سُوْرَةُ الضُّحٰي
Surah Ad-Dhuhaa (93) — Ayah 8
وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ ﴿8﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And He found you poor and made you rich (self-sufficient with self-contentment)?
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَوَجَدَكَ
wawajadaka
And He found you
عَآئِلًۭا
ʿāilan
in need
فَأَغْنَىٰ
fa-aghnā
so He made self-sufficient
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
And He found you in need [7] and made you self-sufficient.
[7]
The Childhood of the Prophet ﷺ:
Your noble father left behind only a she-camel and a slave-girl as inheritance. When the issue of your nursing arose, all the wet nurses refused to nurse you on the grounds that you were an orphan. Since your father was not present and the family was not wealthy, they wondered what they would receive from here. Eventually, this honor came to Halimah Sa'diyyah, and she accepted to nurse you ﷺ because she had not found a child from a wealthy family, and she accepted the nursing thinking that something is better than nothing. When you ﷺ reached the age of eight, your grandfather Abdul Muttalib passed away, and you ﷺ came under the guardianship of your uncle Abu Talib. Abu Talib himself had many dependents and was poor. During this time, you ﷺ also grazed the goats of the people of Makkah for a few qirats as wages, and whatever compensation you received, you would hand over to Abu Talib. When you grew a little older, you ﷺ began to participate in trade journeys to Syria. Due to your excellent dealings, your truthfulness, trustworthiness, and honesty became well-known during those days. Because of this, a widow and wealthy woman of Makkah gave you a considerable amount of money on the basis of partnership in trade. When you returned, Sayyidah Khadijah’s ؓ slave Zayd bin Harithah, who was your companion on the journey, praised your trustworthiness and honesty greatly. Impressed by this, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ herself proposed marriage to you. This lady was both wealthy and beautiful. Therefore, many times the nobles of Makkah sent her marriage proposals, but she kept rejecting all of them; however, she herself sent a marriage proposal to you ﷺ, which you accepted, and at the age of twenty-five, you ﷺ married a forty-year-old widow, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ. After the marriage, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ handed over all her wealth and slaves to you ﷺ. You ﷺ did trade for a few days, but soon you gave away all this wealth in the path of Allah to the needy, widows, unemployed, and those in need, because by nature you preferred poverty over wealth, and this is the best kind of richness: that a person prefers poverty despite being wealthy. Later, Allah Almighty fixed one-fifth of the spoils of war for you, and all the wealth of fay’ was given into your ﷺ custody. But despite having so much wealth and authority, you would distribute all the wealth. You would keep only as much as was necessary for your household needs and throughout your life preferred poverty over wealth. In this verse, your initial poverty and the same kind of richness that followed are mentioned.
[7]
The Childhood of the Prophet ﷺ:
Your noble father left behind only a she-camel and a slave-girl as inheritance. When the issue of your nursing arose, all the wet nurses refused to nurse you on the grounds that you were an orphan. Since your father was not present and the family was not wealthy, they wondered what they would receive from here. Eventually, this honor came to Halimah Sa'diyyah, and she accepted to nurse you ﷺ because she had not found a child from a wealthy family, and she accepted the nursing thinking that something is better than nothing. When you ﷺ reached the age of eight, your grandfather Abdul Muttalib passed away, and you ﷺ came under the guardianship of your uncle Abu Talib. Abu Talib himself had many dependents and was poor. During this time, you ﷺ also grazed the goats of the people of Makkah for a few qirats as wages, and whatever compensation you received, you would hand over to Abu Talib. When you grew a little older, you ﷺ began to participate in trade journeys to Syria. Due to your excellent dealings, your truthfulness, trustworthiness, and honesty became well-known during those days. Because of this, a widow and wealthy woman of Makkah gave you a considerable amount of money on the basis of partnership in trade. When you returned, Sayyidah Khadijah’s ؓ slave Zayd bin Harithah, who was your companion on the journey, praised your trustworthiness and honesty greatly. Impressed by this, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ herself proposed marriage to you. This lady was both wealthy and beautiful. Therefore, many times the nobles of Makkah sent her marriage proposals, but she kept rejecting all of them; however, she herself sent a marriage proposal to you ﷺ, which you accepted, and at the age of twenty-five, you ﷺ married a forty-year-old widow, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ. After the marriage, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ handed over all her wealth and slaves to you ﷺ. You ﷺ did trade for a few days, but soon you gave away all this wealth in the path of Allah to the needy, widows, unemployed, and those in need, because by nature you preferred poverty over wealth, and this is the best kind of richness: that a person prefers poverty despite being wealthy. Later, Allah Almighty fixed one-fifth of the spoils of war for you, and all the wealth of fay’ was given into your ﷺ custody. But despite having so much wealth and authority, you would distribute all the wealth. You would keep only as much as was necessary for your household needs and throughout your life preferred poverty over wealth. In this verse, your initial poverty and the same kind of richness that followed are mentioned.
