Tag Archives: Ayat 1-11

Surah Al-Qari’ah, 101: 1-11

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اَلۡقَارِعَةُ ۙ‏ ﴿101:1﴾ مَا الۡقَارِعَةُ​ ۚ‏ ﴿101:2﴾ وَمَاۤ اَدۡرٰٮكَ مَا الۡقَارِعَةُ ؕ‏ ﴿101:3﴾ يَوۡمَ يَكُوۡنُ النَّاسُ كَالۡفَرَاشِ الۡمَبۡثُوۡثِۙ‏ ﴿101:4﴾وَتَكُوۡنُ الۡجِبَالُ كَالۡعِهۡنِ الۡمَنۡفُوۡشِؕ‏ ﴿101:5﴾فَاَمَّا مَنۡ ثَقُلَتۡ مَوَازِيۡنُهٗ ۙ‏ ﴿101:6﴾ فَهُوَ فِىۡ عِيۡشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ ؕ‏ ﴿101:7﴾ وَاَمَّا مَنۡ خَفَّتۡ مَوَازِيۡنُهٗ ۙ‏ ﴿101:8﴾ فَاُمُّهٗ هَاوِيَةٌ ؕ‏ ﴿101:9﴾ وَمَاۤ اَدۡرٰٮكَ مَا هِيَهۡ ؕ‏ ﴿101:10﴾ نَارٌ حَامِيَةٌ‏﴿101:11﴾

(101:1) The Calamity!1 (101:2) What is the Calamity? (101:3) And what do you know what the Calamity is? (101:4) On that Day human beings shall be like scattered moths, (101:5) and the mountains shall be like fluffs of carded wool in varying colours.2 (101:6) Then3 he whose scales weigh heavier (101:7) shall have a blissful life; (101:8) but he whose scales weigh lighter,4 (101:9) his shall be the deep pit for a dwelling.5 (101:10) And what do you know what that is? (101:11) A Blazing Fire!6


Notes

1. Qariah literally means the striking one. Qar is to strike one thing upon another so severely as to produce a noise. In view of this literal meaning, the word qariah is used for a dreadful disaster and a great calamity. At another place in the Quran this word has been used for a great affliction befalling a nation. In (Surah Ar-Raad, Ayat 31), it has been said: As for the disbelievers, because of their misdeeds, one affliction or the other does not cease to visit them every now and then. 

But, here the word al-Qariah has been for the Resurrection and in Surah Al-Haaqqah too the Resurrection has been described by this very epithet (verse 4). One should remember that here the whole Hereafter, from the first stage of Resurrection to the last stage of judgment and meting out of rewards and punishments is being depicted together. 

2. This will be the first stage of Resurrection, when in consequence of the great disaster the whole of the present order of the world will be overthrown; the people will then be running about in confusion and bewilderment like so many scattered moths around a light; and the mountains will be flying about like carded wool of different colors. The mountains have been compared to wool of different colors because of the existence of a variety of colors in them

3. From here begins description of the second stage of Resurrection when after having been resurrected men will appear in the court of God. 

4. The word mawazin in the original can be plural of mauzun as well as, of mizan. In the first case, mawazin would imply the deeds which might have some weight in the sight of Allah and be, thus, worthy of appreciation. In the second case, mawazin would imply scales of a balance. In the first case, the meaning of the mawazin’s being heavier or lighter is that the good deeds will be heavy or light as against the evil deeds, for in the sight of Allah only good deeds have any weight and worth. In the second case. the meaning of the mawazin’s being heavy is that the scale of the good deeds will be heavier than the scale of evil deeds, in Allah Almighty’s Balance of Justice, and their being light means that the scale of good deeds will be lighter than the scale of evil deeds. Besides, in Arabic idiom the word mizan is also used for weight (wazan); accordingly, the weight’s being heavy or light implies the good deeds being heavy or light. In any case, whether mawazin is taken in the meaning of mauzun or of mizan, or of wazan, the intention remains the same, which is that the basis of judgment in the divine court will be whether the provision of the deeds that a man has brought is weighty or weightless, or whether his good deeds are heavier than his evil deeds or lighter. This theme has occurred at several places in the Quran which explains the full meaning. 

In Surah Al-Aaraf it has been said: On that Day the weight will be identical with the truth: accordingly, those whose scales, will be heavy will alone come out successful; and those whose scales are light will be the ones who will have incurred loss upon themselves. (verses 8-9). 

In Surah Al-Kahf, it was said: O Prophet, say to them: Should we tell you who are the most un-successful people and miserable failures in regard to their deeds? They are those whose all endeavors in the worldly life had gone astray from the right way, but they were under the delusion that everything they were doing, was rightly directed. These are the people who rejected the revelations of their Lord and did not believe that they would ever go before Him. Therefore, all their deeds were lost, for We will assign no weight to them on the Day of Resurrection. (verses 103-105). 

In Surah Al-Anbiya: On the Day of Resurrection, We will set up just and accurate balances so that no one will be wronged in the least in any way; even if it be an act equal in weight to a grain of mustard seed, We will bring it forth (to be weighed) and We suffice for reckoning. (verse 47). These verses show that kufr and denial of the truth is in itself such a stupendous evil that it will certainly lower the scale of evils, and there will be no good act of the disbelievers, which may have any weight in the scale of good deeds so that its scale of goodness may become heavy. However, in the scales of the believer there will be the weight of faith as well as the weight of the good deeds which he performed in the world. On the other hand, every evil done by him will be placed in the scale of evil deeds and then it will be seen whether his scale of the good deeds is heavier or his scale of the evil deeds. 

5. The words in the original are: ummu hu hawiyah: his mother will be hawiyah. Hawiyah is from hawa, which means to fall from a height to a depth, and hawiyah is the deep pit into which something falls. Hell has been called Hawiyah because it will be very deep and the culprits will be thrown into it from the height. As for the words, his mother will be Hawiyah, they mean: Just as the mother’s lap is the child’s abode, so Hell will be the culprits’ only abode in the Hereafter.

6. That is, it will not merely be a deep pit but will also be full of raging fire.

Surah 100 Al-‘Adiyat, 100: 1-11

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وَالۡعٰدِيٰتِ ضَبۡحًا ۙ‏ ﴿100:1﴾ فَالۡمُوۡرِيٰتِ قَدۡحًا ۙ‏ ﴿100:2﴾ فَالۡمُغِيۡرٰتِ صُبۡحًا ۙ‏ ﴿100:3﴾فَاَثَرۡنَ بِهٖ نَقۡعًا ۙ‏ ﴿100:4﴾ فَوَسَطۡنَ بِهٖ جَمۡعًا ۙ‏﴿100:5﴾ اِنَّ الۡاِنۡسَانَ لِرَبِّهٖ لَـكَنُوۡدٌ ۚ‏ ﴿100:6﴾وَاِنَّهٗ عَلٰى ذٰلِكَ لَشَهِيۡدٌ ۚ‏ ﴿100:7﴾ وَاِنَّهٗ لِحُبِّ الۡخَيۡرِ لَشَدِيۡدٌ ؕ‏ ﴿100:8﴾ اَفَلَا يَعۡلَمُ اِذَا بُعۡثِرَ مَا فِى الۡقُبُوۡرِۙ‏ ﴿100:9﴾ وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِى الصُّدُوۡرِۙ‏ ﴿100:10﴾ اِنَّ رَبَّهُمۡ بِهِمۡ يَوۡمَـئِذٍ لَّخَبِيۡرٌ‏ ﴿100:11﴾

(100:1) By (the horses) that charge snorting,1(100:2) then raise sparks of fire (by their hoofs),2 (100:3) then raid by the dawn,3 (100:4) and blaze a trail of dust, (100:5) and penetrate deep into a host. (100:6) Verily man is most ungrateful to his Lord;4 (100:7) and he himself is a witness to that,5 (100:8) and surely he loves riches with a passionate loving.6 (100:9) Is he not aware that when whatever lies (buried) in the graves is overthrown;7 (100:10) and the secrets of the hearts are laid bare (and examined)?8 (100:11) Surely on that Day will their Lord be fully informed about them.9


Notes

1. There is no indication in the words of the verse to show whether those who run imply the horses; only the word wal-adiyat (by, those who run) has been used. That is why the commentators have disputed as to what is implied by those who run. One section of the companions and their immediate successors has been to think that it implies the horses; another section says that it implies the camels. But since the peculiar sound called dabh is produced only by the panting, snorting horses, and the following verses also in which mention has been made of striking sparks and raiding a settlement early at dawn and raising clouds of dust, apply only to the horses, most scholars are of the opinion that horses are meant. Ibn Jarir says: Of the two views this view is preferable that by “those who run” horses are implied, for the camel does not breathe hard in running, it is the horse which does so, and Allah has said: By those runners which pant and breathe hard in running. Imam Razi says: The words of these verses proclaim that horses are meant, for the sound of dabh (panting breath) is only produced by the horses, and the act of striking sparks of fire with the hoofs too is associated with the horses, and, likewise, mounting of a raid early at dawn is easier by means of the horses than by other animals. 

2. Strike sparks: indicates that the horses run in the dead of night, for the sparks struck by their hoofs become conspicuous only at night. 

3. The practice among the Arabs was that when they had to mount a raid on a settlement, they marched out in the night so as to take the enemy by surprise; then they would launch a sudden attack early in the morning so that everything became visible in the light of day, and at the same time it did not become so bright that the victim could notice their movement from a distance and be ready to meet the offensive. 

4. This is for which an oath has been sworn by the horses, which run with panting breath and dash off sparks at night, then raising dust rush to assault a settlement at dawn and penetrate into the enemy host. It is astonishing to note that a large number of the commentators have taken these horses to imply the horses of the Muslim fighters and the enemy host to imply the host of disbelievers, whereas the oath has been sworn to impress the point that man is highly ungrateful to his Lord. Now, obviously, in the course of Jihad for the sake of Allah, the rushing forth of the fighters’ horses and their assaulting a host of disbelievers all of a sudden, does not at all support the point that man is ungrateful to his Lord, nor the following sentences, viz. man himself is a witness to it, and he loves the worldly wealth with all his heart, apply to the people who go out to fight in the cause of Allah. Therefore, one will have to admit that the oaths sworn in the first five verses of this Surah, refer, in fact, to the general bloodshed, looting and plunder prevalent in Arabia at that time. In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance the night was a very dreadful thing: in it the people of every tribe and settlement apprehended the danger of a sudden attack by some unknown enemy, and when the light of day appeared they would heave a sigh of relief that the night had passed in peace. The tribes did not fight only retaliatory wars but different tribes also raided others in order to deprive them of their worldly goods and herds and to capture their women and children to be made slaves. This kind of tyranny and plunder was carried out mostly by means of the horses, which Allah is presenting here as an argument for the fact that man is ungrateful to his Lord. That is the powers which man is employing for fighting, shedding blood and plundering had not been given him by God for this purpose. Therefore this indeed is sheer ingratitude that the resources granted by Allah and the power given by Him should be used for causing chaos and corruption to spread in the earth, which Allah abhors. 

5. That is his own conscience and his own deeds are a witness to it; then there are many disbelievers also who by their own tongue express their ingratitude openly, for they do not even believe that God exists to say nothing of acknowledging His blessings for which they may have to render gratitude to Him. 

6. Literally He is most ardent in the love of khair. But the word khair is not only used for goodness and virtue in Arabic but also for worldly wealth. In ( Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 180), khair has been used in the meaning of worldly wealth. The context itself shows where khair has been used in the sense of goodness and where in that of worldly goods. The context of this verse clearly shows that here khair means worldly wealth and not virtue and goodness. For about the man who is ungrateful to his Lord and who by his conduct is himself testifying to his ingratitude it cannot be said that he is very ardent in the love of goodness and virtue. 

7. That is, the dead men will be raised back as living men from whatever state and wherever they would be lying buried in the earth. 

8. That is all the intentions, aims and objects, ideas and thoughts and the motives behind acts and deeds that lie hidden in the hearts will be exposed and examined in order to sort out the good from the evil. In other words judgment will not be passed only on the apparent and superficial as to what a man practically did but the secrets hidden in the hearts will also be brought out to see what were the intentions and motives under which a man did what he did. If man only considers this, he cannot help admitting that real and complete justice cannot be done anywhere except in the court of God. Secular laws of the world also admit in principle that a person should not be punished merely on the basis of his apparent act but his motive for so acting also should be seen and examined. But no court of the world has the means by which it may accurately ascertain the motive and intention. This can be done only by God: He alone can examine the underlying motives behind every apparent act of man as well as take the decision as to what reward or punishment he deserves. Then, as is evident from the words of the verse, this judgment will not be passed merely on the basis of the knowledge which Allah already has about the intentions and motives of the hearts, but on Resurrection Day these secrets will be exposed and brought out openly before the people and after a thorough scrutiny in the court it will be shown what was the good in it and what was the evil. That is why the words hussila ma fissudur have been used. Tahsil means to bring out something in the open, and to sort out different things from one another. Thus, the use of tahsil concerning hidden secrets of the hearts contains both the meanings: to expose them and to sort out the good from the evil. This same theme has been expressed in Surah At-Tariq, thus: The Day the hidden secrets are held to scrutiny. (verse 9). 

9. That is, He will be knowing well who is who, and what punishment or reward he deserves.

Surah Ad-Duhaa, 93: 1-11

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وَالضُّحٰىۙ‏ ﴿93:1﴾ وَالَّيۡلِ اِذَا سَجٰىۙ‏ ﴿93:2﴾ مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلٰىؕ‏ ﴿93:3﴾ وَلَـلۡاٰخِرَةُ خَيۡرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الۡاُوۡلٰىؕ‏ ﴿93:4﴾ وَلَسَوۡفَ يُعۡطِيۡكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرۡضٰىؕ‏ ﴿93:5﴾ اَلَمۡ يَجِدۡكَ يَتِيۡمًا فَاٰوٰى‏ ﴿93:6﴾ وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآ لًّا فَهَدٰى‏ ﴿93:7﴾ وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَاَغۡنٰىؕ‏﴿93:8﴾ فَاَمَّا الۡيَتِيۡمَ فَلَا تَقۡهَرۡؕ‏ ﴿93:9﴾ وَاَمَّا السَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنۡهَرۡؕ‏ ﴿93:10﴾ وَاَمَّا بِنِعۡمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثۡ‏ ﴿93:11﴾

(93:1) By the bright forenoon,1 (93:2) and by the night when it covers the world with peace:2(93:3) (O Prophet), your Lord has neither forsaken you, nor is He displeased.3 (93:4) Indeed what is to come will be better for you than what has gone by.4 (93:5) Verily your Lord will soon give you so amply that you will be well-pleased.5 (93:6) Did He not find you an orphan and then gave you shelter?6 (93:7) Did He not find you unaware of the Right Way, and then directed you to it?7 (93:8) And did He not find you in want, and then enriched you?8(93:9) Therefore, be not harsh with the orphan;9(93:10) and chide not him who asks,10 (93:11) and proclaim the bounty of your Lord.11


Notes

1. Here, the word duha has been used in contrast to the night; therefore, it implies the bright hours of the day. A precedent of it are(verses 97-98 of Surah Al-Aaraf), which say: Do the people of the settlements now feel secure that Our punishment will not come to them all of a sudden at night, while they might be fast asleep? Or, do they feel secure that Our punishment will not smite them all of a sudden during the day while they might be engaged in pastimes?” In these verses also since the word duha has been used in contrast to the night, it implies the day and not just forenoon. 

2. The word saja in the original does not only signify the spreading of darkness but it also contains the meaning of stillness and peace that prevails at night. This quality of night deeply relates to the theme that follows. 

3. Traditions show that revelations to the Prophet (peace be upon him) had remained suspended for some period of time. Different traditions have mentioned different durations of this period. Ibn Juraij has mentioned it to be 12 days, Kalbi 15 days, Ibn Abbas 25 days, and Suddi and Muqatil have stated that it extended to 40 days. In any case the period was so long that it made the Prophet (peace be upon him) sorrowful, and the opponents also had the opportunity to taunt him. For whenever a new Surah came down, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would recite it before the people. Therefore, when he did not recite any new revelation to them for quite some days, the opponents thought that the fountainhead from where the revelation came, had dried up. Jundub bin Abdullah al-Bajali has related that when Angel Gabriel stopped coming, the pagans started saying that Muhammad (peace be upon him) had been forsaken by his Lord. (Ibn Jarir, Tabarani, Abd bin Humaid, Saeed bin Mansur, Ibn Marduyah). Other traditions show that Umm Jamil, wife of Abu Lahab, who was an aunt of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and whose house adjoined his, said to him: It appears your satan has forsaken you. Aufi and Ibn Jarir have related, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, that when Gabriel did not visit him for several days, the Prophet (peace be upon him) became anxious and distressed, and the pagans began to say that his Lord had become angry with him and had forsaken him. In the mursal traditions of Qatadah and Dahhak almost the same theme has been expressed. The Prophet’s (peace be upon him) extreme grief and anguish in this condition has also been referred to in several traditions. And this was natural. The apparent indifference on the part of the beloved, the apparent deprivation of the contact with the source of power, which was his chief support, in the soul-destroying conflict between belief and unbelief, and above all, the taunts and jeers of the enemy, when all these things combined they must have caused great anguish to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he must be thinking that because of some error that he might have committed, his Lord had become displeased with him and had forsaken and left him to fight the battle between truth and falsehood alone. 

This was the state when this Surah was sent down to console the Prophet (peace be upon him). In it, swearing an oath by the light of the day and the peacefulness of the night, he has been told: Your Lord has neither forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you. The relevance of the oath by these two things to the theme is: Just as brightening up of the day and spreading of the night with darkness and stillness is not for the reason that Allah is pleased with the people during the day and displeased with them during the night but both states are based on supreme wisdom and expedience, so sending down of revelation to you at onetime and suspending it at another time is also based on wisdom and expedience; it has nothing to do with Allah’s being pleased with you when He sends down revelation and his being displeased with you when He suspends it. Besides, another relevance of the oath to the subject is that if man is constantly exposed to the light of days it wearies him; so, it is necessary that night should fall after the day has remained bright for a certain period so that man may have rest and peace in it. Likewise, if you are constantly exposed to the light of revelation, your nerves would not stand it. Therefore, fatrah (break or gap in the revelation) has also been provided by Allah on account of expedience so that the effects of the strain of revelation that you have to bear passes away and complete peace is restored to you. In other words, rising of the sun of revelation is analogous to the bright day and the period of the fatrah to the stillness and peace of the night. 

4. This good news was given by Allah to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a state when he had only a handful of Muslims with him, the entire nation was hostile and there was not even a remote chance of success. The candle of Islam was flickering only in Makkah and storms were brewing all around to blow it out. At that juncture Allah said to His Prophet (peace be upon him): Do not at all grieve at the hardships of the initial stage, every later period of life will be better for you than the former period. Your power and glory, your honor and prestige will go on enhancing and your influence will go on spreading. This promise is not only confined to the world, but it also includes the promise that the rank and position you will be granted in the Hereafter will be far higher and nobler than the rank and position you attain in the world. Tabarani in Awsat and Baihaqi in Ad-Dalail have related on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: All the victories which would be attained by my Ummah after me, were presented before me. This pleased me much. Then, Allah sent down this Word, saying: The Hereafter is far better for you than the world. 

5. That is, although it will take some time, yet the time is not far when your Lord will bless you with so much that you will be well pleased. This promise was fulfilled during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and all Arabia, from the southern coasts to the Syrian frontiers of the Byzantine empire and the Iraqi frontiers of the Persian empire in the north, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to the Red Sea in the west, came under his control. For the first time in the history of Arabia this land became subject to one law and rule. Whichever power clashed with it was doomed to destruction. The slogan La-ilaha-illallah-u Muhammad-ur-Rasul-Allah reverberated throughout the land where the polytheists and the followers of the earlier scriptures had tried their utmost to keep their false creeds and slogans aloft till the last. The people not only bowed their heads in obedience, their hearts were also conquered and their beliefs, morals and acts were revolutionized. There is no precedent in human history that nation sunk in paganism might have completely changed in only 23 years. Then the movement started by the Prophet (peace be upon him) gathered such power that it spread over a larger part of Asia, Africa and Europe and its influence reached every nook and corner of the world. This much Allah gave His Messenger (peace be upon him) in the world, the glory and extent of what He will give him in the Hereafter cannot be imagined. Also see (E.N. 112 of Surah TaHa). 

6. That is, there can be no question of forsaking you and being displeased with you. We have, in fact, been good to you ever since the time you were born as an orphan. The Prophet’s (peace be upon him) father passed away three months before his birth; thus he was an orphan at birth. But Allah did not leave him without support even for a day. Up to six years of age his mother nourished and looked after him. After her death, his grandfather took him and brought him up with great love. He would proudly tell the people: My this son has a great future. When he died, his uncle, Abu Talib, became his guardian and treated him with such rare love that no father could treat his son better. So much so that when after his proclamation to be a Prophet the entire nation turned hostile, Abu Talib alone stood firm as his chief supporter for as long as ten years. 

7. The word daallan as used in the original is derived from dalalat, which has several meanings in Arabic. Its one meaning is to be lost in error and deviation; another, to be unaware of the way and to be bewildered at the crossroads as to which way one should choose; still another meaning is of being lost and astray. The tree also is daallah which stands alone and lonely in the desert; the word dalal is also used for a thing which is wasting in unfavorable and uncongenial condition and climate, and also for heedlessness, of which there is an example in the Quran itself: La yadillu Rabbi wa la yansa, My Lord is neither heedless nor He forgets. (Surah TaHa, Ayat 52). Out of these different meanings. The first meaning does not apply here, for in the historical accounts of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) life, from childhood till just before Prophethood, there is no trace that he ever might have been involved in idolatry, polytheism or atheism, or in any of the acts, customs and practices of paganism prevalent among his people. Therefore, inevitably wa-wa-jadaka-daallan cannot mean that Allah had found him erring and astray in respect of creed or deed. The other meanings, however, can be applicable here in one or other aspect, and possibly all are applicable in their own particular aspect. Before Prophethood the Prophet (peace be upon him) was certainly a believer in the existence of Allah and His Unity, and his life was free from sin and reflected excellent morals, yet he was unaware of true faith, its principles and injunctions, as it has been pointed out in the Quran: You did not know at all what was the Book and what was the faith. (Surah Ash-Shura, Ayat 52). This verse may also mean that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was lost in a society, engrossed in ignorance, and his personality as a guide and leader was not in anyway prominent before Prophethood. It may as well mean that in the desert of ignorance, he was standing like a lonely tree, which had the capability to bear fruit and turn the whole desert into a garden, but this capability was not being put to any use before Prophethood. It may also imply that the extraordinary powers, that Allah had blessed him with, were going waste in the unfavorable environment of ignorance. Dalal can also be taken in the meaning of heedlessness, so as to say: You were heedless of the truth and signs of which Allah made you aware after Prophethood. This thing also has been referred to in the Quran itself: Though before this you were utterly unaware of this truth. (Surah Yusuf, Ayat 3). Also see( Surah AlBaqarah,Ayat 282); ( Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayat 20). 

8. The Prophet’s (peace be upon him) father had left only a she-camel and a slave-girl in heritage for him; so he started his life in a state of poverty. Then a time came when the wealthiest lady among the Quraish, Khadijah, first made him her partner in trade, then married him, and he took charge of all her trade and business. Thus, he not only became wealthy but his riches in no way were dependent on the resources of his wife; his own hard work and ability had gone a long way towards promoting her trade and commerce. 

9. That is, as you yourself have been an orphan and Allah graced you with the bounty that he made the best possible arrangements to help you in that state, therefore, in gratitude you should see that no orphan is treated unjustly and harshly. 

10. It has two meanings. 

If saail is taken in the sense of a needy person, who asks for help, it would mean that if you can, you should help him. If you cannot, you should excuse yourself politely, but should never scold him. In this sense the instruction corresponds to Allah’s this favor: You were poor, then Allah enriched you. 

And if saail is taken in the sense of the one who inquires, i.e. asks for enlightenment on a religious matter or injunction, it would mean that even if such a person be extremely ignorant and ill-mannered and might put the question, or present his problem, impolitely, you should in any case answer him politely and kindly, and should not turn him away like the rude people proud of their knowledge. 

In this meaning, the instruction corresponds to Allah’s this favor: You were unaware of the way, then He guided you. Abu Darda, Hasan Basri, Sufyan Thauri and some other scholars have preferred this second meaning, for in view of the order and sequence this instruction corresponds to: wa-wa-jadaka daalllan fa hada. 

11. The word nimat (bounty) is general, which also implies those bounties, which Allah had bestowed on His Messenger (peace be upon him) until the revelation of this Surah as well as those which He bestowed on him afterwards according to the promise made in this Surah, which He fulfilled completely. Then, it is enjoined: O Prophet, mention and proclaim every bounty that Allah has favored you with. Now, obviously, there can be different forms and ways of mentioning and proclaiming the bounties and every bounty, in view of its nature, requires a special form of its mention and proclamation. As a whole, the way of proclaiming the bounties is that Allah be thanked with the tongue and the truth be acknowledged that all the bounties received are only due to His grace and favor and none is the result of any personal excellence and merit on his part. The blessing of Prophethood can be proclaimed by preaching and conveying its message in the best way possible. The blessing of the Quran can be proclaimed by publicizing it widely and impressing its teachings on the people’s minds as far as one can. The blessing of Allah’s guidance can be proclaimed by showing the right way to the people who are gone astray and by enduring patiently all the bitterness and hardship of the way. The favor that Allah has done of helping during orphan-hood, demands that the orphans be treated well. The favor that Allah did of enriching after poverty requires that Allah’s needy servants be helped and supported. In short, this is a very comprehensive instruction which Allah gave to His Messenger (peace be upon him) in this brief sentence after having described His bounties and blessings.