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اَلْضُّحٰی
Morning Bright

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ۔

وَ الضُّحٰى۔ وَ الَّیْلِ اِذَا سَجٰى۔ مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَ مَا قَلٰى۔ؕ وَ لَلْاٰخِرَةُ خَیْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْاُوْلٰى۔ؕ وَ لَسَوْفَ یُعْطِیْكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضٰى۔ؕ اَلَمْ یَجِدْكَ یَتِیْمًا فَاٰوٰى۔ وَ وَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدٰى۔ وَ وَجَدَكَ عَآىٕلًا فَاَغْنٰى۔ؕ فَاَمَّا الْیَتِیْمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ۔ؕ وَ اَمَّا السَّآىٕلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ۔ؕ وَ اَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ۔

In the name of God—the most compassionate, the most merciful.

By the morning bright, and at night when all is still your Lord has not forsaken you nor is He annoyed.

The Hereafter will be even better for you than the first [life] was. Your Lord will soon give you something which will leave you satisfied. 

Did He not find you an orphan and sheltered [you]? He found you lost and guided [you]. He found you destitute and made you rich! 

Thus the orphan must not be exploited; and the beggar should not be brushed aside . Still tell about your Lord's favor.

The first two paragraphs deal with the sense of history, while the third and fourth concern some of the Prophet's personal experience and spiritual striving. Here we glimpse Muhammad's childhood; one should bear in mind that the Prophet had once been a poor orphan boy, protected only by his extended family.

The passage shows the intimate manner in which God comforted him during the Prophet's deep anxiety. Nicholson has a beautifully rhymed paraphrase of this chapter on pages 152-3 of his Literary History of the Arabs.

The system of this world has been so formulated that here the day dawns and night also falls. Only with the occurrence of both is the system perfect. Similarly, for the proper development of a man, it is necessary that he should have hardship as well as easy circumstances. In this world, hardship befalls the servant of God in order to activate his latent capabilities. Impediments are put in his way so that he may strive to make his future brighter than his present.

The Prophet Muhammad was born an orphan. Then God provided him with the best of guardians. He went eagerly in search of the Truth. Then God opened the door of Truth for him. He was apparently without wealth. Then God made him prosperous through his wife, Khadijah. These are historical examples which show how Almighty God helps His subjects.

Man should help the weak so that he may be entitled to God’s grace. His words should be full of the expression of God’s grace, so that God may confer His blessings upon him.