Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AN NAAS [1]

1. Say: ”I seek refuge with the Lord of An-Nas,'' 2. ”The King of An-Nas,'' 3. ”The God of An-Nas,'' 4. ”From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws.'' 5. ”Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.'' 6. ”Of Jinn and An-Nas. These are three attributes from the attributes of the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic. They are lordship, sovereignty and divinity. Thus, He is the Lord of everything, the King of everything and the God of everything. All things are created by Him, owned by Him, and subservient to Him. Therefore, He commands whoever is seeking protection to seek refuge with the One Who has these attributes from the evil of the whisperer who withdraws. This (the whisperer) is the devil that is assigned to man. For verily, there is not any of the Children of Adam except that he has a companion that beautifies wicked deeds for him. This devil will go to any lengths to confuse and confound him. The only person who is safe is He Whom Allah protects. It is confirmed in the Sahih that he (the Prophet ) said,

(There is not a single one of you except that his companion (a devil) has been assigned to him.) They (the Companions) said, ”What about you, O Messenger of Allah'' He replied,

(Yes. However, Allah has helped me against him and he has accepted Islam. Thus, he only commands me to do good.) It is also confirmed in the Two Sahihs from Anas, who reported the story of Safiyyah when she came to visit the Prophet while he was performing I`tikaf, that he went out with her during the night to walk her back to her house. So, two men from the Ansar met him (on the way). When they saw the Prophet , they began walking swiftly. So, the Messenger of Allah said,

(Slow down! This is Safiyyah bint Huyay!) They said, ”Glory be to Allah, O Messenger of Allah!'' He said,

(Verily, Shaytan runs in the Son of Adam like the running of the blood. And verily, I feared that he might cast something into your hearts -- or he said -- evil.) Sa`id bin Jubayr reported that Ibn `Abbas said concerning Allah's statement,

(The whisperer (Al-Waswas) who withdraws.) ”The devil who is squatting (perched) upon the heart of the Son of Adam. So when he becomes absentminded and heedless he whispers. Then, when he remembers Allah he withdraws.'' Mujahid and Qatadah also said this. Al-Mu`tamir bin Sulayman reported that his father said, ”It has been mentioned to me that Shaytan is Al-Waswas. He blows into the heart of the Son of Adam when he is sad and when he is happy. But when he (man) remembers Allah, Shaytan withdraws.'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas;

(The whisperer.) ”He is Shaytan. He whispers and then when he is obeyed, he withdraws.'' As for Allah's saying;

(Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.) Is this specific for the Children of Adam as is apparent, or is it general, including both mankind and Jinns There are two views concerning this. This is because they (the Jinns) are also included in the usage of the word An-Nas (the people) in most cases. Ibn Jarir said, ”The phrase Rijalun min Al-Jinn (Men from the Jinns) has been used in reference to them, so it is not strange for the word An-Nas to be applied to them also.'' Then Allah says,

(Of Jinn and An-Nas.) Is this explanatory of Allah's statement,

(Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.) Then, Allah explains this by saying,

(Of Jinn and An-Nas.) This is supportive of the second view. It has also been said that Allah's saying,

(Of Jinn and An-Nas) is an explanation of who is it that whispers into the breasts of mankind from the devils of mankind and Jinns. This is similar to Allah's saying,

o(And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies -- Shayatin among mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion.) (6:112) Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, ”A man came to the Prophet and said, `O Messenger of Allah! Sometimes I say things to myself that I would rather fall from the sky than say (aloud openly). ' The Prophet said,

(Allah is Most Great! Allah is Most Great! All praise is due to Allah Who sent his (Shaytan's) plot back as only a whisper.)'' Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith.