[بِسْمِ اللَّهِ
الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
[قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبّ
النَّاسِ- مَلِكِ النَّاسِ- إِلَـهِ النَّاسِ- مِن شَرّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ-
الَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ- مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ-]
(1. Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of An-Nas,'') (2. "The King of
An-Nas,'') (3. "The God of An-Nas,'') (4. "From the evil of the whisperer who
withdraws.'') (5. "Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.'') (6. "Of Jinn and
An-Nas.'') These are three attributes from the attributes of the Lord, the
Mighty and Majestic. They are lordship, sovereignty and divinity. Thus, He is
the Lord of everything, the King of everything and the God of everything. All
things are created by Him, owned by Him, and subservient to Him. Therefore, He
commands whoever is seeking protection to seek refuge with the One Who has these
attributes from the evil of the whisperer who withdraws. This (the whisperer) is
the devil that is assigned to man. For verily, there is not any of the Children
of Adam except that he has a companion that beautifies wicked deeds for him.
This devil will go to any lengths to confuse and confound him. The only person
who is safe is He Whom Allah protects.
It is confirmed in the Sahih that he (the Prophet ) said,
«مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ
أَحَدٍ إِلَّا قَدْ وُكِّلَ بِهِ قَرِينُهُ»
(There is not a single one of you except that his companion (a devil) has
been assigned to him.) They (the Companions) said, "What about you, O Messenger
of Allah'' He replied,
«نَعَمْ، إِلَّا
أَنَّ اللهَ أَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ فَأَسْلَمَ، فَلَا يَأْمُرُنِي إِلَّا
بِخَيْرٍ»
(Yes. However, Allah has helped me against him and he has accepted Islam.
Thus, he only commands me to do good.) It is also confirmed in the Two Sahihs
from Anas, who reported the story of Safiyyah when she came to visit the Prophet
while he was performing I`tikaf, that he went out with her during the night to
walk her back to her house. So, two men from the Ansar met him (on the way).
When they saw the Prophet , they began walking swiftly. So, the Messenger of
Allah said,
«عَلَى رِسْلِكُمَا،
إِنَّهَا صَفِيَّةُ بِنْتُ حُيَيَ»
(Slow down! This is Safiyyah bint Huyay!) They said, "Glory be to Allah, O
Messenger of Allah!'' He said,
«إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ
يَجْرِي مِنِ ابْنِ آدَمَ مَجْرَى الدَّم، وَإِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَنْ يَقْذِفَ فِي
قُلُوبِكُمَا شَيْئًا، أَوْ قَالَ: شَرًّا»
(Verily, Shaytan runs in the Son of Adam like the running of the blood. And
verily, I feared that he might cast something into your hearts -- or he said --
evil.) Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said concerning Allah's
statement,
[الْوَسْوَاسِ
الْخَنَّاسِ]
(The whisperer (Al-Waswas) who withdraws.) "The devil who is squatting
(perched) upon the heart of the Son of Adam. So when he becomes absentminded and
heedless he whispers. Then, when he remembers Allah he withdraws.'' Mujahid and
Qatadah also said this.
Al-Mu`tamir bin Sulayman reported that his father said, "It has been
mentioned to me that Shaytan is Al-Waswas. He blows into the heart of the Son of
Adam when he is sad and when he is happy. But when he (man) remembers Allah,
Shaytan withdraws.'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas;
[الْوَسْوَاسِ]
(The whisperer.) "He is Shaytan. He whispers and then when he is obeyed, he
withdraws.'' As for Allah's saying;
[الَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ
فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ]
(Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.) Is this specific for the Children of
Adam as is apparent, or is it general, including both mankind and Jinns
There are two views concerning this. This is because they (the Jinns) are
also included in the usage of the word An-Nas (the people) in most cases.
Ibn Jarir said, "The phrase Rijalun min Al-Jinn (Men from the Jinns) has been
used in reference to them, so it is not strange for the word An-Nas to be
applied to them also.'' Then Allah says,
[مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ
وَالنَّاسِ ]
(Of Jinn and An-Nas.) Is this explanatory of Allah's statement,
[الَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ
فِى صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ]
(Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.) Then, Allah explains this by saying,
[مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ
وَالنَّاسِ ]
(Of Jinn and An-Nas.) This is supportive of the second view. It has also been
said that Allah's saying,
[مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ
وَالنَّاسِ ]
(Of Jinn and An-Nas) is an explanation of who is it that whispers into the
breasts of mankind from the devils of mankind and Jinns. This is similar to
Allah's saying,
[وَكَذَلِكَ
جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نِبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً شَيَـطِينَ الإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِى
بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُوراً]
o(And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies -- Shayatin among
mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion.)
(6:112) Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "A man came to the Prophet and
said, `O Messenger of Allah! Sometimes I say things to myself that I would
rather fall from the sky than say (aloud openly). ' The Prophet said,
«اللهُ أَكْبَرُ،
اللهُ أَكْبَرٌ الْحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي رَدَّ كَيْدَهُ إِلَى الْوَسْوَسَةِ»
(Allah is Most Great! Allah is Most Great! All praise is due to Allah Who
sent his (Shaytan's) plot back as only a whisper.)'' Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i
also recorded this Hadith.
This is the end of the Tafsir. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the
Lord of all that exists.
[Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of this publication. If,
however, any errors are noticed by the reader, we would kindly request
notification to be corrected in future editions.]