Recently, I have been trying to intentionally begin my mornings with the three Quls (Surahs Al Ikhlas, Al Falaq, and An Nas), and in the spirit of embedding this practice more deeply into my daily life, I felt it was only fitting to understand their meanings with greater intentionality, especially as a beautiful pattern emerges across these surahs.
Surah Al-Falaq focuses our attention outward, informing us of the vulnerabilities of the dunya from which we seek protection. It reminds us of the realities of evil, of darkness, black magic, and envy that we are susceptible to, with refuge from these things only found in remembrance of Allah and seeking His Light.
This surah reminded me of the importance of letting go and relying wholeheartedly on the Lord of all worlds, who describes Himself in this surah as the Lord of the Daybreak. There is such comfort in this image – Allah as the Lord of that first light that pierces the darkness, the light that stretches across the horizon and signals the beginning of a new day.
It is a profound reality to anchor protection in this Name of Allah, especially in relation to all the evils described in the surah, for which we have little to protect ourselves against other than through the surrender of our own weakness and faith in the refuge of Allah’s strength. Seeking refuge becomes an act of trust, an admission that we are not self-sufficient, and that true protection lies with Allah alone.
Surah An-Nas then shifts our focus inward, reminding us to safeguard the vulnerabilities of our hearts, our ultimate means of receiving a good ahkira (Hereafter) inshaAllah.
In this surah, Allah introduces Himself through three Names: Rabb (Lord), Malik (King), and Illah (God), the progression of Names each describing His unique relationship with humankind.
There is something very comforting about the fact that Allah reminds us who He is before mentioning the vulnerabilities we carry. Before speaking of the whispers that seek to misguide us, He reminds us that He is the One our hearts were created to turn towards.
It is an important truth to internalise because while we strive to strengthen our relationship with Allah, He will never cease to care for us. Even amidst our weaknesses and susceptibility to spiritual harm, He continues to nurture, protect, and draw us back to Himself with a closeness that I often fail to recognise in my daily life.
Rabb is linguistically associated with the cleansing of impurities, Allah ensuring we know that He will take care of us as our Lord, an intimate relationship deeply rooted in our sense of self. I feel like it’s common for us as humans to move through life with the feeling that we are not yet where we should be – I know I can carry quite persistent feelings of inadequacy. However, Ar Rabb reminds us that growth is slow and deliberate, a gentle becoming of the person we must become under His guardianship.
Similarly, Malik, centres Allah as our King and Owner, whose authority encompasses everything that happens to us and around us, who nurtures us to reach our highest selves, so long as we continue to choose the path He has laid out for us.
There’s also a stark connection between kingship and protection, even in the way we understand the concept in the modern world. Al Malik speaks to our base instinct to seek out protection from strength and authority – from the ultimate Sovereign – where every source of harm or fear that may plague us exists under His Divine dominion and control.
The third Name, Illah, is God, the object of worship, affection, deep devotion, adoration and awe. I truly believe every human being has an illah (whether consciously or not), something that becomes the centre of their devotion and pursuit. There is such a freedom in placing Allah in that part of our heart instead of being caught in today’s society and placing something temporary there like money, status, fame, relationships or even love of another transient human.
Even Nas (meaning mankind) itself comes from the word ‘uns’ which relates to love, affection, intimacy – it is our very nature to care deeply for one another and to crave something bigger than ourselves alone. What makes us human is this pursuit of an Illah, a higher purpose, an intimate God who protects us and gives us direction.
We need this relationship of intimacy and protection with Allah, especially because the waswas described in this surah is so subtle. It is linguistically associated with a faint whisper, the sound of a hunter quieting his dog before going after prey.
This subtlety made me reflect on how much media and entertainment we consume in modern times, and how carefully we should be with what we allow into our hearts and inner lives.
The surah also uses the word ‘sadr’ to refer to the heart, instead of the more common ‘qalb’. It’s interesting as a sadr refers more so to the physical chest, our outer layer of consciousness where thoughts and emotions are initially processed, whereas qalb is the spiritual heart itself, the centre of faith and certainty.
By using the word sadr, Allah is teaching us that there is a boundary. Shaytaan cannot access your heart unless you let the whispers in, unless you give him an actual opening. Shaytaan’s role is not to place evil in our hearts directly – he doesn’t have the power to do so – but he wants us to react in the worst possible way to each test and situation Allah places us in, until our poor actions begin to erode our spiritual heart enough that bad decisions becomes the norm.
These surahs really opened my eyes to the need to come to Allah with a deep humility, to acknowledge my many (many!) weaknesses before Him and ask for protection from the dark and from the evils outer and within.
This act of seeking refuge becomes an expression of dependence upon Allah, a recognition that I am not self-sufficient at all, and require divine protection and guidance in every moment of my life. It is in this acknowledgement that a form of clarity emerged – that I need to seek to remove the heavy burden of self-reliance in matters that exceed my own human control.
May Allah, our Rabb, Malik and Illah, protect us from that which we cannot see, keep our hearts firm on His Deen, and allow us internalise the depth of His care so that we may release some of the heaviness we carry.