Tafsir of Al-Falaq 113:2

(From the evil of what He created): That is, from the evil of that which He has created, whether among the two classes of sentient beings (jinn and mankind) or others, whoever or whatever they may be, whether they possess dispositions (natural instincts) or volition. The apparent meaning is the generality of evil, covering physical harms and others.

Some have claimed that the seeking of refuge here pertains specifically to physical harms, and that it encompasses humans and other than humans, even those not in a state of seeking refuge. They then made its generality the basis for connecting "the Lord" to "the Dawn" in a general sense—an interpretation that is, as you can see, flawed. Indeed, what readily comes to mind is that its generality applies to the evils of the world.

Some scholars have said: "It is general for every evil in this world and the Hereafter: the evil of mankind, the jinn, and the devils; the evil of beasts and vermin; the evil of fire; the evil of sins and whims; the evil of the soul and the evil of deeds." Its apparent meaning implies the generalization of "what He created" such that it includes the one seeking refuge themselves; the revelation of the surah for the Messenger of Allah—may Allah exalt and grant him peace—to seek refuge through it does not preclude this. Some have permitted treating "ma" (what) as a verbal noun (masdariyyah), interpreting the verbal noun as a passive participle (ism maf'ul), but this is an affectation that is unnecessary.

Regarding the attribution of evil to "what He created," it is said: Because evil is exclusive to the realm of creation, which is founded upon the blending of disparate substances that necessarily involve coming-to-be and corruption. As for the realm of command ('alam al-amr), which was brought into existence by the mere command "Be" without material, it is pure good, completely purified of the impurities of evil. It is apparent that by the "realm of command," the realm of immaterial entities is meant—namely, the angels—peace be upon them.

An objection was raised against this—setting aside the fact that it is not supported in the realm of religious law—that from some of them (the angels) proceeds evil, such as the sinking of lands and the punishing of servants. The answer given is that this occurs by the command of the Exalted, so it does not proceed except as an act of obedience to the command, not from an intent for evil as evil; thus, there is no objection.

Yes, it is objected that their being immaterial is contrary to the preferred view held by the predecessors of the nation (salaf) and those who followed them; rather, they are subtle, luminous bodies. Even if we concede their immateriality, we say that immaterial entities are not restricted to them. How can they be, when many have asserted the immateriality of the jinn? They have said that they are neither bodies nor states within them, but rather independent immaterial substances, differing in essence: some are good, some are evil, some are noble and free, loving virtues, and some are base and ignoble, loving evils and calamities.

In sum, "what He created" is more general than the immaterial—according to the view that holds it—and other things. All of it is created by the Exalted—that is, brought into existence by volition after non-existence—except that the intent of seeking refuge is from that which contains evil among them.

'Amr ibn Fa'id read, according to al-Bahr, "min sharrin" (from an evil) with a tanwin. Ibn 'Atiyyah stated: "It is the reading of 'Amr ibn 'Ubayd and some of the Mu'tazilah, who claim that Allah the Exalted did not create evil." They interpreted "ma" as a negation and placed the sentence in the position of an adjective—that is, "from the evil of what Allah did not create and did not bring into existence." This is a rejected reading, built upon a false doctrine.

You know that readings are established by transmission, and this specific interpretation is not mandatory for this reading. It is permissible that "ma" be a substitute (badal) for "sharr" (evil) upon the estimation of an omitted word implied by what precedes it; that is, "from the evil of what He created."