1قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ
113|1|Say, “I take refuge with the Lord of Daybreak.
 
The word al-falq means the opening or crack whereas the word al-falaq (dawn, daybreak) is an adjective in the meaning of an object i.e. cleavage in the meaning of something which breaks through or cleaves.  This is usually how the daybreak is described because it cuts or cleaves through the darkness. This leads us to the meaning behind the expression “I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn” because He (Allah) makes the dawn emerge from the darkness. Thus, the meaning is: I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn – He who causes the dawn to break through the darkness. And the reason of this expression is to seek refuge from evil that hides the good and conceals what is manifest.
 
2مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
113|2|From the evil of what is created.
 
The Evil is not from God, but from the created things and also from doubts and assumptions. The whole surah is about taking refugee in God, the lord of the dawn, the dawn being that which destroys the night. The night being that which you cant see or know what is happening, so you become fearful.
 
3وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ
113|3|And from the evil of the darkness as it gathers.
 

In as-Sahih, it is mentioned that word al-ghassak (dusk) means the early part of the evening (just before sunset) and the night or darkness becomes apparent when the twilight has disappeared or ended. Thus, the meaning “from the evil of the utterly dark night when it comes” is appropriate.

The relationship between evil and night is established because darkness helps or assists the evil doer in his evil deeds and covers him. Therefore, there is more evil (carried out) at night rather than during day time and one also becomes more vulnerable to evil at night than during day time. It was said that what is meant by darkness (in the verse) is every evil doer who strikes by performing evil.

In this context, mentioning the evil of the night after the evil of what He has created, in the manner of mentioning the specific after the general, is for the purpose of emphasis. Allah (s.w.t) has drawn our close attention to three types of evil in this chapter – the evil of the night, the evil of the witchcrafts and the evil of the envious – because people are often heedless or inattentive to these things.

 
4وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ
113|4|And from the evil of those who blow on knots.
 

This refers to the sorceresses and witches who bewitch (others) by blowing into the knots. The Arabic wording is such that the “blowers” is in the feminine plural and the “knots” also in plural. The women have been specifically mentioned here because they seem to favour witchcraft (and magic) more than men. This affirms the impact of witchcraft in general just like Allah has said in the story of Harut and Marut:

Even then men learned from these two (Harut and Marut), magic by which they might cause a separation between a man and his wife; and they cannot hurt with it anyone except with Allah’s permission… (2:102)

 
5وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ
113|5|And from the evil of an envious when he envies.”