Surah Al-Falaq

The name. Al-Falaq means "The Daybreak," from its opening instruction to say, I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak (113:1), naming Allah by an attribute tied to light emerging from darkness at the very start of a surah about seeking protection from harm. It is Meccan, and together with the surah after it forms a pair known as al-mu'awwidhatan, "the two surahs of refuge."

What it is known for. The surah is known for the list of harms it asks refuge from — the evil of what He created, the evil of darkness when it settles, the evil of those who blow on knots, and the evil of an envier when he envies (113:2-5) — a sequence moving from the broadest possible category, everything created, down to two specific and long-recognized sources of harm, malicious sorcery and envy. It is customarily recited in the morning and evening remembrances and before sleep, together with Al-Ikhlas and An-Nas, as part of the same short set of daily protective recitation.

Reading it. At 5 ayahs it is one of the shortest surahs, read in under a minute. It is rarely read on its own in daily practice, since it is paired so consistently with An-Nas immediately after it that many readers learn the two together from the start; a first-time reader should notice that this surah asks refuge from harm in the world around a person, while the surah that follows it turns to harm from within.