Al-Mu'awwidhatayn

Al-Mu'awwidhatayn (Arabic: المعوذتين), an Arabic expression meaning "The Two Protectors" or "The Two Protective Incantations",^[1] refers to the final two surahs (chapters) of the Quran: 113 (Al-Falaq) and 114 (Al-Nas). They are called by this name because of their use of the term ʿādhā (meaning "protection" or "refuge") in a phrase that occurs in both surahs: ʿqul aʿūdhu bi-rabbi al- ... min ... ("Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of ... from/against ... ").^[2] Likewise, the two surahs appear consecutively in the Qur'an, are both very short, and bear additional stylistic resemblances with one another, broadly functioning as incantations that appeal to God's protection from evils or ailments. Some in the Islamic tradition have claimed that the two surahs were also revealed at the same time to Muhammad.

Some scholars have argued that the content and style of the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn is "wholly different" from the rest of that in the Quran. Relatedly, the placement of the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn in the Quran appears to have been disputed in the earliest years of Islam, as these two surahs, along with Surah Al-Fatihah (the first chapter of the Uthmanic codex used today), are absent from the codex of Ibn Mas'ud, one of Muhammad's companions.^[3][4] Their inclusion may have reflected the mission of the Uthmanic committee to a fully canonical text.^[5]