) from the burden of debt and that the people should overpower me.
(Bukhari, Muslim).
Khawla bint Hukaym Sulamiyyah says that she heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying that
the one who halts at a new stage (during the journey) and says: I seek refuge in the blameless
words of Allah from the evil of the creatures, will not be caused any harm until he departs from
that stage. (Muslim).
We have related these few prayers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from the Hadith, which show
that the believer should seek Allah’s refuge from every danger and evil and not the refuge of
anyone else, nor he should become self sufficient of Allah and place reliance only on himself.
3. The word used in the original is Rabbil-Falaq. Falaq actually means to split and to pierce
through. A great majority of the commentators have taken it to mean bringing out the light of
dawn by splitting the darkness of night, for in Arabic falaq-as-subh is often used for the
breaking of dawn, and also in the Quran the words Faliqul- isbah (He Who causes the dawn to
appear by splitting the darkness of night) have been used for Allah. (Surah Al Anaam, Ayat 96).
Another meaning of falaq is also to create ot to bring into being, for everything created in the
world appears by splitting something. All vegetation sprouts by splitting open the seed and the
soil; all animals come out either from the womb of mother or by breaking open the egg, or some
other obstruction. All springs gush out by splitting open the rock or soil. The day appears by
piercing through the curtain of the night. The drops of rain pierce through the clouds and fall
on the earth. In short, everything in the world comes into being as a result of breaking and
splitting another thing; so much so that the earth and the heavens also in the beginning were
one mass, then they were broken and parted. (Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayat 30).
Thus, according to this meaning the word falaq is common to all creations. Now, if the first
meaning is adopted, the verse would mean: I seek refuge with the Lord of rising dawn, and
according to the second meaning, it would mean: I seek refuge with the Lord of all creation.
Here the attribute of Rabb has been used for Allah instead of His proper Name, for Allah’s
attribute of being Rabb, i.e. Master, Sustainer and Provider, is more relevant to seeking and
taking of His refuge. Then, if Rabb-ul-falaq implies Lord of the rising dawn, seeking His refuge
would mean: I seek refuge with the Lord Who brings out the bright daylight from the darkness of
night so that He may likewise bring well-being for me from all kinds of physical and psychical
dangers. If it is taken to mean Rabb al-khalaq the meaning would be: I seek refuge with the Lord
of all creation, so that He may protect me from the evil of His creation.