114. Surah An-Nas
The main theme in this Surah is seeking of protection of Allah from all forces that threaten one's inner peace and understanding that we are purely responsible for things we do
This Surah begins with the command to قُل - say, seek أَعُوذُ - refuge, this word can pictured as someone hiding behind another seeking protection from the person, like a child hiding behind the legs of their parent when they seek protection from something
So we literally ask Allah to come in between us and what we seek protection from, to deal with the threat completely, because we wholeheartedly believe that we are incapable of handling the threat while Allah is more than capable, when we say أَعُوذُ
1. قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ
Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind,
2. مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ
the Master of humankind,
3. إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ
the God of humankind,
We call upon three attributes of Allah, whenever we consider any Attributes or Names of Allah, it is important to understand the concept of Tasbeeh (Glorification) in Islam.
Tasbeeh is the act of purifying our mind of thoughts and conceptions that are not befitting to attributed to the perfection of Allah, what does that mean? When we hear any Name of Allah, like ٱلْمَلِكُ - The King and Owner of All Dominion, it always remind us kings of this world that are far from perfect, this is by design, so with Tasbeeh we begin with what is most familiar, like a King we have seen in this world or in stories, then we slowly remove all manner of imperfections to the concept of a king to arrive at the most perfect version of a king, this is an essential part of faith, to purify our minds of the corrupted conceptions of the attributes of Allah in our minds and thereby strengthen and purify our faith in Him. And always remember no matter how much Tasbeeh you do, Allah will always be more perfect than what you can conceptualize.
Tasbeeh is very important because in life, we find ourselves questioning why certain things are happening, these are avenues for man to doubt the perfection of Allah, however one should know that although they are not able to understand it, doesn’t mean that there is any dip in the perfection of Allah, rather it is always a dip in one’s understanding. Always think of Allah in the best way possible, and all your doubts will clear up, except for those who think that they are somehow entitled to be convinced by Allah of His perfection without putting any effort into trying to understand will find themselves devoid of answers, and lead himself into hopeless situations in life.
So lets try to do Tasbeeh with the three attributes we call upon in this Surah, Although these are not proper names we find elsewhere in the Quran because of the lack of “Al” or “The” before these words, it would still be be
رَبّ - Master, that provides sustenance and safety. The first thing that may come into mind of a master in our times is an employer/boss, they provide you with jobs that pay you which ensures you and your families’ safety, but the relationship we have with them or the concept of our bosses are far from perfect. We know we are paid only as long as we keep their pockets filled, they ensure that we are put to use as much as possible for the least amount of benefits they have to provide us, they are often rude, heartless and selfish etc.
As for Allah, He is Perfect in every way, He is free of need, so everything He does for us, He does needing nothing in return, He ensures our nutrition, sustenance, safety, needs, joys, growth etc. perfectly, without taking breaks, without any flaws. And anything He asks us to do is to ensure ease.
مَلِكُ - The Sovereign King. Kings are prevalent in all kinds of stories, movies and we still see some kings that rule some countries. All aspects of kingship in this world is flawed, there is always betrayal, usurping, death, destruction, murder when kings take power. Their priority is their own needs and play games with common folk for their entertainment. Their rule is based on their whims and they punish unjustly etc.
Whereas, Allah is The Eternal King, He will always be King, He took no one’s place, nor will anyone take His, He is perfectly just, wise, kind and ensures the best for all His subjects. He has supreme authority over everything in existence and He did not create any of them for entertainment. He owns all that is in the heavens and the earth and all things return to Him
The next word is very unique, because it cannot be attributed to anything or anyone we are familiar with. Although the common translation of the word is just “God”, the Arabic word is rich with meaning.
إِلَـٰه - Common translation is “God” but it is also:-
The only one worthy of any act of worship
The only one to find peace and contentment in
The only one to turn to in sadness, calamity and desperation
The only one worthy of being overwhelmed with excitement and emotion about.
The only one worthy of being in awe and amazement of
The only one worthy of such love, that in His absence all joy disappears
The only one with the ultimate authority
One’s ultimate purpose
These are the meanings that are lost when we say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ, it is not surprising that this word does not remind us anything in this world, because no matter what false gods, be it idols or money or power people worship, nothing takes the place of all of these at the same time.
4. مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ
from the evil of the lurking whisperer—
5. ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ
who whispers into the hearts of humankind—
6. مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ
from among jinn and humankind.”
THE GREATEST INTERNAL THREAT
We call upon Allah, our رَبّ , our مَلِكُ , our إِلَـٰه to protect us from the greatest threat to humanity, that is the threat to their inner self from the forces committed to derailing the hearts of humanity, the Shaiyatheen (Devils)
By calling upon our رَبّ , our مَلِكُ , our إِلَـٰه, we must already be at ease as the only one in total control, authority and influence over us is our loving Master, Allah. That no matter how many or how much the forces of evil try, they will never have any control over us except if we wilfully obey them instead of obeying Allah.
The only thing they can do is to continuously whisper evil thoughts, evil suggestions into the back of our minds in sly, mischievous ways, promising us something that they cannot give, deluding us to think that these thoughts are our own, suggesting us to act upon them, and to turn our backs on doing good.
But all they ever will be are suggestions that are whispered into our chests, NOT our hearts because they have no access to it unless we invite them into it.
And when we do open our hearts to them, then they delude us to make the good to seem ugly, and the wicked to seem beautiful turning us into Shaiyatheen (Devils) ourselves. We will do evil and invite others to evil, avoid good and obstruct others from good.
It is important to understand you cannot force anyone to do good or bad, even if you forcefully make someone do a good act, if they did not intent to do any good, then their actions cannot truly be “good”. Only when our intentions and our actions align does our deed carry any weight.
There are forces of good and forces of evil that suggest each individual to do right and wrong, but at the end of the day, each individual carries the whole responsibility of what they intentionally occupy their minds, time and efforts with
You can choose to occupy your minds with the Quran or with music, your time contemplating about reality or immersed in entertainment, your efforts focussed to spread good or bad. Your choice is your own and you will be questioned about them.
May Allah empower us to recognize and carry the responsibilities of free will and strive to do good and protect us from being influenced by the forces of evil.