وَالضُّحَىٰ
CONSIDER the bright morning hours, (1)
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ
and the night when it grows still and dark. (2)
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ
Thy Sustainer has not forsaken thee, nor does He scorn thee: (3)
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنَ الْأُولَىٰ
for, indeed, the life to come will be better for thee than this earlier part [of thy life]! (4)
وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ
And, indeed, in time will thy Sustainer grant thee [what thy heart desires], and thou shalt be well-pleased. (5)
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَىٰ
Has He not found thee an orphan, and given thee shelter? (6)
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَىٰ
And found thee lost on thy way, and guided thee? (7)
وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ
And found thee in want, and given thee sufficiency? (8)
فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ
Therefore, the orphan shalt thou never wrong, (9)
وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ
and him that seeks [thy] help shalt thou never chide, (10)
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
and of thy Sustainer's blessings shalt thou [ever] speak. (11)
- Has He not found thee an orphan, and given thee shelter?3
- 3 Possibly an allusion to the fact that Muhammad was born a few months after his father's death, and that his mother died when he was only six years old. Apart from this, however, every human being is an "orphan" in one sense or another, inasmuch as everyone is "created in a lonely state" (cf. 6:94), and "will appear before Him on Resurrection Day in a lonely state" (19:95).
- Did He not find thee6181 an orphan and give thee shelter (and care)?6182
- 6181 Judge the future from the past. Allah has been good to you in your past experience: trust His goodness in the future also. Again, there is a particular and a general meaning. Three facts are taken from the Prophet's outer life by way of illustration. Metaphorically they also apply to us. And further, the outer facts are themselves types for the spiritual life. See notes below.
- 6182 (1) There is the case of the orphan, literally and figuratively. Our Prophet was himself an orphan. His father 'Abd Allah died young before the child was born, leaving no property. The Prophet's mother Aminah was in ailing health, and he was chiefly brought up by his nurse Halimah. His mother herself died when he was only six years old. His aged grandfather 'Abd al Muttalib treated him as his own son, but died two years later. Thereafter his uncle Abu Talib treated him as his own son. He was thus an orphan in more senses than one, and yet the love he received from each one pf these persons was greater than ordinary parental love. Each one of us is an orphan in some sense or another, and yet someone's love and shelter come to us by the grace of Allah. In the spiritual world there is no father or mother: our very first sustenance and shelter must come from the grace of Allah.
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Did He not find thee an orphan and give thee shelter (and care)?
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Did He not find thee an orphan and protect (thee)?
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?
— M. Habib Shakir -
Did He not find you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) an orphan and gave you a refuge?
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Found He not thee an orphan, so He sheltered thee?
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
Has He not found thee an orphan, and sheltered thee;
— Ayub Khan -
Did He not find thee an orphan and take thee under His care,
— Sher Ali -
Has He not found thee an orphan, and given thee shelter?
— Muhammad Asad -
Did He not find thee an orphan, and shelter thee?
— Arthur Arberry -
Did He not find you an orphan and then gave you shelter?{{6}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi