Al-Mu'awwidhatayn
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Al-Mu'awwidhatayn (Arabic: المعوذتين) is an Arabic expression referring to the last two surahs (chapters) of the Quran: 113 (Al-Falaq) and 114 (Al-Nas). These surahs have been grouped with each other in this manner both because of their consecutive appearance in the Quran and because of the stylistic resemblances between each other, both functioning as incantations that appeal to God's protection from evils or ailments. Some in the Islamic tradition have claimed that the two surahs were also revealed at the same time to Muhammad.
Some scholars have argued that the content and style of the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn is "wholly different" from the rest of that in the Quran. Relatedly, the placement of the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn in the Quran appears to have been disputed in the earliest years of Islam, as these two surahs, along with Surah Al-Fatihah (the first chapter of the Uthmanic codex used today), are absent from the codex of Ibn Mas'ud, one of Muhammad's companions.[1][2]
Text
[edit]Al-Falaq
[edit]- Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak.
- From the evil of what He created.
- And from the evil of the darkness as it gathers.
- And from the evil of those who practice sorcery.
- And from the evil of an envious when he envies.”
Al-Nas
[edit]- Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind.
- The King of mankind.
- The God of mankind.
- From the evil of the sneaky whisperer.
- Who whispers into the hearts of people.
- From among jinn and among people.”
Style and genre
[edit]One distinguishing stylistic feature of the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn, only also found in Q 1 and Q 109, is the use of the first-person human voice throughout the entire surah.[3] To the exclusion of Q 109, however, these three surahs are more closely grouped by that the first-person singular is structured as a prayer towards God.[4] Like Q 112, the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn also begin with the formula "Say!" (kul).[5] Only in the Mu'awwidhatayn, however, this is followed by the expression "I seek refuge in the Lord" (aʿūdhu birabbi), which also appears as a common near eastern formula outside of the Quran.[6] The surahs proceed with an enunciation of ailments from which God is appealed to for protection from.[7]
The genre of these surahs has been described as prophylactic incantations, meant to ward off evil, and to be recited in a private as opposed to a public domain.[8]
Structure
[edit]The placement of Al-Mu'awwidhatayn at the end of the Quran has raised questions as to why it appeared there. Historians have put forwards multiple explanations for why this occurred. For Theodor Noldeke and Friedrich Schwally, this occurred due to a superstition that this placement would afford protection to the reciter. Angelika Neuwirth, following and updating the theory of Noldeke and Schwally, argued that the surahs functioned as something akin to a colophon that closed the Quran and helped protect it from profanation.[9]
The placement of these two surahs at the end of the Quran fulfills a broader purpose alongside the placement of Al-Fatihah at the beginning of the Quran: Al-Fatihah formally opens up the Quranic text, whereas these two surahs close it with appeals to divine protection from harm.[10]
Historical context
[edit]Emran El-Badawi has argued that the content of Al-Mu'awwidhatayn belongs to a tradition of amulets in the form of the performance of apotropaic magic, or magic that is purposed to turn away or ward off evil influences. El-Badawi has observed, for example, that several early manuscripts containing these surahs are small papyrus amulets. El-Badawi compares these surahs to the Greek Amulet of Alexandria, which El-Badawi argues closely resembles their style and syntax, including in the purpose of calling upon God to protect the reciter from demons, spirits and sorcery, alongside several more specific syntactic similarities.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ El-Badawi 2024, p. 99–100.
- ^ Deroche 2022, p. 134.
- ^ Sinai 2023, p. 176.
- ^ Neuenkirchen 2019, p. 2331.
- ^ Neuenkirchen 2019, p. 2333.
- ^ Neuenkirchen 2019, p. 2333–2334.
- ^ Neuenkirchen 2019, p. 2335–2339.
- ^ Neuenkirchen 2019, p. 2333, 2343.
- ^ Neuenkirchen 2019, p. 2332.
- ^ El-Badawi 2024, p. 105.
- ^ El-Badawi 2024, p. 99–105.
Sources
[edit]- Deroche, Francois (2022). The One and the Many: The Early History of the Quran. Yale University Press.
- El-Badawi, Emran (2024). Female Divinity in the Qur’an In Conversation with the Bible and the Ancient Near East. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Neuenkirchen, Paul (2019). "Sura 113". In Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali; Dye, Guillaume (eds.). Le Coran des Historiens. Les éditions du Cerf. pp. 2329–2352.
- Sinai, Nicolai (2023). Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary. Princeton University Press.