سورة الناس

An-Nas means "Mankind" or "The People". It is surah 114, the last one in the Qur'an. It has 6 verses.

1. قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ Qul a'uudhu bi rabbi n-naas Say: I seek the protection of the Lord of people,

2. مَلِكِ النَّاسِ Maliki n-naas the King of people,

3. إِلَٰهِ النَّاسِ Ilaahi n-naas the God of people,

4. مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ Min sharri l-waswaasi l-khannaas from the evil of the one who whispers bad ideas, then hides,

5. الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ Alladhii yuwaswisu fii ṣuduuri n-naas who whispers into people's hearts,

6. مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ Mina l-jinnati wa n-naas whether among the jinn or among people.

The little lesson: sometimes a little voice pushes us to do something wrong: to lie, to be mean, to skip prayer. These are the whispers of Shaytan. When that happens, we say "a'uudhu billaah" ("I seek Allah's protection") and choose to do good.

Memorisation tip: every verse ends with the sound "aas": n-naas, n-naas, n-naas, l-khannaas, n-naas, n-naas. Listen to the music of the words! Learn this surah together with Al-Falaq: they are two sisters.

Understanding Surah An-Nas

1. Explanation • Verses 1 to 3: I ask Allah's protection, calling Him by three names. He is the Lord of people (Rabb): He created them and takes care of them. He is the King of people (Malik): He decides everything, there is no other true king but Him. He is the God of people (Ilaah): He alone deserves to be worshipped. • Verse 4: from the evil of "al-waswaas al-khannaas": Shaytan, who whispers evil when we forget Allah, and who draws back and hides as soon as we remember Allah. • Verse 5: he whispers into people's hearts: he gives bad ideas, laziness, anger. • Verse 6: the one who pushes us towards evil can be a jinn, but also a human being: someone who drags us into doing wrong. We can notice: in Al-Falaq, we ask protection from harms that come from outside; in An-Nas, from a harm that comes from inside, the bad ideas in the heart.

2. Lessons to learn • Remembering Allah (dhikr) drives Shaytan away: I say "a'uudhu billaah", I say my morning and evening supplications. • I choose my friends well, and I am never the one who pushes someone else to do wrong. • Having a bad idea in my head is not a sin if I do not follow it. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah forgives his community what passes through their minds, as long as they do not act on it or say it. (Bukhari 5269, Muslim 127) [À VÉRIFIER : numéros] • When a little voice tells me "you can pray later", I pray straight away: that is how we make Shaytan draw back.

3. To remember • Three names of Allah: Lord, King, God of people. • Shaytan whispers when we forget Allah and draws back when we remember Him. • The one who pushes towards evil can be a jinn or a human.

4. The message of the surah Against bad whispers, the best shield is Allah: by remembering Him and placing ourselves under His protection, we keep our hearts clean.

Source: Al-Mukhtasar fi tafsir al-Qur'an (English translation), with well-known points from the tafsirs of Ibn Kathir and As-Sa'di.