Surah Al-Falaq: Meaning, Transliteration and Audio for Kids

Surah Al-Falaq (الفلق, “The Daybreak”) is the 113th surah of the Quran. It has five short verses, and in them Allah tells us to seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from four kinds of harm: the evil in what He created, the dark of night, those who blow on knots in magic, and the envier when he envies. It is recited with An-Nas every morning and evening, before sleep and after the prayers, and it is one of the first surahs a child learns.

Below is the whole surah verse by verse with a recitation to play, the Arabic, a transliteration and the meaning, then every word on its own, the sounds a beginner gets wrong, when it is recited, a week’s plan for teaching it to a child, and a free printable with no sign-up.

Surah Al-Falaq in Arabic, with audio and meaning

Press the button beside a verse to hear it. The reciter is Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil al-Husary in his teaching recitation, al-Muallim: slow and clear, one verse at a time, recorded for people learning to recite. Under each verse is a line you can read to your child.

1. قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ

   1 Qul aʿūdhu birabbil-falaq

   Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak

   For a child: Allah tells us to say this out loud. Al-falaq is the daybreak, when Allah brings the morning out of the dark night. We ask the One who does that to keep us safe.

2. مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

   2 Min sharri mā khalaq

   From the evil of that which He created

   For a child: Allah made everything. Some things can hurt us, like fire, a sharp knife or an animal that bites, and we ask Allah to keep us safe from all of them.

3. وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

   3 Wamin sharri ghāsiqin idhā waqab

   And from the evil of darkness when it settles

   For a child: Night is when lots of people feel scared. We ask Allah to look after us when it gets dark, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

4. وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ

   4 Wamin sharrin-naffāthāti fil-ʿuqad

   And from the evil of the blowers in knots

   For a child: Some people try to use magic to hurt others. Allah is stronger than any magic, and this verse asks Him to protect us from it.

5. وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

   5 Wamin sharri ḥāsidin idhā ḥasad

   And from the evil of an envier when he envies."

   For a child: Envy is wanting what someone else has and wishing they did not have it. We ask Allah to protect us from people’s envy, and we try never to feel it ourselves.

The transliteration helps you keep your place; take the sound from the recording. A line over a vowel (ā) means hold it longer, a dot under a letter (ḥ) marks a sound English does not have, and ʿ is the letter ‘ayn. Each line stops the way a reciter stops at the end of a verse.

Surah Al-Falaq word by word

Al-Falaq has 23 words. One of them, sharr, “evil” or “harm”, comes four times, once for each thing we ask protection from, so the surah is really one request and a list. Here is every word with its meaning.

The words are read here as they sound inside the verse. At the end of a verse the reciter stops, so the last vowel drops: al-falaqi becomes al-falaq.

The sounds to listen for

If nobody at home reads Arabic, these are the places where a child’s Al-Falaq usually goes wrong. You do not need to know the rules to hear them. Play the verse, then listen for these in your child’s version.

• The bounce at the end of every verse. All five verses end on one of the five qalqalah letters: al-falaq, khalaq, waqab, ʿuqad, ḥasad. When the reciter stops on them, the letter bounces with a small echo instead of stopping dead. It is the sound children most often flatten in this surah, and the reason it is a good first surah for hearing qalqalah at all.
• Qul and al-falaq. Both have q, said from the back of the throat, further back than an English k. “Kul” and “falak” are the usual mistakes.
• Gh and th. Ghāsiq (verse 3) starts with gh, close to a French r. An-naffāthāt (verse 4) has th as in “think”, not s or t.
• The doubled n in an-naffāthāti. The l of “al” merges into the n, and the n is doubled and held through the nose for a moment: an-nnnaffāthāti.
• The hidden n in min sharri (verse 2, and wa min sharri in verses 3 to 5). The n of min is not said clearly before sh; it is hidden in the nose and runs into the sh.
• Ḥāsid and ḥasad. The ḥ is a breathy h from the throat, like breathing on a cold window, not an English h.

Our Tajweed rules guide explains qalqalah and the others, with verses to hear.

When Muslims recite Surah Al-Falaq

Al-Falaq and An-Nas were revealed together, and the Prophet ﷺ said of them: “What wonderful verses have been sent down today” (Sahih Muslim 814a). Together they are called al-muʿawwidhatayn, the two surahs of seeking refuge. The hadith give these times to recite them:

• Morning and evening, three times each, with Al-Ikhlas: “three times in the morning and evening; they will serve you for every purpose” (Sunan Abi Dawud 5082, graded hasan by al-Albani).
• Before sleep. The Prophet ﷺ cupped his hands, blew into them after reciting Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas, and wiped over his body, starting with his head and face. “He used to do that three times.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017).
• After every prayer: he told ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir to recite them “after every prayer” (Sunan Abi Dawud 1523, graded sahih by al-Albani).
• When ill. When he was sick, “he would recite Mu’awwidhat (Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An- Nas) and then blow his breath over his body” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5016).

Bedtime is where most children learn it, straight after Al-Ikhlas and before An-Nas, hands cupped, three times.

How to teach Surah Al-Falaq to a child in a week

A child of four or five can learn Al-Falaq in about a week at ten minutes a day, and an older child faster. The plan below needs no Arabic from you, only the play buttons above.

1. Day 1: just listen. Play all five verses three times at bedtime. Do not ask your child to say anything yet.
2. Day 2: verses 1 and 2. Play verse 1, let your child say it back, and repeat until it sounds like the recording, bounce at the end included. Then verse 2.
3. Day 3: verse 3. Start with yesterday’s two. Verses 3, 4 and 5 all begin with wa min sharri, “and from the evil of”; teach that opening once and only the ending is new.
4. Day 4: verse 4. Listen for the th of an-naffāthāti and the doubled n.
5. Day 5: verse 5, then the whole surah from the start, with you saying the first word of each verse as a prompt.
6. Day 6: the pause test. Stop your child after any verse and ask for the next one cold. Verses 3 to 5 start the same way, so this is where children skip one; if they do, go back to the endings.
7. Day 7: make it theirs. Recite it at bedtime between Al-Ikhlas and An-Nas, hands cupped, three times. From now on that is where it gets revised.

Our short surahs to memorize page puts Al-Falaq in order with the other eighteen short surahs, and the free short surahs tracker lets your child tick it off.

Al-Falaq and An-Nas: what is the difference?

The two are learnt together and are easy to mix up. Al-Falaq asks for protection from harm that comes from outside: things in creation, the night, magic, envy. Surah An-Nas asks for protection from the whisper that comes from inside. Commentators point out that Al-Falaq names Allah once and lists four harms, while An-Nas names Allah three ways and asks protection from one.

Free Surah Al-Falaq chart and printable (PDF)

The chart has all five verses in Arabic with the transliteration and the meaning, for the fridge or the wall by your child’s bed. The Surah Al-Falaq printable (PDF, 2 pages) adds the word by word table, the sounds to listen for and the times to recite it. No email and no sign-up.

When nobody at home reads Arabic

This site is built for families where nobody at home reads Arabic, and Al-Falaq is one of the surahs such a family can teach well on its own, because it is learnt by ear and the recording does the reciting. Where a parent cannot help is in hearing small mistakes: a flat stop where the letter should bounce, a k for a q, an s for a th. A teacher catches those in the first lesson, before they set. Our tutors teach the short surahs to children whose parents do not read Arabic, and explain everything in English. See Quran lessons for kids; the first lesson is free. If paid lessons are out of reach, our page of free Quran classes online says which ones put a teacher on the other end.

Surah Al-Falaq: what people ask

What is Surah Al-Falaq in English?

Al-Falaq means “the daybreak” or “the dawn”. In English the surah says: Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of what He created, from the evil of darkness when it settles, from the evil of those who blow on knots, and from the evil of an envier when he envies.

What is Surah Al-Falaq used for?

It is a prayer for protection. A Muslim recites it to ask Allah for safety from harm in His creation, from the night, from magic and from envy. It is recited in the morning and evening, before sleep, after the prayers and over someone who is ill.

How do you recite Surah Al-Falaq?

Begin with a’udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim and bismillah, then recite the five verses, stopping at the end of each. Let the last letter of every verse bounce, because each one is a qalqalah letter. The recordings above give the pace to copy.

Why is Surah Al-Falaq so powerful?

The Prophet ﷺ said Al-Falaq and An-Nas were verses whose like had never been seen, and he recited them every night before sleep and when he was ill. Their strength is that they hand every fear to Allah: they name the harms a person worries about and ask the Lord of all of them for protection.

What does Surah Al-Falaq teach us?

That safety comes from Allah, not from charms or luck. The One who brings daylight out of the night can protect you from the dark, from magic and from other people’s envy, and the right response to fear is to ask Him.

Where is Surah Al-Falaq in the Quran?

It is the 113th surah, on the last page of the Quran, in the 30th juz (Juz ‘Amma). It comes straight before An-Nas, the last surah, and after Al-Ikhlas.

More to learn together

• Surah An-Nas: the surah recited with Al-Falaq, verse by verse with audio.
• Short surahs to memorize: all nineteen short surahs in order, verse by verse with audio.
• Daily duas for kids: the du’as a child learns first, from waking up to going to sleep.
• Islamic phrases: a’udhu billah and the other phrases a Muslim child hears every day.
• Free printables: more charts and worksheets for Muslim children.