Sura hii, pamoja na inayofuata, Watu, inabeba agizo kutoka kwa Mungu hasa kwa Nabii Wake, na pili kwa waumini wote, la kujikinga Kwake na kutafuta ulinzi Wake mbele ya chanzo chochote cha hofu, kiwe kilichofichika au kilicho wazi, kinachojulikana au kisichojulikana. Ni kama vile Mungu — utukufu Wake hauna mipaka — anafunua ulimwengu wake wa kulinda na kuwakumbatia waumini katika ulinzi Wake. Anawaita kwa upole na upendo wawe wanakimbilia katika kujali kwake, ambako watajisikia salama na kwa amani. Ni kama vile anawaambia: Ninajua kuwa mna udhaifu na mmezungukwa na maadui na hofu. Njoni Kwangu kwa usalama, kuridhika na amani. Kwa hiyo, sura mbili hizi zinaanza kwa, "Sema: Najikinga kwa Mola wa alfajiri," na "Sema: Najikinga kwa Mola wa watu." Kumepokewa simulizi kadhaa kuhusu kushuka na umaarufu wa sura hizi mbili. Zote zinaendana vizuri na tafsiri iliyotangulia kwamba Mungu, Mwenye Rehema zaidi, anatoa kujali kwake na kinga Yake kwa waja Wake waaminifu. Mjumbe wa Mungu ﷺ alizipenda sura hizi mbili sana, kama inavyoonekana wazi katika Hadithi zake.

This sūrah, along with the following one, Mankind, contains a directive from God primarily to His Prophet and secondly to the believers at large, to take refuge in Him and seek His protection in the face of any source of fear, subtle or apparent, known or unknown. It is as if God — limitless is He in His glory — is unfolding His world of care, and embracing the believers in His guard. He is kindly and affectionately calling on them to resort to His care through which they will feel safe and at peace. It is as if He is saying to them: I know that you are helpless and surrounded by foes and fears. Come to Me for safety, contentment and peace. Hence, the two sūrahs start with, “Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak,” and, “Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind.” Several accounts have been handed down concerning the revelation and popularity of these two sūrahs. They all fit in neatly with the above interpretation that God, the Most Merciful, offers His care and shelter to His faithful servants. God’s Messenger loved these two sūrahs profoundly, as is clearly apparent in his traditions.

`Uqba ibn `Āmir, mmoja wa Maswahaba wa Mtume, anasimulia kwamba Mtume ﷺ alimwambia: “Je, hujasikia aya za kipekee zilizoteremshwa usiku wa jana, ‘Sema: Najikinga kwa Mola wa alfajiri,’ na ‘Sema: Najikinga kwa Mola wa watu.’” [Imepokewa na Mālik, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd na al-Nasā’ī.] Jābir, Maswahaba wa Mtume ﷺ, alisema: “Mjumbe wa Mungu ﷺ aliniambia siku moja, ‘Jābir! Soma!’ nami nikauliza, ‘Nisome nini?’ Akajibu, ‘Soma, ‘Sema: Najikinga kwa Mola wa alfajiri,’ na ‘Sema: Najikinga kwa Mola wa watu.’ Basi nikazisoma, naye akasema, ‘Zisome [mara nyingi uwezavyo] kwani hutasoma chochote sawa na hizo.’” [Imepokewa na al-Nasā’ī.] Dharr ibn Ĥubaysh alisema kwamba aliuliza kwa Ubayy ibn Ka`b, Maswahaba wa Mtume ﷺ, kuhusu al-Mu`awwadhatayn, jina linalozitaja sura hizi mbili pamoja, akisema, “Abū al-Mundhir! Ndugu yako, Ibn Mas`ūd, anasema hivi na hivi. (Kwa muda Ibn Mas`ūd aliamini kimakosa kwamba sura hizi mbili si sehemu ya Qur’ān, lakini baadaye alikiri kosa lake.) Wewe unasemaje kuhusu hilo?” Akajibu, “Nilimuuliza Mjumbe wa Mungu ﷺ kuhusu jambo hili, naye akaniambia kwamba aliagizwa kusema maneno ya sura hizi, nami nimetekeleza agizo hilo. Sisi hakika tunasema kama alivyosema Mjumbe wa Mungu ﷺ.” [Imepokewa na al-Bukhārī.] Simulizi zote hizi zinaangaza kwa nguvu msingi wa rehema na mapenzi ya Mungu ambayo sura hizi mbili zinaelekeza kuyatazama.

Mwenyezi Mungu — utukufu wake usio na mipaka ni wake — anajitambulisha katika sura hii kama Mola wa alfajiri. Neno la Kiarabu falaq kwa maana yake ya msingi ni ‘alfajiri’, lakini linaweza kueleweka kuwa linamaanisha ‘mfumo mzima wa uumbaji’, kwa kurejelea kila kitu kinachochipuka na kuanza kuishi. Tafsiri hii inaungwa mkono na kauli ya Mwenyezi Mungu katika Sura ya 6, Al-An‘am: “Hakika Mwenyezi Mungu ndiye anayepasua (fāliq) punje na kokwa. Hutoa aliye hai katika aliyekufa ... Yeye ndiye anayefanya alfajiri ipambazuke (fāliq). Ameifanya usiku kuwa wa utulivu, na jua na mwezi kuwa ni kwa hesabu.” (6: 95-96) Ikiwa maana ya ‘alfajiri’ itakubaliwa, basi kinachotafutwa ni kinga kutoka kwa yale yasiyoonekana na yenye fumbo, kwa kumwendea Mola wa alfajiri, ambaye hutoa usalama anapowasha mwanga wa mchana. Ikiwa, hata hivyo, neno fāliq litachukuliwa kumaanisha ‘uumbaji’, basi kinachotafutwa ni kinga dhidi ya uovu wa kiumbe fulani, kwa kumwendea Mola wa viumbe vyote. Katika hali zote mbili, mshikamano na mada ya sura unadumishwa.

God — limitless is He in His glory — refers to Himself in this sūrah as the Lord of the daybreak. The Arabic term, falaq, simply means ‘daybreak’, but it could be taken to mean ‘the whole phenomenon of creation,’ with reference to everything springing forth into life. This interpretation is supported by God’s saying in Sūrah 6, Cattle: “It is God who splits (fāliq) the grain and the fruit- stone. He brings forth the living out of that which is dead ... He is the One who causes the day to break (fāliq). He has made the night to be [a source of] stillness, and the sun and the moon for reckoning.” (6: 95-96) If the meaning ‘daybreak’ is adopted, refuge is being sought from the unseen and the mysterious with the Lord of the daybreak, who bestows safety as He kindles the light of day. If, however, fāliq is taken to mean ‘creation’, then refuge from the evil of some creature is being sought with the Lord of all creation. In both cases, harmony with the theme of the sūrah is maintained.

"Kutokana na uovu wa kila kitu alichokiumba." (Aya ya 2) Kifungu hiki hakina ubaguzi wala masharti yoyote. Kuwasiliana kwa pamoja kati ya viumbe mbalimbali, ingawa hakuna shaka kuwa kuna manufaa, huleta uovu fulani. Wao waumini hukimbilia kwa Mwenyezi Mungu kujikinga nao, ili kuhimiza wema unaotokana na mawasiliano hayo. Kwani Yule aliyewaumba viumbe hao hakika anaweza kuweka mazingira sahihi yatakayowaelekeza katika mwenendo ambao upande wa mema tu wa mawasiliano yao ndio unaotawala.

“From the evil of anything that He has created.” (Verse 2) The phrase contains no exceptions or specifications. Mutual contact between various creatures, though no doubt advantageous, brings about some evil. Refuge from it is sought with God by the believers in order to encourage the goodness such a contact produces. For He who created those creatures is surely able to provide the right circumstances that lead them on a course where only the bright side of their contact prevails.