Sūrat al-Falaq and Sūrat an-Nās
Observations on the structural pairing between Sūrat al-Falaq and Sūrat an-Nās
If one were to recite the Quran from start to finish, one would conclude with two suwar which look to form a pair. Both of these suwar are prayers, so that just as the Quran began with a prayer in Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, it ends with prayers. These two suwar are known collectively as al-Mu'awwidhatān (The Two Prayers of Refuge).
The first of these, Sūrat al-Falaq (Daybreak), is a prayer of refuge from human and supernatural agents who may seek to externally harm a person and his commitment to Allah ﷻ.
Sūrat an-Nās (Mankind), is a prayer of refuge from human and supernatural agents who may seek to lead a person away from the Straight Path by casting inside of his heart doubts or messages, referred to as “whispers,” and then retreating. Together, the two suwar look like so:
As can be seen above, each consists of two parts, the first half beginning with “Say: ‘I take refuge in the Master of…’” and the second half beginning with “From the evil of…” Moreover, the two suwar parallel each other. The first sūrah lists one attribute of Allah ﷻ and three threats, while the second lists three attributes of Allah ﷻ, and one threat.
The three threats in al-Falaq begin with a general description (“that which you created”) and then gives three specific examples. In a similar vein, an-Nās states the one threat (“the whisperer”) and then gives three specific descriptions of that threat. This relationship, which has been outlined by the famous exegete al-Rāzī, can be summarized as shown below.1
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
Farrin, Struture and Qur’anic Interpretation, 24, citing Fakhr ad-Deen ar-Raazi, Mafaateeḥ al-Ghayb, ed. ‘Imad al-Baaroodee (Cairo: al-Maktaba al-Tawfeeqiyya, 2003), 16:200.