Surah Al-Falaq: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah Al-Falaq, "The Daybreak", is five short verses, and it is a prayer for protection. It tells you to say that you seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak, then names what you are seeking refuge from: the evil of everything He created, the darkness of night when it settles, those who blow on knots, and the envier when he envies.

It is one of the two muʿawwidhatayn, the "two surahs of seeking refuge", together with Surah An-Nas that follows it. The Prophet ﷺ recited them every night before sleeping, when he was ill, and after prayers.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning verse by verse.

The full surah

قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلۡفَلَقِ مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّٰثَٰتِ فِي ٱلۡعُقَدِ وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

Transliteration

1. Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbil-falaq
2. Min sharri mā khalaq
3. Wa min sharri ghāsiqin idhā waqab
4. Wa min sharrin-naffāthāti fil-ʿuqad
5. Wa min sharri ḥāsidin idhā ḥasad

English translation (Saheeh International)

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." (113:1-5)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

قُلۡ اَعُوۡذُ بِرَبِّ الۡفَلَقِۙ مِنۡ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَۙ وَمِنۡ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَۙ وَمِنۡ شَرِّ النَّفّٰثٰتِ فِى الۡعُقَدِۙ وَمِنۡ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ اِذَا حَسَدَ

You can read and listen to Surah Al-Falaq with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

Al-Falaq is the 113th surah of the Quran, with 5 verses, in the 30th juz. Scholars differ on whether it is Meccan or Medinan. Its name comes from the last word of the first verse, al-falaq, the daybreak, and you'll also see it written as Surah Falaq or by its opening words, Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbil-falaq.

ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Have you not seen the verses revealed tonight, the like of which has never been seen? Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbil-falaq and Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbin-nās" (Sahih Muslim 814).

Abu Saʿid al-Khudri said the Prophet ﷺ used to seek refuge from the jinn and from the evil eye with various words until the two surahs of refuge were revealed. When they came down, he used them and left the rest (Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 2058).

The story of the magic

Several commentators link the two surahs with an incident in Madinah. ʿAʾishah reported that a man named Labid ibn al-Aʿsam worked magic against the Prophet ﷺ, so that for a time he would think he had done something when he had not. Allah showed him in a dream where the magic had been hidden, in a well, and it was taken out and destroyed (Sahih al-Bukhari 5763; Sahih Muslim 2189).

The detail that Al-Falaq and An-Nas were revealed on that occasion, with a knot untied at each verse, comes in later reports collected by al-Bayhaqi and others, and their chains are weaker than the hadith itself. What is sound is the main point: the magic affected only his daily life, not the revelation, and Allah removed it.

Verse 1: The Lord of the daybreak

قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلۡفَلَقِ

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak. (113:1)

Qul, "say", is a command. The surah isn't only telling you about refuge; it gives you the words to say. Aʿūdhu means "I take refuge", the same word as in aʿūdhu billāhi minash-shayṭānir-rajīm, which Muslims say before reciting the Quran.

Al-falaq comes from a root meaning "to split". Most commentators say it means the daybreak, when the dawn splits open the darkness. Allah calls Himself fāliqul-iṣbāḥ, "the Cleaver of daybreak", in 6:96. Others said it is broader: everything Allah splits open, such as the seed and the date stone (6:95), from which life comes out.

Either way the choice of name fits. You are about to name kinds of darkness and hidden harm, and you turn first to the One who brings the light out of the night every morning.

Verse 2: The evil of what He created

مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

From the evil of that which He created. (113:2)

This is the general request, and it covers everything: people, jinn, animals, illness, events. Note what it says and what it doesn't. Creation isn't evil in itself. Some created things carry harm, and you ask the Creator for protection from that harm.

Verse 3: The darkness when it settles

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

And from the evil of darkness when it settles. (113:3)

Ghāsiq is darkness, and waqab is when it comes in and spreads. Most commentators say it is the night. Harm is more likely at night: thieves move, wild animals come out, the frightened feel more afraid, and many sins are done out of sight.

There is also a report that ʿAʾishah said the Prophet ﷺ looked at the moon and said: "Seek refuge with Allah from the evil of this, for this is the ghāsiq when it waqab" (Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 3366). Scholars reconcile the two: the moon's setting brings the darkness, so both point to the night.

Verse 4: Those who blow on knots

وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّٰثَٰتِ فِي ٱلۡعُقَدِ

And from the evil of the blowers in knots. (113:4)

An-naffāthāt are those who blow, and al-ʿuqad are knots. The commentators agree this means people who practise magic by tying knots and blowing on them while saying their spells. The word is feminine in form, and it is often read as "the souls" or "the people" who blow, so it covers magicians of any kind.

The verse confirms two things. Magic is real and can cause harm, and its harm only happens by Allah's permission, as 2:102 says: "But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah." So the answer to it isn't another magician. It is seeking refuge in Allah.

Verse 5: The envier when he envies

وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

And from the evil of an envier when he envies." (113:5)

Ḥasad is envy: disliking the good someone else has and wishing it were gone from them. The verse says idhā ḥasad, "when he envies". Envy that stays hidden in a heart that fights it harms no one but its owner. The danger is when it is acted on, through words, plots, or the look of the evil eye. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The evil eye is real" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5740; Sahih Muslim 2188).

The surah ends here. Envy is named last, and some scholars noted it was the first sin committed in heaven, by Iblis against Adam, and the first on earth, by the son of Adam against his brother.

Al-Falaq and An-Nas together

Ibn al-Qayyim wrote at length on the two surahs in Badaʾiʿ al-Fawaʾid, and he points out a difference between them.

• Al-Falaq names one of Allah's attributes, Lord of the daybreak, and asks for refuge from four evils. They are harms that come to you from outside: from creation, the night, magic and envy.
• An-Nas names three attributes, the Lord, King and God of mankind, and asks for refuge from one evil: the whisperer who whispers into people's hearts. That harm works from inside and leads to sin.

He reads the difference as meaning the inner harm is the more serious one, because it can ruin a person's faith, while outer harms reach only the body and the world. That's why the two are recited together: between them they cover what can hurt you from outside and from within.

When to recite it

• Before sleeping. ʿAʾishah said that every night when the Prophet ﷺ went to bed, he would join his palms, blow into them and recite Surah Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas. Then he would wipe his hands over as much of his body as he could, starting with his head, face and the front of his body, and he did this three times (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017).
• When ill. When he was ill, he recited the two surahs of refuge over himself and blew. In his last illness, ʿAʾishah recited them and wiped his own hand over him for its blessing (Sahih al-Bukhari 5016; Sahih Muslim 2192).
• Morning and evening. The Prophet ﷺ told ʿAbdullah ibn Khubayb to recite Qul huwallāhu aḥad and the two surahs of refuge three times in the morning and three times in the evening, "and they will suffice you against everything" (Sunan Abi Dawud 5082; Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 3575).
• After every prayer. ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir said the Prophet ﷺ told him to recite the surahs of refuge after every prayer (Sunan Abi Dawud 1523).

Many people also recite it as ruqyah, over themselves or someone who is unwell, in the way the Prophet ﷺ did. It pairs well with the other bedtime surah, Surah Al-Mulk, and with Ayatul Kursi.

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
قُلۡ	qul	say
أَعُوذُ	aʿūdhu	I seek refuge
بِرَبِّ	bi-rabbi	in the Lord
ٱلۡفَلَقِ	al-falaq	of daybreak
مِن شَرِّ	min sharri	from the evil
مَا خَلَقَ	mā khalaq	of what He created
غَاسِقٍ	ghāsiq	darkness
إِذَا وَقَبَ	idhā waqab	when it settles
ٱلنَّفَّٰثَٰتِ	an-naffāthāt	the blowers
فِي ٱلۡعُقَدِ	fil-ʿuqad	in knots
حَاسِدٍ	ḥāsid	an envier
إِذَا حَسَدَ	idhā ḥasad	when he envies

Living by Surah Al-Falaq

• Make it a nightly habit. Recite Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas into your palms three times before sleeping and wipe over your body, as the Prophet ﷺ did.
• Say it morning and evening. Three times each, with Al-Ikhlas. It takes less than a minute.
• Turn to Allah, not to charms. The surah teaches that protection from magic and the evil eye comes from Allah. You don't need amulets or someone selling cures.
• Watch your own envy. The verse asks for protection from the envier, so don't be one. When you see a blessing on someone, say mā shāʾ Allāh and ask Allah to bless them in it.
• Don't live in fear. The surah names real dangers, then hands them to the Lord of the daybreak. Recite it and get on with your day.

Open Surah Al-Falaq to read and listen to it with its translation.