Tafsir of An-Najm 53:48

Al-Najm (The Star): (48) And that He is the One who enriches...

We have already mentioned its exegesis, so we say:

{أغنى} (He enriched) means He removed his need and did not leave him needy.

• Because the poor person is the opposite of the rich person, whoever is not left poor in any respect is absolutely rich.
• Whoever is not left poor from one aspect, then he is rich from that aspect.
• The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Enrich them (make them self-sufficient) from begging on this day," referring to the Zakat al-Fitr, meaning when what he needs reaches him.

And His saying, Exalted is He: {أقنى} (He provided) means that Iqnā’ (providing/accumulating) is an increase upon Ighnā’ (enriching).

What I hold is that the letters are similar in meaning. We say that because the articulation point of the letter Qāf (ق) is higher than the articulation point of the letter Ghain (غ), Iqnā’ is designated for a state superior to Ighnā’.

Based on this:

• Enrichment (Ighnā’)* is what Allah grants of sight (*‘ayn) and tongue (lisān), or guiding him to suckling in his infancy, or it is what Allah, Exalted and Majestic, grants of sustenance and clothing that he needs.
• In summary, everything by which Allah removes need is Ighnā’, and everything that exceeds that is Iqnā’.

Then Allah, Exalted and Majestic, said:

{وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعْرَى} (And that He is the Lord of Sirius [the star Ash-Shi'ra]).