Surah An-Nas: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah An-Nas, "Mankind", is the last surah of the Quran, six short verses asking for protection. It tells you to seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind and the God of mankind, from one enemy: the whisperer who slips away, who whispers into people's hearts, from among the jinn and from among people.

It is one of the two muʿawwidhatayn, the "two surahs of seeking refuge", together with Surah Al-Falaq just before 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 ٱلنَّاسِ مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ مِن شَرِّ ٱلۡوَسۡوَاسِ ٱلۡخَنَّاسِ ٱلَّذِي يُوَسۡوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ مِنَ ٱلۡجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

Transliteration

1. Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbin-nās
2. Malikin-nās
3. Ilāhin-nās
4. Min sharril-waswāsil-khannās
5. Alladhī yuwaswisu fī ṣudūrin-nās
6. Minal-jinnati wan-nās

English translation (Saheeh International)

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the retreating whisperer - who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind - from among the jinn and mankind." (114:1-6)

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 النَّاسِۙ مَلِكِ النَّاسِۙ اِلٰهِ النَّاسِۙ مِنۡ شَرِّ الۡوَسۡوَاسِۙ الۡخَـنَّاسِۙ الَّذِىۡ يُوَسۡوِسُ فِىۡ صُدُوۡرِ النَّاسِۙ مِنَ الۡجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

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

About the surah

An-Nas is the 114th and final surah of the Quran, with 6 verses, in the 30th juz. As with Al-Falaq, scholars differ on whether it is Meccan or Medinan. Its name comes from the word an-nās, "mankind" or "people", which ends every one of its verses. You'll also see it written as Surah Nas, or called by its opening words, Qul aʿūdhu bi-rabbin-nās.

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).

ʿUqbah also described travelling with the Prophet ﷺ when a strong wind and deep darkness came over them. The Prophet ﷺ began seeking refuge with these two surahs and said: "ʿUqbah, seek refuge with them, for no one has sought refuge with anything like them" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1463).

The Quran opens with Al-Fatiha, a prayer for guidance, and closes with An-Nas, a prayer for protection. Between them is the guidance itself, and the last thing it teaches is how to guard it.

Verses 1-3: Lord, King and God of mankind

قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind. (114:1-3)

In Al-Falaq you seek refuge in Allah by one name. Here you call on Him by three, one after the other:

• Rabb, the Lord. The one who created you, provides for you and takes care of you from the womb onward.
• Malik, the King. The one who owns you and rules over you, whose command is final.
• Ilāh, the God. The one who alone deserves to be worshipped.

Scholars point out that the order follows how a person comes to know Allah. You first see that He made and sustains you; then that He is in control of everything; then that He is the only one you should worship. Each name is a reason that He, and no one else, is the one to turn to.

Each name is also tied to an-nās, mankind. Allah is Lord of everything, but here the request is about the human heart, so the surah names Him in relation to people.

Verse 4: The whisperer who withdraws

مِن شَرِّ ٱلۡوَسۡوَاسِ ٱلۡخَنَّاسِ

From the evil of the retreating whisperer. (114:4)

Al-waswās is the whisperer. The word itself repeats a sound, was-wās, like a whisper that keeps coming back. It is the thought that nudges you toward sin, toward doubt, or toward despair, and then nudges again.

Al-khannās is the one who draws back and hides. The explanation reported from Ibn ʿAbbas is that Shaytan sits on the heart of the son of Adam: when the person forgets Allah he whispers, and when the person remembers Allah he withdraws. So the description is also the cure. The whisperer retreats at the remembrance of Allah, and the surah itself is that remembrance.

The Prophet ﷺ said that Shaytan "flows through the human being as blood flows" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2035; Sahih Muslim 2175). He also said that every person has a companion from the jinn assigned to them, and when asked, "You too, O Messenger of Allah?", he said: "Me too, but Allah has helped me against him, so I am safe from him, and he only tells me to do good" (Sahih Muslim 2814).

Verse 5: Into the breasts of mankind

ٱلَّذِي يُوَسۡوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ

Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind. (114:5)

Ṣudūr are breasts or chests, where the heart is. The whisper doesn't come as a voice from outside. It arrives as your own thought, which is why it is so effective, and why it helps to know where it comes from.

Verse 6: From the jinn and from people

مِنَ ٱلۡجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

From among the jinn and mankind." (114:6)

Most commentators read this as describing the whisperers: some are jinn and some are people. A person can whisper too, by making sin look attractive, stirring up doubt, or urging you toward something you know is wrong. The Quran speaks of "devils from among mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech" in 6:112.

The surah, and with it the Quran, ends on the word an-nās.

Dealing with whispers (waswasa)

Almost everyone who prays has felt it: a stray thought in the middle of salah, a sudden doubt about faith, a nagging worry that you didn't do your wudu properly. The hadith give clear guidance.

• Whispers you don't act on aren't held against you. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has forgiven my ummah what their souls whisper to them, as long as they do not act on it or speak of it" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2528; Sahih Muslim 127).
• Hating the thought is a sign of faith. Some Companions told the Prophet ﷺ they found thoughts in themselves too terrible to say out loud. He asked, "Do you really feel that?" They said yes, and he said: "That is clear faith" (Sahih Muslim 132).
• Stop, and seek refuge. "Shaytan comes to one of you and says, 'Who created this? Who created that?' until he says, 'Who created your Lord?' When it reaches that point, let him seek refuge in Allah and stop there" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3276; Sahih Muslim 134). Don't argue with the thought; turn away from it.
• In prayer. ʿUthman ibn Abi al-ʿAs complained that Shaytan came between him and his prayer and confused his recitation. The Prophet ﷺ told him to seek refuge in Allah and dry-spit lightly to his left three times. He did, and Allah removed it from him (Sahih Muslim 2203).

And recite An-Nas. It was revealed for exactly this.

When to recite it

• Before sleeping. Every night, the Prophet ﷺ would join his palms, blow into them and recite Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas, then wipe his hands over as much of his body as he could, starting with his head and face. 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).

For how An-Nas and Al-Falaq complement each other, one guarding against harm from outside and the other against harm from within, see the Al-Falaq article.

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
قُلۡ	qul	say
أَعُوذُ	aʿūdhu	I seek refuge
بِرَبِّ	bi-rabbi	in the Lord
ٱلنَّاسِ	an-nās	of mankind
مَلِكِ	malik	the King
إِلَٰهِ	ilāh	the God
مِن شَرِّ	min sharri	from the evil
ٱلۡوَسۡوَاسِ	al-waswās	of the whisperer
ٱلۡخَنَّاسِ	al-khannās	who withdraws
ٱلَّذِي يُوَسۡوِسُ	alladhī yuwaswisu	who whispers
فِي صُدُورِ	fī ṣudūri	in the breasts
مِنَ ٱلۡجِنَّةِ	minal-jinnati	from the jinn
وَٱلنَّاسِ	wan-nās	and mankind

Living by Surah An-Nas

• 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.
• Remember Allah when the whisper comes. The whisperer is al-khannās, the one who withdraws. Dhikr is what makes him withdraw.
• Don't panic over passing thoughts. A bad thought you dislike and don't act on isn't a sin. It can even be a sign of faith.
• Don't debate the doubt. Seek refuge, stop, and move on, as the Prophet ﷺ taught.
• Watch the company you keep. Whisperers come from people too. Spend time with those who remind you of Allah.

Open Surah An-Nas to read and listen to it with its translation.