and humiliated me. He did not provide for me as He provided for so-and-so, nor did He honor me as He honored so-and-so.” Thus, in times of prosperity, he is ungrateful, admires himself, and says, “This is my right.” In times of hardship, he is not patient; rather, he objects to his Lord and says, “My Lord has humiliated me.” This is the condition of man by virtue of his human nature. The believer, however, is not like that. When Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—honors him and showers him with blessings, he thanks his Lord for them and recognizes that they are a bounty and kindness from Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—not an honor bestowed upon him because he deserves it. When Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—tests him and restricts his provision, he remains patient, seeks reward from Allah, and says, “This is because of my sin. The Lord—Glorified and Exalted is He—has neither humiliated nor wronged me.” He is therefore patient in adversity and grateful in prosperity.

These two verses indicate that a person must reflect and ask, for example: “Why has Allah given me wealth? What does He want from me? He wants me to give thanks. Why has Allah tested me with poverty, illness, or something similar? He wants me to be patient.” A person should therefore hold himself to account so that he does not fall into the human condition founded upon ignorance and wrongdoing. For this reason, Allah Most High says, “No indeed!” That is, He did not give you what He gave you to honor you because you deserved it; rather, it was a bounty from Him. Nor did He humiliate you when He restricted your provision; rather, this was required by His wisdom and justice.

Then Allah Most High says, “Rather, you do not honor the orphan.” That is, when Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—honors you with blessings, you show no compassion toward those who deserve to be honored—namely, orphans. “The orphan” here denotes the entire category: it does not mean one particular orphan, but orphans generally. Scholars define an orphan as a boy or girl whose father dies before the child reaches puberty. A child whose mother dies is not considered an orphan. The words of Allah Most High, “the orphan,” include both poor and wealthy orphans, for an orphan should be treated kindly and honored. His heart has been broken by the loss of his father, who looked after his welfare, so Allah Most High has enjoined care for him in order to mend the hurt that has befallen him.

“Nor do you urge one another to feed the needy.” That is, you do not encourage one another to feed the needy. And if a person does not urge anyone else to do so—