His gifts, the vastness of His beneficence, and His gracious favors. He—Glorified is He—is worthy of all praise and extolment.
His words, “and sufficed us,” refer to sufficiency; that is, He has repelled from us the evil of harmful things and protected us from the harm of calamities and hostile forces. It has also been said that they mean He has taken care of our pressing concerns and fulfilled our needs. There is nothing to preclude both meanings from being intended, since each falls within the meaning and scope of sufficiency.
His words, “and sheltered us,” mean that He prepared a refuge for us, granted us dwellings in which to reside, and returned us home so that we might rest there. He did not leave us wandering like animals without dwelling or shelter. Allah Most High says, graciously reminding His servants of this blessing: “And Allah has made your homes a place of rest for you.” 1 That is, you dwell in them; they protect you from heat and cold, screen you from people’s eyes, and bring you together with those under your care. They contain benefits and advantages beyond enumeration. All praise, then, belongs to Allah, who bestowed His favor abundantly and gave most generously. To Him belongs abundant, pure, and blessed praise, as He—Glorified is He—loves and is pleased with.
Among the transmitted remembrances at bedtime is the report established in the two Sahīh collections from Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—that Fātima—may Allah be pleased with her—came to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—asking him for a servant. He said, “Shall I not tell you of something better for you than that? When you retire to bed, glorify Allah thirty-three times, praise Allah thirty-three times, and proclaim Allah’s greatness thirty-four times.” Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—said, “I never abandoned it thereafter.” He was asked, “Not even on the night of Siffīn?” He replied, “Not even on the night of Siffīn.”2
This was Fātima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and may Allah be pleased with her—complaining to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—of the hardship she endured from grinding grain, fetching water, and serving in the home, and asking him to give her a servant (and the word “servant”