“Yes indeed, my Lord.” (1)

The meaning of the verse is: Did He not find you an orphan, young and poor, when your parents died without leaving you any wealth or shelter, and then provide you with a refuge to which you could turn? He placed you in the care of your uncle Abu Talib, who raised you well and relieved you of your needs.

“And He found you lost and guided you; and He found you in need and made you self-sufficient” (7–8).

“And He found you lost” means: unaware of the path upon which you now stand; “and guided you”—that is, He guided you to monotheism and Prophethood.

Al-Hasan, al-Dahhak, and Ibn Kaysan said: “And He found you lost”—unaware of the signs of Prophethood and the rulings of the Sacred Law—and guided you to them, as He said: “And before this, you were among those unaware” (Yusuf 3). And He said: “You did not know what the Book was, nor what faith was” (al-Shura 52). (2)

It was also said: He found you lost among the mountain passes of Mecca and guided you back to your grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib. Abu al-Duha narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, became lost among the mountain passes of Mecca while still a small child. Abu Jahl saw him as he was returning from his sheep and brought him back to Abd al-Muttalib.

Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, set out with his uncle Abu Talib in the caravan of Maysarah, Khadijah’s servant. While he was riding a she-camel on a dark night, Iblis came, took hold of the camel’s rein, and led him away from the road. Then Gabriel came ⦗195/a⦘ and blew Iblis with a blast that hurled him to the land of Abyssinia. He then returned him to the caravan, and Allah thereby bestowed His favor upon him. (3)

It was also said: He found you lost—[lost] as to yourself—not knowing who you were; so He made you know yourself and your condition. “And He found you in need and made you self-sufficient”—that is, He found you poor and enriched you through Khadijah’s wealth, and then through the spoils of war.

Muqatil said: “[He made you content] (5) with the provision He gave you.” Al-Farra’ preferred this view and said: He was not wealthy through an abundance of possessions; rather, Allah [made him content] (6) with what He had given him, and that is the true reality of wealth.