93. Morning Bright

THESE 11 EARLY Meccan verses were revealed after Daybreak 89 and before the next chapter which is called Consolation (OR Relief) 94. The first two paragraphs deal with the sense of history, while the third and fourth concern some of the Prophet's personal experience and spiritual striving. Here we glimpse Muhammad's childhood; one should bear in rnind that the Prophet had once been a poor orphan boy, protected only by his extended family.

The passage shows the intimate manner in which God comforted him during the Prophet's deep anxiety. Nicholson has a beautifully rhymed paraphrase of this chapter on pp. 152-3 of his Literary History of the Arabs.

In the name of God, the Mercy-giving, the Merciful !

* By the morning bright,
* and at night when all is still
* your Lord has not forsaken you
nor is He annoyed.

* The Hereafter will be even better for you
than the first [life] was. ** Your Lord
will soon give you something
which will leave you satisfied.

* Did He not find you an orphan
and sheltered [you]? * He found you
lost and guided [you]. * He found you destitute
and made you rich!

* Thus the orphan must not be exploited;
** and the beggar should not be brushed aside.
* Still tell about your Lord's favor.

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Published with authorization from Dr.T.B.Irving .