Mu'awwidhatayn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mu'awwadhitayn (المعوذتين), sometimes translated "suras of refuge", is an Arabic term referring to suras al-Falaq and an-Nas of the Qur'an, two consecutive short prayers which begin "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord..." They are said to have been revealed together, and to be Makkan suras. There is a Sunnah tradition of reading them over the sick or before sleeping.

Three hadith, supplied by Ibn Hanbal (Musnad: hadith nos. 21224-27), Bazzar, at-Tabarani, and others claim that Ibn Masud did not regard them as part of the Qur'an. These reports are denounced as lies by Ibn Hazm and Al-Nawawi, among others, while Ibn Hajar suggests that he was uncertain about their status for a time but later accepted them as genuine. Other hadith confirm that these were part of it.^{[citation needed]}