Tafsir al-Tustari

Say, �I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak,He said:Truly God, Exalted is He, commanded him [the Prophet] in these two sūras [113 and 114] to take refuge (iʿtiṣām) in Him, seek help (istiʿāna) from Him, and show [his] need (faqr) for Him.He was asked, �What is showing [one�s] need?� He replied:It is the [substitution of one] state by another (huwa�l-ḥāl bi�l-ḥāl), for the natural disposition (ṭabʿ) is dead [in and of itself] and its life is in displaying this. He also said:The best form of purification (ṭahāra) is that the servant purifies himself from [the illusion of] his own power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa). Every act or saying that is not accompanied by the words: �there is no power or strength save in God�, will not have God�s support, Mighty and Majestic is He. Furthermore, every saying which is not accompanied by the proviso, will incur a punishment for [the person who said it], even if it was an act [or saying] of righteousness.And for every affliction (muṣība) which is received without being accompanied by the saying of �return� (istirjāʿ), the afflicted person will not be given steadfastness when facing it [affliction] on the Day of Resurrection.He said:According to Ibn ʿAbbās y, al-falaq means the morning (ṣubḥ) while according to al-Ḍaḥḥāk it refers to a valley in the Hellfire. [On the other hand], according to Wuhayb it refers to a chamber in Hell, and according to Ḥasan it refers to a well in Hell.It has also been said that He intended by it all people (jamīʿ al-khalq). Or it has been said that it refers to the rock from which water springs forth.

from the evil of that which He has created,from man and jinn. This is because Labīd b. Aʿṣam al-Yahūdī cast into the well of Banū Bayāḍa a spell against the Prophet, who used to frequent it. [One day as] he headed towards [the well] the spell [cast against him] possessed him and the Prophet became affected by it, so God sent down the two sūras of seeking refuge (muʿawwidhatayn), and the Angel Gabriel informed him of the magic spell. Then he sent two men among the Companions to [the well] and theytook it [the knot] out of the well. They brought it to the Prophet , upon which he started to untie the knot reciting the verses the while, so that the Messenger was cured without delay after having completed the two sūras.After this occurrence, Labīd used to go to the Prophet but he did not see any trace of [his spell] on the face of the Prophet , neither did he mention to him [what he had done].

and from the evil of darkness when it gathers,That is to say, when night falls, or it has been said that it means when the darkness intensifies. It has also been said [that it means]: when night first encroaches on [lit. �penetrates,� dakhala] the day, [that is], when night is just beginning, devils among the jinn are released and anyone who is afflicted in that hour will not recover.Sahl [also] said regarding and from the evil of darkness when it gathers:Its inner meaning refers to remembrance, when regard for the self enters it, thereby screening it from sincerity towards God in the remembrance [purely] of Him.and from the evil of the women-blowers,That is, the sorceresses who blow on knots.

and from the evil of the envier when he envies.�This means the Jews who envied the Prophet to the point that they practised sorcery against him. Ibn ʿAbbās said: In this verse [is a reference to] the lower self of a human being [lit. son of Adam] ⸢and his eye (wa ʿaynuhu)⸣. His words: Exalted is He: