Praise be to Allah.

Turning to Allah, may He be exalted, and asking Him for well-being and protection from all ills, evils and harms is one of the greatest acts of worship and best deeds of obedience. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, loves those who seek His help, those who turn to Him, and those who seek refuge in His might and power.

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak

From the evil of that which He created

And from the evil of darkness when it settles

And from the evil of the blowers in knots

And from the evil of an envier when he envies”

[al-Falaq 113:1-5].

The words “From the evil of that which He created” are general in meaning, so they include seeking refuge from all ills in this world, such as the Shaytaan and his waswaas (whispers); in al-barzakh, such as the torment of the grave; and in the hereafter, such as Hell.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“From the evil of that which He created” means: from the evil of all that is created. Thaabit al-Bunaani and al-Hasan al-Basri said: Hell, and Iblees and his progeny, are among the things that He has created. End quote.

Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem (8/535).

Al-‘Allaamah as-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

That is: “Say”, seeking refuge with Allah

“I seek refuge” that is, turning to Him and seeking His protection

“in the Lord of daybreak [Rabbi’l-falaq]” that is, al-faaliq, which means both the one Who splits the seed and the date-stone, and the One who causes dawn to break.

“From the evil of that which He created” – this includes all that Allah has created of humans, jinn and animals. So we seek refuge with their Creator from the evil that may be present in them.

Then He describes in specific terms what He has mentioned in general terms, as He says:

“And from the evil of darkness when it settles” that is, from the harm and evil of what may happen in the night, when the darkness of night covers the earth and many evil spirits and harmful animals move about.

“And from the evil of the blowers in knots” that is, from the harm and mischief of witches who perform their witchcraft by blowing on knots that they tie for the purpose of casting spells.

“And from the evil of an envier when he envies”. The envier is the one who would like the blessing to be taken away from the one whom he envies, so he strives to cause it to be taken away by whatever means he can. Therefore there is a need to seek refuge with Allah from his harm and mischief, and to foil his plan. The word translated here as envier also includes the one who puts the evil eye on others, because the evil eye only emanates from an envier who is evil in nature.

This soorah refers to seeking refuge with Allah from all kinds of evil and harm in both general and specific terms.

It indicates that magic or witchcraft is something real, the harm of which is to be feared, so one should seek refuge with Allah from it and from those who practice it. End quote.

Tayseer al-Kareem ar-Rahmaan fi Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan (p. 937).

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught us to seek refuge with Allah from the evil of what He has created in some adhkaar that are prescribed:

It was narrated from Khawlah bint Hakeem that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever makes a stop on a journey and says, ‘A‘oodhu bi kalimaat Allaah il-tammaati min sharri ma khalaqa (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from the evil of that which He has created),’ nothing will harm him until he moves on from that place.” Narrated by Muslim, 2708.

And it was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek protection for al-Hasan and al-Husayn and say: “Your father (i.e., Ibraaheem) used to seek protection by means of them (these words) for Ismaa’eel and Ishaaq: A‘oodhu bi kalimaat-Allaah il-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from every devil and poisonous reptile, and from every envious evil eye).”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3371).

And Allah knows best.