Tafsir of Ad-Dhariyat 51:15-19

{Taking what their Lord has given them} Accepting everything He has given them, pleased with it. This means there is nothing in what He has given them except that which is met with acceptance and satisfaction, never displeasure, because it is all good and pure. From this is His saying, Exalted is He: {And He takes the charities} (At-Tawbah: 104), meaning He accepts them and is pleased with them.

{Doing good} They have perfected their deeds. The explanation of their "doing good" (ihsan) is what follows it.

{What} It is an augmentative particle. The meaning is: They used to sleep during a small portion of the night, if you consider "a little" (qalilan) as an adverb of time. You may also consider it a description of the verbal noun, meaning: They used to sleep a little sleep. It is also possible that "what" (ma) is a particle forming a verbal noun or a relative pronoun, meaning: "Their sleeping was little of the night," or "that in which they sleep," with its nominative case being governed by "little" as the subject.

There are exaggerations in the word huju' (sleeping), which is the fleeing from sleep. The poet said: The egg has shaved my head, and I do not taste sleep, save for a little dozing.

His saying {a little} and {of the night} is because the night is the time for rest and repose. The addition of the emphatic {what} confirms this: it describes them as spending the night in tahajjud (vigil prayer), and when the time of dawn (sahar) arrives, they engage in seeking forgiveness, as if they had committed crimes during their night.

{They seek forgiveness} This implies that they are the ones truly deserving of seeking forgiveness, unlike those who persist in sin. It is as if they are exclusively characterized by it due to their persistence and dedication to it.

If you ask: Is it permissible for "what" (ma) to be a negative particle, as some have said, meaning that they do not sleep even a little of the night, but spend the whole of it awake? I say: No, because a negative "ma" does not allow what follows it to govern what precedes it. You say: "Zayd, I did not hit," but you do not say: "Zayd, ma I hit."

{The beggar} The one who asks for help.

{And the deprived} The one who is thought to be wealthy, so he is deprived of charity due to his restraint. It is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him): "The poor person is not the one whom a morsel or two, or a date or two, turns away." They asked: "Then who is he?" He said: "The one who finds nothing and is not given charity." It is also said: The one whose wealth does not grow. It is also said: The one who is struggling and can barely earn a living.

{And on the earth are signs for the certain [in faith], and in your own selves; will you not then see?}