Surah An-Nas (The Mankind)

(Chapter 114)

It consists of six verses and was revealed in Medina.

Verse 1-3:

Say: "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, The King of mankind, The God of mankind."

Surah An-Nas (The Mankind): (1 - 3)

Say: I seek refuge in the Lord...

In this [section], there are several issues:

The First Issue

It has been recited [in a variant reading] as: {Qul u'ūdhu} (Say: I seek refuge) with the omission of the Hamza (initial glottal stop) and the transfer of its vowel to the Lām (the 'l' in al-nās).

The parallel for this is: {Fakhudh arba'atan min aṭ-ṭayr} (So take four of the birds). Furthermore, all reciters agreed upon omitting Imālah (a slight lowering of the 'a' sound towards 'i') in an-nās. It is narrated from Al-Kisa'i that he permitted Imālah in an-nās when it is in the genitive case (majrūr).

The Second Issue

Although Allah (Exalted is He) is the Lord of all created things, here He specified that He is the Lord of Mankind for several reasons:

1. The seeking of refuge is from the evil of the whisperer that occurs in the breasts of mankind. It is as if the meaning is: "I seek refuge from the evil of the whisperer directed towards mankind, by seeking refuge in their Lord who governs their affairs, who is their God and object of worship." This is similar to how some dependents seek the help of their master, their patron, and the guardian of their affairs when a calamity befalls them.
2. Mankind is the noblest of all creatures in the world.
3. The one commanded to seek refuge is the human being. When a human reads this, it becomes as if he is saying: "O my Lord, O my King, O my God."

The Third Issue

The statement of Allah (Exalted is He): {The King of mankind * The God of mankind} are both appositives ('aṭf bayān), like saying: "The biography of Abu Hafs, 'Umar al-Fārūq."

First, He is described as the Lord (Rabb) of mankind. A Lord may or may not be a King, just as one says, "the Lord of the house" or "the Lord of the possessions." Allah says: {They have taken their rabbis and their monks as lords besides Allah}. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify this by saying: {The King of mankind}.

Next, a King may or may not be a God (Ilāh). Therefore, it is necessary to clarify this by saying: {The God of mankind}, because Ilāh is specific to Him, and no one shares Him in this attribute.

Also, He began by mentioning the Rabb (Lord), which is a name for the One who manages and reforms [creation], and this is among His earliest favors, until He nurtured [man] and granted him intellect. At that point, man knew through evidence that he is a owned servant and His property, so He followed this by mentioning the King (Malik).

Then, once man knew that worship ('ibādah) is incumbent upon him and obligatory for him, and he recognized that his object of worship deserves that worship, he knew that He is the Ilāh (God). This is why He concluded with it.

Alternatively, the first thing a servant recognizes about his Lord is that he is obedient to the manifest and hidden blessings bestowed upon him—and this is the Rabb. Then, he continuously moves from recognizing these attributes to recognizing His Majesty and His self-sufficiency from creation. At that point, knowledge is attained that He is the King, because the King is the one whom others are in need of, while He is self-sufficient from others. Finally, when the servant knows Him thus, he recognizes that in Majesty and Greatness, He is above the descriptions of describers, and that He is the One whose glory and greatness cause minds to be bewildered. At that point, he knows Him as the Ilāh.

The Fourth Issue

The reason for repeating the word an-nās (mankind) is that these attributes are repeated because an appositive requires further clarification (mazīd iẓhār). Moreover, this repetition implies a greater honor for mankind, because Allah (Exalted is He) seems to have defined His Essence by being the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, and the God of mankind. If mankind were not the noblest of His creations, He would not have concluded His Book by defining His Essence as being their Lord, King, and God.

The Fifth Issue

It is not permissible here to use Mālik an-nās (Owner of mankind), although {Mālik Yawm ad-Dīn} (Owner of the Day of Recompense) is permissible in Surah Al-Fātiḥah.

The difference is that the statement {Lord of mankind} already implies that He is their Owner (Mālik). Therefore, what follows must be this kingship (Mulk) to convey that in addition to being the Owner, He is the King.

If one asks: Did He not say in Surah Al-Fātiḥah: {Lord of the worlds} and then say: {Owner of the Day of Recompense}? This would imply repetition there as well. We reply: The wording indicates that He is the Lord of the worlds (existing things at the present time), and that He is the Owner of the Day of Recompense (meaning He has power over it). Thus, the Rabb is attributed to one thing, and the Mālik is attributed to another thing, so no repetition is necessitated.

However, here, if Mālik were mentioned, both Rabb and Mālik would be attributed to the same thing, necessitating repetition. Thus, the difference is clear. Furthermore, the permissibility of variant readings follows the revelation, not analogy (Qiyās). Although Mālik has been read [here], it is found only in irregular readings (shawādh).

7 < {From the evil of the retreating whisperer} > 7

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