In today’s Jumuah Special you’ll learn how to be productive through Surah Al-Falaq!

Uqbah ibn Amr Al-Juhani reported: The Prophet, salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Allah has revealed verses the like of which you have never seen: Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the people (114:1) and: Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak.” (113:1) [At-Tirmidhi]

Why do you think Allah ‘azza wajal mentions the shaytan, his history, mission and followers in the Quran so much? That’s right, to give us knowledge so we are prepared and learn how to fight back! Knowing your enemy is extremely important to succeed in life and knowing the ways how you can protect yourself is therefore directly linked to your productivity.
Surah Al-Falaq, the Daybreak, teaches us an excellent way to protect ourselves. But there is more! Let’s find out how living by this beautiful surah can make you more productive!

Build Surah Al-Falaq into Your Routine

It is the sunnah of the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to recite the last three surahs once after every salah and thrice after fajr and maghrib. Aishah radiyallahu ‘anha reported that before sleeping, the Prophet used to blow into his hands, recited the last three surahs and then wipe with his hands over his body [Al-Bukharee and Muslim]

Who amongst us wants to get protection? Everyone! So first of all, we need to make it a habit to recite these surahs regularly
So your first action point is: carefully make sure you recite Surah Al-Falaq (and Surah Al-Ikhlaas and Surah An-Naas) at above mentioned times. . By doing so you get two benefits: you get protection and you receive the reward of following the sunnah!

8 Productivity Lessons From Surah Al-Falaq

Ayah 1: Say (qul)  I seek refuge (a’oodhu)  in (the) Lord (birabbi) of the daybreak (al-falaq)

1.      Seek your safety with Allah. One of the most unproductive ways of dealing with fear, jealousy, attacks from people and illnesses is by seeking protection in other things than Allah. Never think people or objects can protect you. Realize first and foremost that all the danger and evil around you, day and night, can only be averted by Allah and He uses other people and things to give you protection. So ask Him for protection only. Never fear anything but Him and use the ways of protection He taught you.

2. Study the Beautiful Name of Allah: Rabb. He is the One Who takes care of everything and helps it grow and He brings out the day from the darkness of the night. Symbolically darkness can mean your problems, trials and stress and the daybreak your rescue. Know that Allah is your Rabb, He was the only One Who could nourish and protect you when you were in the womb and He is still the only One who can nourish and protect you.

3.Reflect on the Sun. He is the Rabb of the daybreak. Reflect on and study about the sun, the source of daylight, its distance from the earth and you will realize the greatness of the Lord of the daybreak!

4. Convey. Allah says ‘Say’, convey this important surah to others and teach others how to use it for protection.

Ayah 2 and 3: From (min) (the)evil (sharri)  of that which (maa) He created (khalaqa) and from the evil (wa min sharri)  (of) darkness (ghaasiqin) when (idhaa)  it becomes intense (waqab)

5. Don’t spend your free time with the devil. At night the time for work is over and people are relatively free. That’s exactly the time when your mind easily becomes corrupted by shaytan; an empty man’s brain is the devil’s workshop. Most of the indecent tv programs, parties and movies happen when? At night. When you are finished with work or the children are asleep it is very easy to fall into time waste. You don’t always have to be busy but a productive Muslim will also spend their ‘free’ time with acts that are not displeasing to Allah. You can watch a lecture, talk to a relative with the intention to strengthen the ties of kinship or relax with your spouse, which is even classified as rewarding! Remember it is all about intention.

6. Don’t stay awake until late for no reason. Staying awake late is also evil as it brings you three harms. You might miss fajr, it is harmful for your health and you lose the productivity blessings which are put in morning work. Allah created the night for us to rest and one of the main causes of depression is staying awake at night, it’s a big productivity killer!

Ayah 4 and 5: And from (the) evil (wa min sharri) (of) those who blow (naffathaati)  in the knots (fee al ‘uqad)  and from the evil (wa min sharri)  (of) the envier (haasidin)  when (idhaa)  he envies (hasada).

7. The best cure for magic and other evils. The Prophet said the evil eye is real. Magic is real. Many Muslims are feeling tired, ill, lazy and completely unproductive because they might suffer from magic or the evil eye. Many people are even scared to visit certain relatives because of it. This surah is the best cure for all these problems. Recite it with conviction to protect yourself.  Teach your children from young to recite it before they go to sleep so it becomes a habit.

8. Ask protection against jealousy of others and yourself! A jealous person will either try to destroy your reputation, work, property or hurt you. Pray to Allah that you are never jealous yourself of anyone and that He protects you from those who are jealous of us. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Beware of envy because envy consumes (destroys) vthe virtues just as the fire consumes the firewood [Abu Dawud]. An extra tip here is to be careful what you share on social media of your private life; your pictures of happy days with family, a new car or new clothes. Be humble with the blessings Allah gave to you. And when you do see the blessings of others ask Allah to give them to you too, but without being jealous. That way you will feel much more peaceful inside in these times of people competing in belongings, money, careers etc!

[A selection of these tips can be found in https://understandquran.com/courses/short-course-1.html]

Homework

• Learn every word of this precious surah [Surah 113].
• Study Surah Al-Falaq word for word with Dr Abdulazeez Abdurraheem in 50% of Words [ click here:https://understandquran.com/courses/short-course-1.html]Praying you will benefit,

Khawlah bint Yahya ~ United Kingdom

THE AYAH JOURNAL wants to inspire you to open the Qur’an every day, pick one ayah, and apply it to your own life by making acting on the ayah your mission for the day. Let’s bring back the message of the Qur’an to our daily lives! Check www.ayahjournal.com.