Tafsir of Surah An-Nas - Verse 4

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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 ﷺ 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.

Verse [ 114:4] مِن شَرِّ‌ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ (from the evil of the whisperer who withdraws [ when Allah's name is pronounced ].) After invoking three attributes of Allah, the present verse describes the one from whom protection is sought. He is 'the whisperer who withdraws'. The word waswas is originally an infinitive in the sense of waswasah 'to whisper [ that is, to use breath instead of voice, when saying something in barely audible way ] '. But here it is used as an hyperbolic expression to refer to 'Shaitan' in the sense that 'he is an embodiment of whisper'. Whispering of the Shaitan means that he invites people to his obedience by a superstitious discourse in a way that its subject is cast into man's heart, but no voice is heard. [ Qurtubi ].

The word خَنَّاسِ khannas is derived from khanasa which means 'to sneak, recede or withdraw furtively'. The Shaitan is so named because he puts himself in a squatting [ perched ] position on the heart of man. So, when the latter becomes heedless, the former whispers, but when he remembers Allah, he withdraws furtively. When man becomes unmindful of Allah again, the Shaitan returns. Whenever man remembers Allah, he withdraws. This practice continues persistently. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is reported to have said:

"Allah has built two houses in the heart of man, in one of which an angel resides and in the other the Shaitan. The angel urges him to do good works and the Shaitan induces him to do evil works. When man remembers Allah, the Shaitan withdraws. And when he stops remembering Allah, the Shaitan perches on the heart of man and pecks with his beak to whisper into it to do evil things." [ Transmitted by Abu Ya` la on the authority of Anas ؓ ، as quoted by Mazhari ].

This chapter counsels the believers to ‘seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.’ It is a prayer to the Almighty to grant refuge from the mischief of evil-doers, both human and occult. In this case, protection is sought especially from the evil in man’s own heart and in the hearts of other men. This and the previous chapter are prayers for protection. The two chapters are known as al-Muawwadhatayn, two entreaties for refuge and protection. The previous chapter points to the necessity of seeking God’s protection against such external factors as might affect an individual. Here the need of protection from internal factors, that is, the evil inclinations within man’s own self is pointed out. So long as we put ourselves under God’s protection, and trust in Him, evil cannot touch us in our inner life. Man is a humble creature. He essentially needs protection. But this cannot be given to him by anybody except the one and only God. It is God who is the Lord and Sustainer of all human beings. It is He who is their King. It is He alone who is worth worshipping. Indeed, who except God can become the support of believers in their trials and tribulations? The most dangerous mischief against which man should seek God’s refuge is that of Satan. He is most dangerous because he always hides his real position. He misleads people by his deceitful ways. So, only one who is extremely alert; one to whom God has given the capacity to distinguish between Truth and Untruth; one who can understand what is reality and what is falsity can save himself from the machinations of Satan. Evil-inspirers are not only the known Satans, even among human beings there are certain Satan-like people who present themselves in artificial guises and, by means of deceitful words, brainwash others and put them on the path of misguidance. Seeking refuge in God from mischief is a two-sided action. On the one hand, it entails obtaining God’s grace. On the other hand, its purpose is to awaken one’s awareness of mischief so that one may become capable of countering it more consciously.