(p-423) The purpose of Surah An-Nas is to seek refuge in the true God from the evil of the hidden creation. Its name indicates this, for man is inclined towards evil, and most of his evil is through cunning and deceit. Better than this is that it is for seeking refuge from the hidden evil that is familiar and sought after. Indeed, whispering only occurs with what one desires. The word 'nas' is derived from 'uns', for its origin is 'nasa', and it also refers to the disturbance of the inner self, which indicates its derivation from 'nawasa'. Thus, the name corresponds to the named. The purpose of this Surah is linked to the purpose of Al-Fatiha, which is vigilance. It encompasses all the sciences of the Qur'an, which are the approval of Allah and enmity towards Satan, with the excellence of its conclusion and the uniqueness of its system. Just as Al-Fatiha encompasses this, for it is the excellence of the beginning and the care of majesty and beauty. The latter is connected to the former in the manner of cause and effect, evidence and what is evidenced, and the example and the exemplified. Allah is the one sought for facilitating the request and realizing the hoped-for, for He is the Generous, the Possessor of Abundance. With Him, assistance is sought, and upon Him, reliance is placed: 'In the name of Allah', who encompasses [knowledge] of every hidden thing as He encompasses every apparent thing. 'The Most Gracious', whose grace has encompassed every present and absent. 'The Most Merciful', who has specifically completed His grace upon His allies in all their matters, the first of which is the beginning, the middle, and the last.

When the Surah of Al-Falaq came for seeking refuge from the evil of what He created, from all bodily and other general harms for humans and others, that is the totality of the evil that exists in all worlds and times. Then, there occurred in it a specification with evils in their essence from the disobedient, the sorcerer, and the envious. Thus, the seeking refuge in it is general for the external calamities that return to the oppression of others, and the internal defects that return to the oppression of the self, but it is more apparent in calamities. It concluded with envy, so it was known that it is the most harmful of calamities. The root of what exists between the jinn and humans from enmity is envy. The Surah of An-Nas came, containing the seeking refuge from a specific evil, which is the whispering, and it is more specific than the general envious. It relates to the internal defects that afflict human souls, the essence of which is all whispering. It is the cause of all sins and disobedience, and it is from the jinn that it is more possible and harmful. All evil returns to calamities and defects. Thus, the Surah, like Al-Falaq, contains seeking refuge, the one sought refuge with, and the one sought refuge from, and a command to establish that. The command is: 'Say' and the seeking refuge is: 'I seek refuge.' The one sought refuge with is Allah, glorified and exalted is He. However, since the attribute of lordship is one of His attributes of perfection, glorified is He, it is more suitable for protection, assistance, care, creation, management, upbringing, and reform, which includes complete power, vast mercy, comprehensive goodness, and complete knowledge. He, exalted is He, said: 'The Lord of mankind' [meaning: I seek refuge with Him -] that is, I ask Him to be a protector for me from the enemy so that he does not cause me to fall into destruction. Al-Malwi said: And the Lord is the one who has the dominion of servitude and brings forth goodness from the heavens and the earth and maintains it, and repels and removes evils, and transfers from deficiency to perfection, and the general management that returns with preservation and completion upon the one being nurtured. He specified the addition with those who are shaken and disturbed in bodies and religions from humans and jinn due to the specifics of what is sought refuge from, which are the harms that befall rational souls and pertain to them, unlike what is in Al-Falaq, for it is the bodily harms that affect humans and others. Imam Abu Ja'far ibn Al-Zubair said: The reason for its delay from its sister is the generality of the first and the specificity of the second. Do you not see the generality of His saying: 'From the evil of what He created' [Al-Falaq: 2] and the ambiguity of 'what' and the indefiniteness of 'the darkening' [Al-Falaq: 3] and 'the envious' [Al-Falaq: 5]? The covenant in it is to seek refuge from its evil in the Surah of An-Nas and its definition and description. Thus, He began with the generality and then followed with the specificity to be more effective in achieving what the seeking refuge intended to avoid, and more fulfilling of the intended purpose. An analogy of this is in presenting the more general meaning and then following it with the more specific by addressing the details and the great matters, His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' in the meaning of the Most Gracious and the meaning of the Most Merciful is one, not in the generality of the first attribute and its being for emphasis. The interpreters have addressed clarifying that, and there are similar instances.