Tafsir of Ad-Dhuha 93:8

(And He found you poor and made you self-sufficient) follows the pattern of the preceding verse. The ‘ā’il (poor) is the one who is in need, derived from ‘āla ya‘īlu ‘aylan wa ‘aylatan wa ‘uyūlan wa ma‘īlan, meaning he became poor. That is: He found you lacking possessions and made you self-sufficient through the profit you gained from trade—this occurred during your journey, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with Maysarah to the Levant—and through the wealth that Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, gifted you. She was a woman of great wealth, and when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married her, she gifted all of it to him, so that no one might say anything that would weigh heavily upon his noble hearing, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

It was also through the wealth of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, who was also a man of wealth; the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was enriched by all of it. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked him, "What have you left for your family?" He replied, "I have left Allah, the Exalted, and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."

It is also said: [He enriched you] through the spoils of war (fay’) granted to you. However, this is countered by the fact that the Surah is Meccan, and the spoils of war only came after the migration (Hijrah).

It is also said: The meaning is that He satisfied you and enriched your heart, for the richness of the heart is the true richness. It has been said: "To one who lacks contentment, wealth provides no richness."

It is also said: He enriched you through Himself, the Exalted, and by Him, away from anyone else. This is richness through neediness (iftiqār) towards Him, the Exalted. In the hadith: "O Allah, enrich me through neediness towards You, and do not impoverish me through self-sufficiency away from You." A poet alluded to this, saying: "I am pleased with my neediness towards You; were it not for Your love, I would not be pleased with poverty."

The hadith "Poverty is my pride" became famous, and poverty in it was interpreted according to this meaning; however, as Ibn Hajar stated, it is false and fabricated. Even more extreme in fabrication and invalidity is what some Sufis mention: "When poverty is complete, it is Allah"—exalted is He far above what they say. They delved into explaining the intent behind this in a way that does not repel its hideousness, nor does it establish its rectitude.

It is also said: ‘ā’ilan means "having a large family," from ‘āla ya‘ūlu ‘awlan wa ‘ayālatan, meaning his dependents became many. Both meanings are possible, as suggested by the words of Jarir: "Allah sent down in the Book an obligation / For the wayfarer and the poor ‘ā’il (dependent/needy)." Perhaps the second meaning is more apparent here, though the first is favored in the verse due to the reading of Ibn Mas‘ud: ‘adīman (lacking/poor), and because the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not have a large family at the beginning of his affair, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Al-Yamani recited it as ‘aylan kasan with a shaddah on the kasra-vowelled ya.

Furthermore, ‘Isam al-Din mentioned regarding these verses that it is possible that "the orphan" refers to one who lacks a teacher, for fathers are three: he who teaches you, he who marries you [to his daughter], and he who begets you. This aligns with interpreting "the astray" as being astray from knowledge, and interpreting "the dependents" (based on the ‘ā’il as "having a large family" reading) as the dependents of the Ummah who seek knowledge of the interests of religion from him, while he himself was in need of knowledge. Thus, Allah, the Exalted, enriched him through revelation sent to him, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The implications of this are apparent.

The object was omitted in the three verbs due to the clarity of the intended meaning, while also observing the rhythm of the verse endings. It is also said that it refers to the vastness of generosity, meaning: He sheltered you, sheltered others for your sake, and through you; He guided you, guided others for your sake, and through you; He enriched you, enriched others for your sake, and through you. However, the outward meaning of those verbs resists this [interpretation]. The Imam spoke at length regarding these verses, bringing forth both the weak and the sound, and were it not for the fear of boredom, we would have mentioned what is contained therein.