Evil Forces I Holy Qur'an Chapter 113   We wish and pray for all our viewers a blissful and prosperous life, with dignified provisions and all good things in this world. May the peace and blessings of The One and The Only GOD be on all of us! May the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe shower HIS bounties on all HIS creatures on this earth! With these noble sentiments in our heart we greet all our viewers with: Asalamoalekum Wa Rehmatullahi Wa Barakatohu.   Today we will study the chapter 113 that is the second last chapter of the Holy Qur’an, which is the Last Revelation from the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Its implications are timeless and contain guidance not for a particular group or community, but all human beings on this earth. As the Qur’an is the Revelation from ALMIGHTY GOD who is the Creator and Sustainer of all living and non-living beings, its appeal will be to all the men of all the time.   It is sure that one who seeks refuge with the LORD of the universe; no power in the universe can do any harm to him. And the one who invokes the wrath of GOD, he is certainly bound to doom.         It is not at all possible to translate the Glorious Qur’an in any language spoken in the world, as these verses come from the Supreme GOD, the Originator and the Sustainer of all. The speech of man can never be a match for the words of the GOD. And so here is only an attempt to be close to the contents and spirit of the original verses and find out the guidance for our day-to-day affairs in the world. May GOD ALMIGHTY help us in our efforts! Amen!   “Say: I seek refuge with the Sustainer of the rising dawn. From the evils of all HIS creations. And from the evil of the extreme darkness whenever it overspreads. And from the evil of all human beings bent on occult endeavors, and from the evil of the envious when he envies.”   This chapter reminds us that a man is perpetually surrounded by many other creatures of his LORD. Some of them are supportive to him while many others may be harmful to him. And so a man should be aware of these hidden enemies that may attack him if found off guard. Now we need to discover what precautions a man must take in order to save himself from evil designs of these hostile forces. What preventive measure he must take to repulse their sudden attack? Where can he find a safe haven when all external fortifications prove insufficient against the powerful enemy? What should be his own strategy to ward off the evil forces?   Should he lose courage or be disheartened? Should he beat a disgraceful retreat if the satanic forces struck? Should he allow the evil spirit to weaken his conviction? Should he allow the enemy to overpower himself?   First of all, a true believer must remain steadfast in the event of any calamity, any trouble, any mischief or any misfortune. He should face the challenges with courage and conviction. Defense must always be planned so as to match the might of the attackers or the nature and intensity of the attack. The embankment of sand dunes can never be a defense against the flooding water.   So what should be our defense mechanism against the evil forces when they are out to harm us? How strong and dependable should be our protector? Whether the One we are relying on, is capable of providing us a foolproof security? Does HE have control over the negative forces? Considering all these aspects, whom should we trust upon? The frail and fragile human or the Omnipotent, ALMIGHTY GOD!!!   Is there any fortification safer than the refuge of our LORD? Who is better to bank upon? The one who himself is a feeble creature, vulnerable to attack or the One Who is the Creator and Master of all creatures? Undoubtedly the protection of our LORD is invincible. Nothing in the world can do any harm to those who seek the shelter of their LORD. For, HE is the Controller of all forces. The Domain of HIS Kingdom is beyond Heaven and Earth. All HIS creatures, living or non-living, are bound by HIS law. No one can get out of HIS grip and reach. There is no one to challenge HIS Might, as HE is the Lone Master of the entire Universe.   HE declares in HIS Book in verse11/56:     “….there is no creature which The Master holds by its forelock….”   Thus no creature, big or small, can defy HIS command, nor can they escape out of HIS Kingdom. And so there is a challenge in verse 55/33.   “O assembly of humans and (invisible beings like) Jinn’s! If you (think that you) can pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, try to pass! You cannot pass, however power you may have!”   Verily it is GOD who has created all that we see in this world, and that we cannot see due to our limited vision. Whatever power or strength a creature possesses is granted by the Creator Alone. There is no other door to knock at if the GOD pulls back HIS favors.   So why should we bother about our safety? Once we find the refuge of such a Mighty and Powerful GOD, can any one cause any damage to us? Can any jinn or human play mischief on us? But in order to be in the shelter of the Mighty GOD, one needs to prove himself worthy of HIS protection. Indeed those who are true to their conviction, those who obey the commands of their LORD, in letter and spirit, those who fear nothing in the world but the displeasure of their LORD. They remain firm in the midst of unfavorable circumstances. They have strong characters. They speak few words, but perform great deeds. Their action reflects their conviction. There is no contradiction in their words and deeds. They are polite and courteous. They are humble when they meet you. They are generous when they treat you. They have the purity of mind, body and soul. They are the people who prove themselves worthy of their LORD’s security.     “Say: I seek refuge with the Sustainer of the rising dawn.”   HE is the LORD of the Horizon; HE is the LORD of the East, LORD of the West. HE is the LORD of the Heavens and Earth. HE is the One Who causes the creation. HE is the cleaver of the seed-grain and the date-stone. HE is the One Who breaks up small seeds and brings forth a bumper crop for us. HE can bring out the visible from the invisible. He breaks the day through the darkness of night. HE separates the night from the day. It is easy for HIM to remove the darkness of ignorance, immorality, and the apostasy and spread the light, the divine light of guidance, which will remove the darkness of superstitious unscientific beliefs.   HE HIMself describes HIS attributes in verse 73/9:     “HE is The Only LORD of the east as well as the west: There is no GOD except HIM Alone: Therefore take HIM as disposer of your all the affairs, Make HIM trustee of all your matters.”   When we accept His LORDliness in all counts, when we trust Him fully, when we are conscious of all His Powers, it would definitely brighten the prospects of our life and personality. It would give stability to our thoughts and approach. It would uplift our moral status and broaden our vision. And it all would give us inner strength.   It would also increase our confidence and heighten our determination. It would make us a man of strong character. Once we are armed with so many spiritual armaments, what harm can any opponent do to us?   Now our prayer continues:   “From the evils of all HIS creations.”   We know that every creature possesses conflicting qualities, good and bad. Sometimes the evil instincts dominate backed by temptation, emotion, excitement or circumstances. Sometimes the good dominates all other considerations. Similarly sometimes a creature faces good and bad forces mutually. And all such conditions are the test.   Situations are never the same. It keeps changing from good to bad, from bad to worse. And they are meant to test the human beings. As our LORD says in verse 21/35.     “…..WE test you O mankind, through the bad phase and good events of life by way of trial: and unto US you O mankind, all must return.”   The human life is not static. It is dynamic. It experiences many ups and downs, many evens and many odds. We experience the moments of joy as well as the pangs of sorrow. Many negative developments culminate into positive achievements. Sometimes the circumstances are in our favor, sometimes every thing goes wrong.   This is nothing but a test from our LORD. But what does GOD expect from a man of morale? That he remains firm and steadfast whatever the odds he faces. A man of high moral, courage and conviction reacts positively to such situations. When surrounded by the inimical forces, who does he call for help? Does he turns to the ALMIGHTY GOD for his personal safety or seeks the protection of false and fictitious deities who are as helpless as any other creature in the world.   Is there any protection better than the shelter of GOD, the ALMIGHTY, the LORD of the Universe, the Creator of the Heaven and Earth? HE is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, the Most Benevolent the Oft Forgiving.   HE has the power to turn even the worst situation in your favor. HE can turn the arid land into evergreen meadows. HE can shower his blessings even in hopeless situation. HE can convert the planning of our opponent in our Favor.   The evil temptation, whether they are from the temptation of our inner self, or from our sinning tendencies, the solution lies only in seeking the refuge of Our LORD. And if these evil forces are external, there remains only one refuge, and that is the refuge of The LORD of all that exist in the heaven, in the earth and in the space. Next verse says:   “And from the evil of the extreme darkness whenever it overspreads.”   To save ourselves from the darkness of ignorance and sedition, the darkness of mischief and mistrust, the darkness of immoral urges, the darkness of evil temptation, the darkness of indifferent attitude to the available guidance, the darkness of depending on others rather than the ALMIGHTY GOD, the darkness of deviation of mind, body and vision, to dispel all these darkness and the troubles caused by these darkness, from the fear of spread of these dark forces, from the fear of their activation, from the fear of all these forces and their counter productive forces, there is only one refuge, the refuge of our LORD, the refuge of the LORD of the Universe.   “And from the evil of all human beings bent on occult endeavors,”   All those activities aimed at harming the prospects of any person who is leading a comfortable life or causing damage to his mental or physical faculties, or if it is a despicable act of black magic to cast a spell on some person in order to harm him physically, emotionally or mentally or affect his prospects, or to cause the downfall of those who are better off, or to destroy some one out of envy, jealousy or personal enmity, to save ourselves from all such foul activities, devious tendencies and evil intentions of the opponents, where can we find a better place than the refuge of our LORD who is the Master of the Universe, the Benevolent Protector!!!!     “And from the evil of the envious when he envies.”   The special moments or occasions when a creature is jealous of another creature and attempts to nullify all his positive steps to bear negative results, how can the other be secure from these evil temptations? Nothing else but the shelter of GOD, the LORD of the Worlds is the safe abode.   Now a person with a solid character, under the security of his LORD will not adopt a revengeful attitude, but treat his rival, tenderly and compassionately. Patience, piety, trust and consciousness of closeness to GOD will be his safety devices in his defense. A man with good moral character would try to neutralize the feeling of envy and jealousy by his courteous behavior and soft speech. In the refuge of his LORD, even in worst circumstances, he would strive to replace the bad with the good with the sole intention of seeking the pleasure of his LORD. This high moral standard that goes in making the personality of every believer as is desired by ALMIGHTY GOD.   Finally let us sum up the message that we derive from this Surah.   1 In case of any attack by evil forces. 2 Under the cover of total darkness. 3 Even if someone is conjuring evil power. 4 When the opponent is bursting with jealousy and hatred 5 When the devil is causing apprehension 6 Whether they are visible or invisible 7 Even if some one is scheming against us 8 Even if the adversary is laying a trap 9 Even if someone is casting an evil eye From all evil forces, from all the mischief, from all those actions, feeling and emotions which may cause setback to us, to be secure from these damaging forces, the refuge of the LORD of the horizon, the Master of all humans, the Sustainer of the Universe, and the Benevolent and Protector of all creatures is most trustworthy, dependable, reliable, solid and sufficient.   The LORD, who cleaves the darkness of falsehood, and brings forth light of guidance, the LORD who brings forth the feeling of piety and righteousness from the barren land of ego, selfishness, aggression and antagonism, if one seeks the shelter of his LORD with unflinching belief, reliance, trust, conviction, no action and no power on the surface of this earth, or of the space can cause any damage to him.   We pray to GOD ALMIGHTY to grant us the inner strength to develop this attitude in the deep inside of our mind and soul and radiate it in our day to day practical life. And so we surrender ourselves completely to the LORD of the Horizon, the LORD of the Mankind against all evil forces.