๏ Say, “I seek refuge with the Lord of the people, (1) sovereign of the people, (2) a god of the people. (3) Against the evil of the whisperer – al-waswās, the distant – al-khanās! (4) The one who whispers in the chests of the people; (5) he is from the concealed and he is from the people.” (6) ๏

— _al-nās_⋆114/1-6

The term – al-nās – the people, which is repeated several times here, is contrasted against two words: al-waswās – the whisperer, and al-khanās – the distant.

The people oppose the whispering, the covert, duplicitous conduct, that which entices people by appealing to their fears and base desires.

The one who whispers is remote, distant – khanās – from God.

In this chapter, al-nās are not just people, they are people of intimacy. Intimate with the dīn; they speak and act with transparency and honesty, neither succumbing to nor engaging in whispering. They are not distant or remote.

This chapter is a request to God from the believer to protect the intimacy of al-nās.

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