Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

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Beams of Illumination from the Divine Revelation

(Juz ' 'Amma - The Last Section of the Qur'an)

ByShaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Published by: Zahra Publications

Box 730, Blanco, TX 78606 USA

ISBN 0-88059-010-6

www.alhassanain.org/english

Notice:

This versionis published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The composing errorsare not corrected .

Table of Contents

Sura # 1: Surat al Humazah (The Slanderer) 5

Sura # 2: Surat al Fil (The Elephant) 7

Sura # 3: Surat Quraysh (The Quraysh) 9

Sura # 4: Surat al Ma’un (The Daily Necessities) 10

Sura # 5: Surat al Kawthar (The Heavenly Fountain of Abundance) 12

Sura # 6: Surat al Kafirun (The Deniers of Truth) 14

Sura # 7: Surat an Nasr (The Help) 16

Sura # 8: Surat al Lahab (The Flame) 17

Sura # 9: Surat al Ikhlas (The Unity) 18

Sura # 10: Surat al Falaq (The Day Break) 19

Sura # 11: Surat an Nas (Mankind) 21

Sura # 1:Surat alHumazah (The Slanderer)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

These particularayats were addressed specifically to the people, several names of whom have been suggested, who were against the Prophet,salla‑llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam . They were all people of great wealth and supposed strength who constantly bragged about their might and wealth and mocked the Muslims.

1 Woe to every slanderer and backbiter!

Wayl means "affliction, distress," and is translated as the exclamation, "Woe !" It evokes one of the rivers of the Fire. "Woe to every slanderer or defamer! " In humannature there exists the ten­dency to seek reassurance, and therefore we seek only those compan­ions who reinforce the validity of our actions.

Humazah means "a slanderer," or "back‑biter ." In the Arabiclanguage thehamzah is a glottal stop, and thehamazat ash‑shayatin are the evil suggestions of the devil, the subtle whispers that we find within us.

Lumazah means "a fault‑finder ," and comes from the verblamaza , whichmeans "to give someone a wink, to speak ill of someone, criticize, censure, backbite, defame." The person who defames reveals his own weakness and announces his insecurity in the same way that the haughtiness of a man declares his deep uncer­tainty about himself. If he wastotally certain that he was on the right path, if he acknowledged his dependence on Allah and realized that everyone would come to know the truth fully and absolutely, he would not give in to these subtle enticements to slander others. The truth of it is that his slander and arrogance reveal his sickness and dis­ease, hence the warning of woe to him, the warning that hewill be destroyed .

2 Who amasses wealth and counts it (as a pro­vision);

This ayah refers to those who collect wealth and take refuge and reinforcement in constantly counting it. Persistently accumulating and looking at what one has is another form of looking for security. The men of Allah say, "He who loves wealth is a hypocrite, and he who keeps wealth is ignorant." The proof ofnifaq (hypocrisy) andjahl (ignorance) is in the collection and retention of mal (wealth).

3 He thinks that his wealth will make him im­mortal.

Hasaba means "to calculate, to reckon." He ima­gines that he moves closer tokhuld (eternity) by counting and watching over what he wrongly imagines will give him longev­ity and permanency. His is a perverted worship. The Eternal is another attribute of Allah: Al‑Khalid . We all want to know the Eternal because only in that way will we be secure in the knowl­edge that only eternity exists.It is he who has completely slipped off the path who believes that what he has accumulated gives him security.

4 Nay! Hewill certainly be hurled into the crushing Hell.

Nabadha means "to hurl, throw away, to reject, cast out, abandon." By casting out what is useless or dangerous, weare protected from the evil in them.

Hutamah is another name for Hell, means "a crush­ing disaster," and comes fromhatama , "to shatter, crush,destroy ." Most certainly, a person who takes refuge in his health, in his wealth, or in anything of the visible world, does not trust that the hand of The Invisible is behind the visible. Hewill be cast out into that which causes nothing but destruction.

5 And what will make you comprehend what the crushing Hell is?

And what do you know of it? Another connotation ofhatamah comes from the verb in its second form, where itmeans "to break," implying that the object involved in the breaking, or crushing, is solid to begin with.

6 The fire of Allah, ignited,

The crushing disaster is the Fire of Allah thatis forever lit .

7 Which rises up to thehearts.

8 Certainly it will be shut tightly around them.

And that Fire of Allah is locked within the heart of man. It is thefire which causes him to be at a loss, to try to take refuge in material security, wealth and power. We see this in the present state of our cul­ture, in that we have completely taken refuge in our imaginations and calculations. In this culture we imagine that what is of greatest impor­tance is what is tangible or visible, but the visible is not the sum of what there is in this world; it is only one aspect of it, one manifesta­tion of reality. There are other forces or powers behind the scenes.

9 In outstretched columns.

The Fire will tightly encircle the heart in extended columns, and form a burning wall created by the heart itself through its own ignor­ance. Some men of Allah talk about two types of fire: the fire that burns and inflicts pain, causing nothing but destruction, and the fire of knowledge. One normally interprets thissurah , however, asbeing addressed to the people who are at a loss. Their heartsare locked up in the fire of the final, revealed knowledge.

Just as thissurah is about those who take refuge in thediscern­able and material world and believe that there is nothing beyond it, the nextsurah explains by example the falseness of their beliefs.

Sura # 2:Surat alFil (The Elephant)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Thissurah refers to the event that took place, as far as we know, in the year of the birth of the Prophet,salla‑llihu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam . Although many people talked about it at the time, very few of the actual details of the event have come down to us. We know that people were very jealous of the residents of Mecca and theQuraysh , who, as guardians of the house ofSayyidna Ibrahim,alayhi ‑s‑salam , that is, the House of God, held a position of great honor among the Arabs. One of their rivals was the Emperor of Abyssinia. Through his viceroyAbraha in the Yemen, he built what he believed was anotherKa'bah , this time inSan'a , to compete with the one in Mecca. This secondka'bah did not attract pilgrims in the numbers the Emperor had hoped for, and so he sent a huge army, headed by elephants, to de­stroy theKa'bah in Mecca. He believed thatSan'a could thus become the most important center of pilgrimage in that part of the world.

1 Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with the possessors of the elephant?

What is of relevance here is the confrontation between apparent strength and power of great magnitude with its direct opposite. The lesson is that real power is not measurable by ordinary means. The destruction of thearmy which had been sent to destroy theKa'bah was not a miracle but, rather it was a natural phenomenon which heralded the birth of the Prophet,salla‑llahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , the shining forth of that great Light in the midst of darkness.

To understand the significance of the elephant we must realize that what weapons people possessed at that time were flimsy and scarce. In a land where warriors had, at most, a few thin spears and bent swords, the possession of an elephant meant that its possessorwas regarded almost as an emperor.

2 Did He not cause their strategy to end in confusion?

Kayd means "an artful plot," or "scheme." Did Allah not make their plot go awry?

3 And send down flocks of flying creatures onto them,

Ababil means "flocks," and it does not necessar­ily only refer to birds but also to large, overwhelming numbers.

4 Pelting them with stones of baked clay.

Sijjil means "stones like lumps of dry clay." It is related to the verbsajala , whichmeans "to record, write down," or "document." There are many interpretations of this ayah. We do not know what this phenomenon was, whether an actual storm brought a swarm of tiny creatures that inflicted this large army withsijjil , which penetrated their flesh, or whether a disease sud­denly came upon them (many illnesses such as measles and small pox were not identified in those days), perhaps brought by birds and in­sects. Despite the fact that this occurrencewas widely known and dis­cussed, we still do not know the nature of the affliction, because at that time people's understanding of natural phenomenon was not as ours is now. We know only that this mighty army was suddenly, to­tally, and utterly devastated, just as it was approaching theKa'bah .

5 So He made them as devoured straw.

The result of the attack was that the enormous army became like leftover stalks and leaves of grain or grass after having been beaten to a stubble and was razed to the ground. In some of the numerous descriptions, it is said that after this destruction the ground appeared as if a flat sheet made up of the thousands of men of the enemy army and their elephants had been laid down on it.

Sura # 3:Surat Quraysh (TheQuraysh )

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Surat Quraysh is related to the previoussurah , and traditionally many people recite the twosurahs together as one.

Thissurah is concerned with the state of the people ofQuraysh , as though the protection that came to them grew out of the uniting and the joining together of their hearts,for the purpose of enabling theQuraysh to become content and reconciled among themselves.

1 For the protection of theQuraysh

Ilaf is a verbalnoun which means "keeping, pro­tecting."Alifa , the verbal root, means "to be acquaint­ed, be familiar, to be or get accustomed to," as well as "to be fond of." It has the additional connotation of uniting.Allafa bayna qulu­bihim means "he brought together their hearts," because that familiarity, that contentment with each other, that comradeship, grew out of knowledge.

2 Their protection during their trading cara­vans in the winter and the summer

This ayah refers to the fact that the people ofQuraysh would gather to outfit their winter and summer caravans. Outwardly they practiced constant movement, travelling during the winter and sum­mer seasons. In thewinter they headed south to the Yemen, and in the summer they travelled north to Syria. Winter and summer repre­sent the dual aspects of life. Night and daywere created for us so that we may sleep peacefully at night and work during the day in order that we, as human beings, can function, fluctuating constantly be­tween two levels, between opposites.

3 So let them worship the Lord of this house,

The event of the elephant brought about the destruction ofAbraha's army and enabled those of theQuraysh who were iniman , who were the keepers of theKa'bah , known as the people ofBani Hashim , to continue to worship the Lord of the House, the Lord of theKa'bah .

4 Who feeds them against hunger and gives them security from fear.

This refers to those who have received the outer, gross, existential necessities, so that their physical hunger as well as their hunger for knowledge and the Source of certainty is satisfied, and therefore their fearis alleviated . Theyare brought into the peace ofiman , into the state of trust in the perfection of all that befalls them, and thus they are able to keep the door of worship open for the benefit of the rest of their society. There are many traditions which say that as long as there are people whose worship is true, their community, their society, will be safe, and that Allah's protection of them will be according to the extent of theirtawakkul (dependence on Allah).

Sura # 4:Surat alMa’un (The Daily Necessities)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The majority of the followingsurahs , including this one,are re­garded asMeccan , but a number of theayats , such asSurat An‑Nasr , whose place of origin is very clear, are said to have been revealed inMadinah .

1 Have you seen him who belies the life trans­action (din)?

2 He is theone who rejects the orphan,

Allah is asking, "Do you not see, do you not witness the one who denies the true din, the true way of living, the true way of worship, the true way of conduct?" Historically, many peoplewere specifically identified in connection with the descent of thissurah , including AbuSufyan . These were people whohad been asked by the one who was an outcast, theyatim , or orphan, to help him. They were people who were wealthy, people who could give help. This ayah applies to all of us now when we deny knowledge of a personal and direct nature, knowledge that there is only One Reality. In this re­spect, we are all subject to that state of rejection.

3 And does not urge the feeding of the bereft.

These people do not help, nor do they encourage others to do so.Miskin describes a person who has even given up on be­ingfaqir (needy), a person whosefaqr , whose poverty, has caused him to give up any rest or comfort whatsoever. He has dwelt in poverty to the point of absolute surrender in which no aspiration remains.

4 So woe to the praying ones!

This is the true state of every one of us. If we regard our true state as that offaqr , of spiritual poverty, if we look at our helplessness in every respect, and if we totally submit inwardly, then we must recognize that we are allmiskin . Recognizing this fact, we haveto out­wardly help those who are immersed in that state of total poverty.

5 Thosewho are neglectful of their prayers,

Saha means "to be forgetful, neglectful, heedless," and "to be negligent."Sahin means "forgetful or inadver­tent."Sajdat as‑sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness) is the practice of Muslims who miss one of therakat of a pro­scribed prayer by which they must make up for that forgetfulness by performing an added prostration.

This ayah refers to those who are not aware of the reality behind the prayers and who miss the meaning ofsalah . Outwardly, it means those who do thesalah hypocritically, for others to see, who simply perform the outer movements as though trying to please someone looking on. The highestihsan (supreme excellence) is real `ubudiyah (worship, service), and real `ubudiyah manifests in the outward, sincere establishment of the five prayers. The people referred to here, however, miss the point of the prayers; they miss the oceans of light that emanate from that repeated act.

6 Those who wish tobe seen ,

7 And refuse the daily necessities (to their fel­low men).

Outwardly this is the least a person can do, to donate from his property, to share his goods with others for their sustenance. At thattime this ayah was an injunction upon everyone to share. Maun in everyday Arabic usage means "the plate upon which food is served," and by extension means any useful article.

The meaning of thissurah is that we must use every tool that is available to help others reduce their outer afflictions until they recog­nize the truth of thedin which is incumbent upon them.

Sura # 5:Surat alKawthar (The Heavenly Fountain of Abundance)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

1 Certainly, We have given you the heavenly fountain of abundance.

Kawthar is derived from the rootkathara which means "to exceed in number, to be much, many or numerous," and also "to increase, to multiply, or to grow." The tradi­tional description ofKawthar is that of a spring in Paradise, a spring fed by the rivers of love between Allah and theMuhammadi light, a spring to which we all have access if we but step in.

One of the slanderous accusations hurled against the blessed Prophet,salla‑llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , was that he bore no sons or heirs. Thissurah demonstrates that he was the most prolific of men and that from his children and his grandchildren came thousands upon thousands of descendants. We do not know how many they number because many of them, out of fear or oppression, never spoke of their noble descent.

Kawthar is that point beyond which there can be no further in­crease. There we will experience the inseparable bliss of knowledge of the One and Only Reality. We will be completely overwhelmed by that knowledge and nothing can be greater than it in this realm ofex­istence .

Kawthar also implies theshoreless ocean of mercy, and ofcourse there is nothing beyond the unfathomable. This final greatness is al ­Kawthar .

2 Therefore pray to your Lord and Sustainer, and make a sacrifice.

Wa'nhar (and make a sacrifice)cannot be taken at face value. The definition ordinarily given foranhar - slaughter or sacrifice ‑ is derived from the rootnahara , whichmeans “to cut the throat, to slaughter."

Yawm an‑nahr is the Day of Sacrifice (10th ofDhu'l‑hijjah ), and on it we perform the sacrifice by cutting the throat of the sacrificial animal at the jugular vein, releasing its spirit in acknowledgment of the Master of the Spirits and of all the worlds. If we look at it in rela­tion to this act,nahr could also imply our sacrifice of the afflictions that others put upon us, the affliction of slander, or of reputation, or of whatever elsemay be inflicted upon us.

Amir al‑Mu'minin `Ali's,alayhi ‑s‑salam , interpretation ofnahr was not at all concerned with the sacrifice of the `Id.Nahr , he ex­plained, concerns the inner and outer aspects of supplication in prayer, and the innate nature ofsalah which comes from this sacrifice, rather than the actual sacrifice itself.

3 Certainly, your enemy is the one who will be without posterity.

This ayah refers to that individual who, by our traditions,was known to have vilified the blessed Prophet by saying that he had no heirs or sons. It was revealed to the Prophet thatthe son whom this enemy accepted as his own was in fact not sired by him .

The meaning here is that he who renounces the Divine Light is himself cut off from that light by his renunciation. He who denies the truth that there is no other way of existence and of survival except through submitting to the One and Only Sustainer is himself cut off from that river, from that life‑sustaining spring. It is for this reason that we pray, "May Allah gather us together at the pool ofKawthar ." The pool ofKawthar can be tasted here and now, for it is in fact an elevated and pure state existing within the heart. It is illumined by the light of the most blessed being,Sayyidna Muhammad,salla‑llahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , through intense love for him and through an intense and sincere attempt to imitate hissunnah .

Sura # 6:Surat alKafirun (The Deniers of Truth)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Thissurah pertains historically to a time when there was an at­tempt on the part of some of the unbelievers to enter into an exchange with the Prophet,salla‑llahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , in order to draw him and the Muslims with him back into their old habits of idol­atry. They proposed to worship Allah for one year, following the teachings of the Prophet, and the following year they, the Prophet and Muslims included, would worship the traditional idols. They would thus alternate their practices until one way proved true to either party. Thus, according to thekafir way of thinking, if the Prophet's teachings were true, they would obtain benefit from follow­ing them, but if thekafirun's practices were true, then they and the Muslims would benefit from worshipping theidols and most impor­tantly, Islam would no longer be a threat to them. Thissurah is the reply of those who have trust and faith to those who do not.

1 Say: O you who deny the truth!

2 I do not worship what you worship,

This is the affirmative stand of a person who is in a state of 'man, who has come to trust that he will recognize and taste the mercy of the One Creator. Therefore, he tells those who are in denial, inkufr , "I do not worship what you worship." The person iniman , rather, worships thatSource which gives him direct inner nourishment, keeps him safe from thedarknesses which overwhelm others and gives him illumination and enlightenment.That Source increases him iniman by virtue of his `ubadiyah (worship) and protects him from all harm. Worship makes his journeymu`abbad (easy, level, offer­ing noresistence ). By the recognition of hishumility he is carried closer and closer to the Source of that spring.

3 And you do not worship what I worship.

In other words, "you have no access to that Source which I wor­ship. You do not worship that subtle energy from which all these at­tributes emanate."

4 And I will not worship what you worship,

"Nor will I ever, nor can I ever, having been enlightened, having had openings, having had knowledge of Allah, look up to or adore that which you worship."

5 Nor will you worship whatI worship.

"Nor will you ever in the future worship the truth which I wor­ship." This is aprophecy which shows that those who are inkufr will persist inkufr . There are people whohave been created as fuel for the Fire, as it says repeatedly in the Qur'an, and this fact cannot be al­tered. They will persist despite attempts to dissuade them, despite all efforts made to draw them into the light of the din.

6 To you your religion and to me my religion!

The person of faith and trust, who is in a state of perfect equa­nimity and who knows that everything is in the hands of Allah, says in conclusion, "You have your way of transacting, the way which you choose to replenish yourself and interact with other people, with whatever entity you consider as absolute ‑ and I have my way! " Then those of faith and firm belief join hands following the perfected meth­od of theMuhammadi model. Theyare not illumined from without; their illumination comes from within. They walk along the shores of the sea of lights and these shores have their boundaries. This is the way of themumin , the way of perfect trust.

Sura # 7:Surat an Nasr (The Help)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

This is probably the lastsurah that was revealed intact, and it was revealed two months before the Prophet's death,salla‑llahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , when the Muslims entered Mecca in what is known as the "farewell Pilgrimage." At the final stage of this hajj, or pilgrimage, the chiefs of theQuraysh , who had fought against Islam to the very end, took refuge inside theKa'bah , and the Prophet, together with his followers, surrounded them. Finally, however, theQuraysh were reprieved and the chiefs came out of theKa'bah as if they had been re­surrected from the grave, so imminent had been their deaths.

1 When there comes the help of Allah, and vic­tory!

Nasr, from the verbnasara , means "vic­tory, help,aid ." The events surrounding the revelation of thissurah were significant because they presented many possibilities of great confrontations, which were always resolved in favor of the Muslims. People used to doubt the Prophet,salla‑llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , especially in moments of weakness and difficulty, asking, "When will the aid of Allah come?" When the real outer victories occur andare matched with what we know inwardly, then there is an inner victory as well.

2 And yousee mankind entering the religion of Allah in hosts,

Peoples, whole tribes, came into Islam not long after this, and joined hands with the Muslims.

3 Then glorify the praises of your Lord and seek forgiveness of Him ‑ certainly, He is the OneWho turns again and again (to mercy).

No matter what form these victories take, be they inward or outward, man must seek forgiveness, protection, safety and containment bytawbah (turning in repentance); and he must recognize that Allah is the One Who turns again and again in mercy towards man, so that he may return to his divine origin. Man must repent and return to the peaceful Source of all, for there is only One Reality encompassingall things .Whenever there is an inner opening, we can see the meaning of thissurah , and whenever there is an inner enlight­enment for us, whatever may be its scale, magnitude, or type, that opening is a victory for us over ournafs , over the obstacles that we have imagined for ourselves. Victory does not mean overcomingkufr in our society or taking over the entire country and declaring it an “Islamic State." That is not ourresonsibility : it isAllah's . Our respon­sibility is to overcome ourselves, to have victory over our selves bydhikr and the true awareness of the nature of ournafs .

This is a very importantsurah , especially for those who are in the forefront of the inner battle. As human beings, we all want openings and signs to give us encouragement in our struggle. May Allah increase ouropenings. May Allah give us nothing but opening upon opening, so that we see that in reality there are no doors and no gates barring our way to the Face of Allah!

Sura # 8:Surat alLahab (The Flame)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

1 May the two hands of AbuLahab perish, and may he perish!

Tabba means "to be lost, to lose," and "to perish," or "to be destroyed." AbuLahab was one of the uncles of the Prophet,salla‑llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam . He was a vibrant, fiery being, handsome and dangerous, like a tiger. He upheld the old traditions, and defended them in a dogmatic, fanatical way. Whatever his hands put forth, whatever his actions were, whatever his direction was, he was to be at a loss.

2 His wealth and what he gains will be of no use!

Whatever he earned, whatever he possessed ofpower, was to be of no avail.

3 He will be plunged into flaming fire,

He was destined for the ultimate Fire, just as in this life he burned with his agitation, his fiery hatred and his disappointments and frustrations.

4 And his wife, the carrier of fire‑wood ,

The wife of AbuLahab was the sister of AbuSufyan .Hatab means "firewood," the implication being, in the phrase "carrier of fire‑wood ," that she incited people against each otherby carrying tales back and forth to fuel and fan gossip, and to create agi­tation . She used to throw small thorny bushes along thepath which the Prophet,salla‑llahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , used to take to the mosque, so that in the dark of the early morning he would step on them. What it implies is that her inner discontentment showed itself in whatever she did outwardly, and her inner thornswere carried out­wardly on her back.

5 Upon her neck is a halter of strong twisted palm‑fiber !

Jid describes the part of the neck where the necklace mark is.Masad normally means a twisted palm‑frond . What this means is that what she dragged about with her, what was around her neck, was a heavily twisted chain of her own making.

Sura # 9:Surat alIkhlas (The Unity)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Amir al‑Mu'minin Sayyidna 'Ali, `alayhi ‑s‑salam , said that there is no interpretation for thissurah because its meaning is not at all veiled. ImamHasan and ImamHusayn , `alayhimu ‑s‑salam , were asked to comment on it, and each one gave a different interpretation of some of the words. There is very little we can say about thissurah , although there have been reams of pages written about it.

We willfollow in the footsteps of our Imam 'Ali and we will make as brief an interpretation as possible. Thissurah is one of the most important ever revealed. There are many reports about thissurah , especially in the traditions of theAhl al‑Bayt .

During one of the battles the odds were overwhelmingly against Amiral‑Mu'minin , yet everything went smoothly for him. When the people who had fought next to him were asked what had happened, they replied that all he did wasrecite Qul huwa’llahu ahad , "Say: He, Allah, is One."

1 Say: He, Allah, is One.

This is an injunction upon us to say it, whether we know the truth of it or not. Whatever degree of knowledge we may possess, He, Allah, isOne .

2 Allah, the Eternal Refuge of all.

The Divine Name as‑Samad means "eternal, for­ever," although it implies more than that.Samada means "to be high or elevated."

3 He begets not, nor is He begotten.

The meaning of this ayah is very clear. Allah is above involvement. He is above coming from something or having something come from Him, and nothing can be associated with Him. He is at a distance from all that we can discern as having an attribute. He is the immediate and sustaining Cause of all that we can discern, yet He is not involved in the creation in any way as a "creature."

4 And likeHim there is none.

Kufuwan meaning "equal, like," is derived fromKafa , "to be enough, sufficient." Allah is sufficient unto Himself. The name as‑Samad , also means "self‑supporting, self‑sustain­ing, self‑containing ." There is nomithal (likeness) of Allah. Allah is the Nameto which all attributes and Divine Names point .

Nothing morecan be said about thissurah . We must read and re­read it, and the more we do this, the deeper will grow our understand­ing.

Sura # 10:Surat alFalaq (The Day Break)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

1 Say: I take refuge in the Lord of the day­ break,

Falaqa means "to split, tear asunder, dispel the shad­ows of the night."A’udhu means "I take refuge." We take refuge from our ignorance, from the darkness of ournafs , and from our doubts. We take refuge from our uncertainties and insecuri­ties in the Lord, the Sustainer, Who continues to sustain knowledge, certainty, light, and illumination. We seek refuge in the OneWho brings forth the dawn after the darkness of night.

2 From the evil of what He has created,

Here we are appealing to Allah,ar‑Rahim (the Most Merciful), because we must make a subjectivejudgement . We accept that in this realm of duality there areaspects which please and com­fort us, and other aspects which displease us and bring about suffering. There areaspects which we consider conducive to our well‑being and aspects which we consider detrimental to us and thus we take refuge in the Lord of all creation from that part of His creation which we consider to be harmful.

3 And from the evil of intense darkness when it comes,

We take refuge from the night, from gloom and darkness, from that which we do not know. We also take refuge from self‑doubt. The reference here is to what is both familiar and unknown, to that with which we have a connection and with which we do not.

4 And from the evil of those who blow on knots,

We take refuge from powers whose functioning we do not com­prehend. We take refuge from the magicians, from the women who blow on knots to bring about magical events, and who call upon forces in thisexistence which we do not fully comprehend and which are invisible to us, such as the jinn.

We take refuge inAllah, the One Who opens to us the dawn of re­lief and knowledge, from these entities that can afflict us in this life. We know that invisible forces do exist and that black magic and other forms of magicare practiced in many places. There are many forces thatcan be called upon and brought into play, but those of us who want to go to the Source of all powers, take refuge in the Lord of the dawn.

The twosurahs ,Ikhlas andFalaq , were often recited by our Imams . According to our traditions,Surat al‑Ikhlas was often recited by the blessed Prophet,salla‑llahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , for the ImamsHasan andHusayn . Thesesurahs remind us to strive for an inner state ofi'man , to walk straight ahead toward our objective, to thewahad al‑ahad , the Single and Unique One, to sing nothing but the song of the One.

If we do this, we will have no interest in dabbling in these other phenomena, because the gross phenomenawill not be viewed by us as having any intrinsic reality. Itmust be remembered that however powerful a magician may be, there will always be another magician who will overcome him. In the case ofSayyidna Musa, `alayhi ‑s‑salam , it is well known that themuwahhid (the man of unity), overcame all the Pharaoh's magicians by another power which had nothing to do with the play of magic.

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

Hasad means "envy," which is consideredto be one of the worst afflictions of thenafs and one of the worst self‑inflicted troubles for man, because it can grow rampant. The fire of envy will fuel itself constantly and can never be put out, because there will al­ways be someone else who will have something that we cannot have.

Amiral‑Mu'minin 'Ali, `alayhi ‑s‑salam , was asked aboutHasud , a man whose envy was causing havoc among the people. "What can we do with him?" they asked, "He should be punished!" Amir 'Ali an­swered, `Mafihi yakfihi ," "What is in him is enough of a punishment for him."

Thehasid (envier) will never win nor will he ever prof­it. Keep us safe, O Lord, from the evil of thisattitude which has its seed in every heart! If it were not in our hearts right now, we would be unable to understand it. We all have felt a spark of it in our life, but if we are fortunate, it remains aspark which can be smothered and covered over with generosity and other positive attributes. If we do not fight against envy at all times, it will constantly be inflamed and will take us over completely.

Sura # 11:Surat anNas (Mankind)

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The final part of the Qur'an is concerned with taking refuge, while the beginning of the Qur'an is concerned with the recognition that the only path to success is that of glorification,supplication and praise.

The arrangement of thesurahs in the Qur'an is a perfectone which was made by the perfect man, the Prophet Muhammad,salla‑llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam . The very fact that he arranged them pro­vides the proof of the Qur'an's unity and completion. The revelation broughtto mankind different aspects of the Tablet, or Book of Real­ity, on different days, in different months, and under different condi­tions. These diverse aspects, however, all reflected the one and only Light, and only the Prophet,salla‑llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam , knew how they were to be arranged in accordance with the only model which exists.Thus the last two steps of the revelation from Allah urge man to seek refuge in Allah, the Lord and Sustainer of all His creation.

1 Say: I take refuge in the Lord of mankind,

Nasmeans "people, mankind." Its root wordanisa is similar to the wordnasiya , whichmeans "to forget," denoting one aspect of man's nature. The attribute of forgetfulnesscan, however, be used to full advantage when we forget what is of no use to us.Thus we are better able to remember what is of priority to us. Inthis way we will not forget that at any moment we may die.

2 The King ofmankind,

3 The God ofmankind,

We take refuge in the Lord, in the Creator of this entity called "man," who contains within himself both the higher attributes and the lower attributes. We take refuge in Allah from the lower attributes, from theattributes which cause us loss, which cause us further forget­fulness.

4From the evil whisperings of the elusiveshaytan ,

There is a great deal written about the wordwaswas which are subtle whisperings in one's innermost that incite one to evil. In one reference ten meaningsare given for al‑waswasah , denoting ten different attributes of the whisperer. If we overcome them we will un­derstandthe shirk ofwaswas , and we will be able to truly take refuge from it.

Waswas is an onomatopoeic word imitative of the sound of whis­pering. Whispering is one of theactions which , in our din and in ouradab , is very much repudiated, because something worth saying should be shared by saying it out loud.

Khannas is an epithet ofshaytan , and means "slink­ing away," specifically, when the Name of Allah is mentioned.

There are sources orrivers which feed thewaswas .just as the Garden has underground rivers which feed it, so too has thewaswas . One of these rivers ishirs (greed or covetousness). That river can be fought, blocked, and dammed bytawakkul wa qana (trustful dependence (on Allah) and con­tentment).

Another river isamal , which means "expectation." This river, too,can be dammed by constant remembrance,dhikr . Our hope for things of this worldcan be stopped by remembering that each breath may be our last. This remembrance will cut the flow of that river which feeds the whisperer who pours distracting suggestions into our ears.

The third river isshahawat ad‑dunya or "worldly desires." These desirescan be killed by remembering that theni’am (favors, bounties) will all eventually leave us, and that thehisab (account) will have to be made by us. We will have to account for the way in which we spent the bounty and goodness thatwas given to us. It will be a lengthy account ‑ we are told 50 thousand years‑ in which every minute detail will be reviewed and examined, and in which even something as seemingly minor as a twitch can be a witness for or against us.

Thefourth river , or source, ofwaswas istahsil , meaning "acquisition." This rivercan be stopped by seeing the justice of each person's situation. What a person reaps arises from the justice of his own situation, and we cannot alter it.

The fifth river isbala ', "affliction." The flow of thiscan be stemmed by not looking at the affliction in a situation, but rather by seeing the bestowal of the good in it.

The sixth river iskibr , or "pride," whichcan be fought by humility. Wheneverkibr rises up in us, we should immedi­ately call upon the humility within ourselves, so that we break its ef­fect on us.

The seventh river istahqir , that which entices us to belittle the honorable position of the believers, as well as anything that the believer possesses, anything that is in hisdomain, and that which ishalal (permitted) for him andharam (forbidden) for others. This river can be stopped by considering their honorto be great and by respecting it.

The eighth source ofwaswas is the love ofdunya (this world), in­cluding the desire to be acknowledged and admired by others. This love and desire can be undone by bringing oneself to the state of abasement.

The ninth source ofwaswas which encouragesshaytan is separation and stinginess (bukhl ). Thiscan be fought by generosity.Sakha ' means "giving according to what the occasion demands;" jud means "giving without being asked;" andkaram is "giving whatever has been asked." These three are attri­butes of Allah. The fourth isithar , "giving what one needs oneself," andthis is an attribute which only man can have . Allah cannot have this attribute, for Allah has noneed whatsoever of anything. Thus, we can take on this final attribute, which is a great aid for our inner, upward mobility toward that noble state which be­fits thekhalifah , orviceregent , of Allah.

5 Who whispers in the innermost hearts ofmankind,

Sadr (plural ofsudur ) is the "chest or breast," that part ofone which faces what confronts one. It is where the battles and dramas take place. Itmust be remembered that every drama is self‑created . Every imaginable human role stirs in the breast of man: the king, the despot, the afflicted, the jealous, the strong, the doubter, and the complainer. We have to take refuge from these, take refuge in the LordWhose mercy brings us to the recognition that everything which occurs, visible and invisible, occurs according to a just system, according to perfect laws which govern this passage, this journey through the creation. The laws in this existence areself ­enforced ; there is no need for wardens.

6 From jinn andmankind.

Jinnah is synonymous with jinn, and means "the unseen, hidden forces of power."Jannah (the Garden) is derived from the same root and it refers to the most desir­able place to be, a garden, which, in the desert culture of the Arabs of that time where the average temperature was 100 degrees, was a place where there was shade, and where the ground could not be seen for the thick foliage of the trees. The ground was "hidden" by the growth and thus it refers to a hidden state. The jinnare also hidden , and they have their limitations and their states, just as men do.

Therefore, we are asking for refuge, for protection from anyenergies whose nature we do not understand, and whose creation is not visible ordiscernable by us.

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