Surah An-Nas is one of the two Mu’awwidhat of which the Prophet ﷺ said that verses like them had never been seen, and he told ’Uqbah: “You will not recite anything more eloquent in Allah’s sight.” No one has asked or sought refuge with anything like them; the Prophet ﷺ took them for protection and left everything else, and it is recited morning and evening, after the prayers and at bedtime.
The Prophet ﷺ said of Al-Falaq and An-Nas: “Have you not seen the verses revealed tonight, the like of which have never been seen?” He used to seek refuge from the jinn and the evil eye until they were revealed; then he took to them and left everything else.
Authentic (sahih)Muslim (814) and At-Tirmidhi (2902) Good (hasan)At-Tirmidhi (2058), An-Nasa’i (8/271) and Ibn Majah (3511)
The Prophet ﷺ told ’Uqbah ibn ’Amir: “You will not recite anything more eloquent in Allah’s sight than ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’”, and said of the two Mu’awwidhat: “No one has asked or sought refuge with anything like them.”
Authentic (sahih)An-Nasa’i (8/254), Ahmad (4/155) and Ibn Hibban Good (hasan)An-Nasa’i (As-Sunan al-Kubra, 8063), Ad-Darimi (3440) and Abu Dawud (1463)
The Prophet ﷺ taught the two Mu’awwidhat to ’Uqbah, recited them in prayer and told him to recite them whenever he slept and whenever he rose; he also told a companion: “When you pray, recite them.”
Authentic (sahih)Ahmad (4/144), Abu Dawud (1462) and Ibn Khuzaymah (534) Authentic (sahih)Ahmad (5/24) and Ibn ad-Durays (Fada’il al-Qur’an, 334)
When a man among the Jews bewitched the Prophet ﷺ, Gabriel brought him the two Mu’awwidhat; ’Ali was ordered to untie the knots while reciting, until the Prophet ﷺ rose as if released from a fetter.
Authentic (sahih)An-Nasa’i (7/112), Ahmad (4/367) and Abd ibn Humayd (271)
In the hadith of Abdullah ibn Khubayb: “Recite Al-Ikhlas and the two Mu’awwidhat in the evening and the morning three times; they will suffice you against everything.” ’Uqbah ibn ’Amir said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered me to recite the Mu’awwidhat after every prayer.” And ’A’ishah reported that every night, on going to bed, he blew into his palms, recited Al-Ikhlas and the two Mu’awwidhat into them, then wiped his body with them, three times.
’A’ishah reported that when the Prophet ﷺ was unwell he would recite the Mu’awwidhat over himself and blow; when his pain grew severe, she recited them over him and passed his own hand over him, hoping for its blessing.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
… أقرئني سورة هود، أقرئني سورة يوسف، فقال: لن تقرأ شيئًا أبلغ عند الله عز وجل من ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ﴾
“… Teach me Surah Hud, teach me Surah Yusuf.” He said: “You will not recite anything more eloquent in the sight of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, than ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’.”
ألم تر آيات أنزلت الليلة لم يُر مثلهن قط؟ ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ﴾ و ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ﴾
“Have you not seen the verses revealed tonight, the like of which have never been seen? ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak’ and ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’.”
يا عقيب! ألا أعلمك سورتين من خير سورتين قرأ بهما الناس؟ … فأقرأني ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ﴾ و ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ﴾ ثم أقيمت الصلاة فتقدم رسول الله ﷺ فقرأ بهما، ثم مر بي، قال: كيف رأيت يا عقيب؟ اقرأ بهما كلما نمت، وكما قمت
“O ’Uqayb! Shall I not teach you two surahs among the best that people have recited?” … He taught me “Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak” and “Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind”. Then the prayer was called; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went forward and recited them. Then he passed by me and said: “What did you think, ’Uqayb? Recite them whenever you sleep and whenever you get up.”
… قال: ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ﴾ فقرأتها حتى أتيت على آخرها، ثم قال رسول الله ﷺ عند ذلك: ما سأل سائل بمثلهما، ولا استعاذ مستعيذ بمثلهما
“… He said: ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’, and I recited it to the end. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘No one has asked with anything like these two, and no one has sought refuge with anything like these two.’”
كان رسول الله ﷺ يتعوذ من الجان، وعين الإنس؛ حتى نزلت المعوذتان، فلما نزلتا أخذ بهما وترك ما سواهما
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to seek refuge from the jinn and from the evil eye of men until the two Mu’awwidhat were revealed; when they were revealed, he took to them and left everything else.
… قل: أعوذ برب الفلق، فقلت: أعوذ برب الفلق فقرأها رسول الله ﷺ وقرأتها معه، ثم قال: قل: أعوذ برب الناس، فقرأها رسول الله ﷺ وقرأتها معه قال: إذا أنت صليت فاقرأ بهما
“… ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak.’ I said it, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited it and I recited it with him. Then he said: ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’, and he recited it and I recited it with him. He said: ‘When you pray, recite them.’”
سحر النبي ﷺ رجل من اليهود. قال: فاشتكى، فأتاه جبريل فنزل عليه بالمعوذتين وقال: إن رجلًا من اليهود سحرك والسحر في بئر فلان. قال: فأرسل عليًّا فجاء به. قال: فأمره أن يحل العقد ويقرأ آية، فجعل يقرأ ويحل حتى قام النبي ﷺ كأنما أنشط من عقال…
A man among the Jews bewitched the Prophet ﷺ, and he fell ill. Gabriel came to him, brought down the two Mu’awwidhat and said: “A man among the Jews has bewitched you, and the spell is in the well of so-and-so.” He sent ’Ali, who brought it, and ordered him to untie the knots while reciting a verse; he began to recite and untie until the Prophet ﷺ rose as if released from a fetter…
أتحب يا جبير إذا خرجت سفرًا أن تكون من أمثل أصحابك هيئة وأكثرهم زادًا؟ … فاقرأ هذه السور الخمس: ﴿قُلْ يَاأَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ﴾ ﴿إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ﴾ و ﴿قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ﴾ و ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ﴾ ﴿قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ﴾ وافتتح كل سورة ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، واختتم قراءتك ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
“Would you like, Jubayr, when you set out on a journey, to be the best-looking of your companions and the best provided? … Then recite these five surahs: Al-Kafirun, An-Nasr, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas; begin each surah with ‘Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim’ and end your recitation with ‘Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim’.”
Main purpose: To urge seeking refuge in Allah from the evil of Satan and his whisperings.
Surah An-Nas was revealed after Al-Falaq; it is called “the second Mu’awwidhah”, and together they are the “Mu’awwidhatayn” (the two surahs of refuge). It has six verses. There is no other surah in the Qur’an all of whose verses are a seeking of refuge, apart from these two. According to the hadith of Zayd ibn Arqam, Gabriel brought the two Mu’awwidhat to the Prophet ﷺ when a man among the Jews bewitched him and he fell ill.
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
