113. Surah Al-Falaq (The Daybreak)

Surah al-Falaq (Arabic: سورة الفلق‎, Sūratu l-Falaq, "Dawn, Daybreak") is the 113th surah of the Qur'an. It is a brief five verse invocation, asking Allah for protection from the evil of Satan. This surah and the 114th (and last) surah in the Qur'an, an-Nas, are collectively referred to as al-Mu'awwidhatayn.

The word "al-Falaq" in the first verse, a generic term referring to the process of 'splitting', has been restricted in most translations to one particular type of splitting, namely 'daybreak' or 'dawn'.

Verse 4 refers to one of soothsayer techniques to partially tie a knot, utter a curse and spit into the knot and pull it tight. In the pre-Islamic period, soothsayers claimed the power to cause various illnesses. According to soothsayers the knot had to be found and untied before the curse could be lifted. This practice is condemned in verse 4.

This sura, along with the following sura, Sura 114, begins with 'I seek refuge', which is why both are referred to as al-Mu'awwidhatayn.

                                              

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1. Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak 

2. From the evil of that which He created; 

3. From the evil of the darkness when it is intense, 

4. And from the evil of malignant witchcraft, 

5. And from the evil of the envier when he envieth.