“And your Lord will surely give you, and you will be satisfied (5). Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter (6)?”

Regarding His saying, “And your Lord will surely give you, and you will be satisfied”: ‘Ata’ reported from Ibn ‘Abbas that this refers to intercession for his ummah, until he is satisfied. This was also the view of ‘Ali and al-Hasan.

It has been narrated to us from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “O Allah, my ummah, my ummah,” and he wept. Allah then said: “O Gabriel, go to Muhammad and tell him: We shall surely satisfy you concerning your ummah, and We shall not grieve you concerning them” (1).

Harb ibn Shurayh said: I heard Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn ‘Ali say: “O people of Iraq, you say that the most hope-inspiring verse in the Quran is: ‘Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy.’ But we, the members of the Prophet’s household, say that the most hope-inspiring verse in Allah’s Book is: ‘And your Lord will surely give you, and you will be satisfied’ (2)”—that is, in reward. It was also said: in victory, establishment, and the great number of believers, so that you will be satisfied.

Allah, glorified and exalted is He, then informed him of the state he had been in before the revelation and reminded him of His blessings. He, majestic is His praise, said: “Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?” Abu Sa‘id Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha‘labi informed us, saying: ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamid al-Isfahani informed me; Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Naysaburi informed us; Muhammad ibn ‘Isa narrated to us; Abu ‘Amr al-Juwayni and Abu al-Rabi‘ al-Zahrani both said: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us from ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “I asked my Lord for something, and I wished that I had not asked Him. I said: ‘My Lord, You gave Solomon son of David a great kingdom, and You gave so-and-so such-and-such, and You gave so-and-so such-and-such.’ He said: ‘O Muhammad, did I not find you an orphan and give you shelter?’ I said: ‘Yes indeed, my Lord.’ [He said: ‘Did I not find you unaware and guide you?’ I said: ‘Yes indeed, my Lord.’ He said: ‘Did I not find you in need and enrich you?’ I said: ‘Yes indeed, my Lord.’” Another narrator added from Hammad that He said: “Did I not expand for you your breast and relieve you of your burden?” I said: