Al Mu`awwidhatayn

Today we will talk about the virtues of two chapters of the Quran. These are
the last two Surahs, al-Falaq and an-Nas.
Althouh they are distinct surahs, they are so co!ple!entary that they are
collectively referred to as al-Muawwidhatayn or the "two refues# which
derives literally fro! the beinnin of each surah, " $ %&' % (
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*+ , % #.
They are both surahs in which Allah instructs us to seek refue in -i!, and it is
one of Allah.s reat blessins that -e -i!self has provided the words throuh
which we can invoke -is protection.
Stature of al-Mu`awwidhatayn
/n his Sahih, /!a! 0usli! recorded on the authority of 1qbah bin A!ir that the
0essener of Allah said, "2o you not see that there have been Ayat revealed to
!e toniht the like of which has not been seen before. They are 3Say4 / seek
refue with the 5ord of the dawn,. 6al-Falaq7 and 3Say4 / seek refue with the
5ord of !an,. 6an-Nas7.#
/t is related fro! 1qbah bin A!ir, 89hile / was leadin the 0essener of Allah
alon one of these paths he said, 3: 1qbah; 9ill you not ride<. / was afraid that
this !iht be considered an act of disobedience. So the 0essener of Allah ot
down and / rode for a while. Then he rode. Then he said, 3: 1qbah; Should /
not teach you two surahs that are of the best two surahs that the people
recite<. / said, =:f course, : 0essener of Allah.> So he tauht !e to recite al-
Falaq and an-Nas. Then the call was iven to bein the prayer and the
0essener of Allah went forward, and he recited the! in the prayer. Afterwards
he passed by !e and said, 39hat do you think, : 1qbah< ?ecite these two
Surahs whenever you o to sleep and whenever you et up..
/n another narration the @rophet 6SA97 is reported to have said, "No person
beseeches with anythin like these, and no person seeks refue with anythin
like these.#
The Prophet and al-Mu`awwidhatayn
An i!portant incident of the 0u.awwidhatayn is said to have occurred durin a
ti!e when the @rophet 6SA97 was aAicted by black !aic, done by a !an
called 5abid bin Asa!, who was approached by the Bews to work his witch craft
on the Apostle of Cod. -e perfor!ed this usin a co!b with the @rophet.s hair
and tyin DD knots with in a cord and buryin it in a well. The @rophet beca!e
ill, but was infor!ed of the cause of the illness and the location of the well
containin the co!b and cord. -e found it and repeated the DD verses of the
0u.awwidhatayn and with each verse he recited a knot of the cord beca!e
untied and the !aic was overco!e.
/n another narration it is reported that Bibril ca!e to the @rophet and said, 8Are
you suEerin fro! any ail!ent, : 0uha!!ad>> The @rophet replied, 3Fes.. So
Bibril said, 3/n the Na!e of Allah, / recite prayer 6ruqyah7 over you, fro! every
illness that har!s you, fro! the evil of every envious person and evil eye. 0ay
Allah cure you.. And Bibril revealed the verses of the 0u.awwidhatayn to the
@rophet 6SA97 and he then recited these to overco!e the black !aic cast
over hi!.
0alik recorded fro! Aishah 6?A7 that whenever the 0essener of Allah was
suEerin fro! an ail!ent, he would recite the 0u.awwidhatayn over hi!self
and blow 6over hi!self7. Then if his pain beca!e severe, Aishah 6?A7 said that
she would recite the 0u.awwidhatayn over hi! and take his hand and wipe it
over hi!self seekin the blessin of those Surahs.
/t has been reported fro! Abu Sa.id that the 0essener of Allah used to seek
protection fro! the evil eye of the jinn and !en throuh recitin !any verses
of the Quran. Gut when the Muawwidhatayn were revealed, he used the! for
protection and abandoned all else besides the!.
When to read al-Mu`awwidhatayn
The virtues of these surahs are such that they can be recited atH
D. Gefore oin to sleep.
I. After faJr in the !ornin with al-/khlas.
K. :ver a sick person.
L. After any of the prescribed Mve daily prayers.
N. At any other ti!e to beseech the protection of Allah.
The beauty of these two surahs is that !ost !usli!s are fa!iliar with the!,
and have !e!orised the!. This !akes it all the easier for us to invoke the
blessins of Allah and to seek refue fro! hi! in the unseen and seen evils of
!en and Jinn.
Al-Falaq
D. SayH / seek refue in the 5ord of the 2aybreak
I. Fro! the evil of that which -e created4
K. Fro! the evil of the darkness when it is intense,
L. And fro! the evil of !alinant witchcraft,
N. And fro! the evil of the envier when he envieth.
an-Nas
D. SayH / seek refue in the 5ord of !ankind,
I. The Oin of !ankind,
K. The Cod of !ankind,
L. Fro! the evil of the sneakin whisperer,
N. 9ho whispereth in the hearts of !ankind,
P. :f the Jinn and of !ankind