114 - Sūrat an-Nās

In the name of Allah (who is) Rahmān (and) Rahīm.

[For explanation, see Sūrat al-Fātiha: 1]

1

Say: 'I seek refuge in the Rabb of mankind, their Creator and their Possessor: they [mankind] have been singled out for mention here in order to honour them, and a preface to seeking refuge from the evil of the one who whispers in their hearts;

2

The Ruler/Sovereign of mankind,

3

God of mankind (both [maliki'n-nās and ilāhi'n-nās] are either substitutions or adjectival qualifications or explicative supplements; the repetition of the annexed word [al-nās] is meant as an additional explication),

4

from the evil of the slinking whisperer, Satan - he is referred to by the name of the action [waswasa] on account of his repeated engaging in it - who slinks [away] and recoils from the heart whenever Allahu ta’ālā is mentioned,

5

who whispers in the breasts of mankind, in their hearts - whenever they neglect to remember Allahu ta’ālā

6

of the jinn and mankind' (mina'l-jinnati wa'l-nāsi: an explication for the whispering Satan being of the jinn and [also] of the humans, similar to Allah’s saying, the devils of humans and jinn [Q. 6:112]; or, mina'l-jinnati, 'of the jinn', is an explication for him [Satan], wa'l-nāsi, 'and [of] mankind' being a supplement to al-waswās, 'the whisperer'. Both [explanations] apply to the evil of the mentioned Labīd and his daughters; the objection to the first opinion is that humans do not 'whisper' in the hearts of [other] humans, but that it is the jinn who whisper in their hearts: I would respond by saying that human beings also 'whisper' in a manner appropriate to them, [beginning] externally, whereafter their whispers reach the heart and establish themselves in it in the way in which this [customarily] happens. But Allahu ta’ālā knows best what is correct, and to Him shall be the return and the final destination, and may Allahu ta’ālā bless our Rabb Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" and his family and Companions, and grant [them all] much peace, forever and always. Allahu ta’ālā suffices for us and [what] an excellent Guardian (wakīl) [is He]! And there is no power or might except in Allahu ta’ālā, the Sublime, the Tremendous.