وَوَجَدَكَ عائِلًا فَأَغنىٰ

Did He not know you to be conscious of your need, and enriched you?

EXEGESIS

The word ʿāʾilan goes back to two roots: ʿayala and ʿawala. ʿAyala is to become in the care or in need of the care of another, while ʿawala is to take another into one’s care.^{‎[1]Tahqiq, 8/280.}

EXPOSITION

Naturally, one can be enriched through a number of different means at once. God made it such that this was very much the case for the Prophet. In this spirit, we enumerate a number of different causes that contributed to the Prophet’s God-given affluence.

Before God enriched His Messenger with the immense wealth of Lady Khadijah, He enriched and fulfilled him with Lady Khadijah herself, whom the Prophet deeply loved and respected. Undoubtedly, the companionship of Lady Khadijah was one of the greatest gifts through which God rendered His Messenger truly rich. Exegetes agree that Lady Khadijah had a massive contribution to the Messenger’s wealth, a wealth entirely spent in the righting of wrongs and the removal of the suffering from the afflicted.

Another prominent means of wealth that exegetes identify for the Prophet are the spoils of war gained during the Muslims’ defensive battles.^{‎[2]Zubdah, 7/453; Alusi, 15/382.} Some other exegetes also compliment this by identifying Abū Ṭālib’s staunch protection^{‎[3]Kashif, 7/579.} as well as the devout support of the Anṣār^{‎[4]Gharaib, 6/518.} as additional, priceless assets to the Messenger of God.

Other exegetes list another way that God has enriched His Messenger, namely through the quality of contentment (qanāʿah).^{‎[5]Tabrisi, 10/767; Qutb, 6/3927.} Indeed, knowing his keen desire to embrace and actualise all of the highest of noble traits, God empowered the Prophet to achieve that fully and said: And indeed you possess a great character (68:4).

From the findings and observations of the exegetes, we have seen how these verses told of things that happened, others that were taking place, and others to come. The verses spoke of realities the people of Quraysh had seen with their own eyes and other realities that lived in the realm of the unseen or the future. The verses reminded of important realities about the Prophet that took place but were forgotten or ignored and other realities that would manifest themselves as total surprises.

To the Prophet it is a profound message with levels of meaning that are beyond our comprehension. It gives glad tidings of the fulfillment of his deepest aspirations to attain proximity to the one true God and to bring the way of divine felicity to all people. It also calls him to face the onslaught of those who show enmity to him with patience and wisdom, for they will surely be overcome. To the Prophet’s followers it is a message that says to them what was said to the Messenger to the degree that they follow his footsteps.

And finally to those who choose to show enmity to the Messenger of God it is a genuine invitation to change their mind and, as importantly, to change their perspective. And they said: ‘Why was not this Quran sent down to some great man from the two cities?’ (43:31). They might be entertaining the view that the Messenger of God is but a poor, misguided orphan whose fabrications can have no impact on the world. These verses dexterously take these very accusations and reframe them to the favour of the Messenger. The one malevolently called ‘the orphan of Abū Ṭālib’ by some^{‎[6]Manaqib, 1/47; Amali.S, 691; Kafi, 8/155.} has been singled out by God to bring salvation to every orphan. The one they call misguided has found all of his guidance from the All-Knowing and will become the prime teacher of humankind. The one they see as poor has found his wealth with the owner of the heavens and the earth and will lead and ultimately win the war against poverty in all its forms.^{‎[7]Maturidi, 10/559-560.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. In a narration from Zurārah, from either Imam al-Bāqir (a) or Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), he says: ‘Alam yajidka yatīman fa-āwā means: did He not know you to be unique so He made all people seek shelter in you? Wa wajadaka ḍāllan fa-hadā means: did He not know you to be lost [by people] so He guided to you people that did not know you before? Wa wajadaka ʿāʾilan fa-aghnā means: did He not know you to be supporting many factions of people so He enriched them through your knowledge?’^{‎[8]Qummi, 2/427.}
2. During a gathering in the presence of Maʾmūn, the Abbasid caliph, in a conversation about the infallibility of the prophets, Imam al-Riḍā (a) is reported to have said: ‘God, the all-mighty, the majestic, has said to His Prophet (s): alam yajidka yatīman fa-āwā, which means: did He not know you to be apart from others so He made all people seek shelter in you? Wa wajadaka ḍāllan, which means: did He not know you to be unknown to your people [or astray in their eyes], fa-hadā, which means: so He guided them to come to know you? And wa wajadaka ʿāʾilan fa-aghnā, which means: He enriched you by rendering your prayers answered.’^{‎[9]Uyun, 1/15-159.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

On the question of why God enumerates His blessings upon the Prophet, exegetes have said a number of points. First, God shows that just as He has cared for the Prophet in the past, He will continue to care for him in the future.^{‎[10]Zubdah, 7/454.} Second, God proves that He has never forsaken the Prophet.^{‎[11]Sabzawari, 7/382.} Third, God bestows an additional blessing upon the Prophet by reminding him about these gifts to make him feel at peace^{‎[12]Qutb, 6/3927.} and to invite him to show further gratitude and thereby merit even more blessings.^{‎[13]Tibyan, 10/370.} At face value, these explanations seem logical. However, to regard these explanations as sole, primary, or even important aspects of the essence of verses 6-8 is problematic. It is difficult to accept that the Prophet needed to be reminded about cornerstone blessings in his life, especially that he was a master practitioner of gratitude (shukr) (31:12, 6:53). Hence, upon a deeper look, these explanations are not befitting of the character of the Prophet. An alternative view has been presented earlier.

In explaining the meaning of verse 7, some people such as Suddī and Kalbī have said that the Prophet was on the religion of his people for forty years.^{‎[14]Gharaib, 6/517.} Others have accepted this view but reinterpreted it to mean that the Prophet was on whatever was left of the religion of Prophet Ishmael (a).^{‎[15]Ibn al-Jawzi, 4/70-71.} While this view is firmly refused by the vast majority of exegetes, some exegetes tackle the question of what is meant by ḍāllan in verse 7 in ways that might invoke the reader to raise other questions. Namely, if the Prophet was not a polytheist before his appointment to deliver the message then what religion did he adhere to? Further, to explain what is really meant by verse 7, exegetes often cited the verse that says, Thus have We revealed to you the spirit of Our dispensation. You did not know what the book is, nor what is faith (42:52).^{‎[16]28:86 evokes similar points.} Do these verses mean that the Prophet was not of faith before his divine appointment? Do these verses mean that in his earlier years the Prophet did not know he would be chosen to deliver the message? Was the Prophet receiving explicit communications from the world of the unseen before his appointment as a prophet?

Subḥānī addresses these questions and others in thorough detail.^{‎[17]Mafahim, 5/297.} First, the Prophet was born into a household that was in the shade of monotheism. He was reared and surrounded by staunch members of the Abrahamic faith. Second, the Prophet was under the special care and attention of the greatest of the angels of God since his earliest childhood. Third, the Prophet was a believer in God, whom he worshipped alone without associates and to whom he sought proximity through acts of devotion. The Prophet remained firmly aloof from committing any disobedience or sin. Finally, not only was the Prophet aware that he was to be the last messenger and the Seal of the Prophets, but so were many learned men of the Jews and the Christians who recognised this through a number of testimonies in Mecca, Yathrib, Basra, and Shām.^{‎[18]Mafahim, 5/309.}

Exegetes have listed some additional or specific ways in which the Prophet received guidance from God, including: 1. The way to deliver the guidance of Islam to humankind.^{‎[19]Kashif, 7/579.} 2. The decision to perform the migration (hijrah), a demarcating point in Islam.^{‎[20]Razi, 31/198.} 3. The decision to turn to the Kaaba as the qibla, the direction of prayer in Islam.^{‎[21]Qurtubi, 21/97.} 5. The affairs of this world.^{‎[22]Gharaib, 6/517.} 6. The path to ultimate human perfection.^{‎[23]Gunabadi, 4/261.} 7. The station of knowing God.^{‎[24]Bursawi, 10/458.} 8. The way forward to the realm of God’s Throne during the Night of Ascension, when the angel Gabriel could no longer show the way.^{‎[25]Qurtubi, 21/98.} 9. The knowledge of the extent of God’s love for the Prophet.^{‎[26]Alusi, 15/382.} All of these can be accepted as examples of God’s guidance to His Prophet.

A number of exegetes have connected verse 7 to a number of narrations that report incidents where the Prophet as a child was lost and found by the grace of God.^{‎[27]Tabrisi, 10/766.} Given the context of the surah and assuming some or all of these narrations hold true, they may qualify as minor manifestations of verse 7. There is, however, another incident in the history of the Quraysh that speaks a lot more to verse 7. This is the incident in which the Prophet resolved a serious conflict around who would have the honour of placing the Black Stone during a pre-Islamic reconstruction of the Kaaba.^{‎[28]Subhani.M, 1/283-284.} Whilst the dispute was escalating into dangerous scales, the Prophet was nowhere to be seen, unperceived, or ḍāll. Finally, it was God’s decree that he would come into sight and everyone rushed to him for arbitration. He asked for a piece of cloth and placed the Black Stone upon it himself. He then asked the contending chiefs to each hold one corner of the cloth and bring the Black Stone near the pillar. In turn, he took the Black Stone and placed it in its proper place, thus avoiding Quraysh a potentially long and bloody conflict.

[1] Tahqiq, 8/280.
[2] Zubdah, 7/453; Alusi, 15/382.
[3] Kashif, 7/579.
[4] Gharaib, 6/518.
[5] Tabrisi, 10/767; Qutb, 6/3927.
[6] Manaqib, 1/47; Amali.S, 691; Kafi, 8/155.
[7] Maturidi, 10/559-560.
[8] Qummi, 2/427.
[9] Uyun, 1/15-159.
[10] Zubdah, 7/454.
[11] Sabzawari, 7/382.
[12] Qutb, 6/3927.
[13] Tibyan, 10/370.
[14] Gharaib, 6/517.
[15] Ibn al-Jawzi, 4/70-71.
[16] 28:86 evokes similar points.
[17] Mafahim, 5/297.
[18] Mafahim, 5/309.
[19] Kashif, 7/579.
[20] Razi, 31/198.
[21] Qurtubi, 21/97.
[22] Gharaib, 6/517.
[23] Gunabadi, 4/261.
[24] Bursawi, 10/458.
[25] Qurtubi, 21/98.
[26] Alusi, 15/382.
[27] Tabrisi, 10/766.
[28] Subhani.M, 1/283-284.