Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (3/85)

Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-ṢāliḥīnIbn al-'Uthaymin

and Allah opened before you the gates of conquest, so that he ﷺ would distribute and give to the people. On one occasion he granted a man a flock of sheep filling the space between two mountains; he used to give with the largesse of one who never fears poverty.

Now ponder the Almighty’s words: “Did He not find you an orphan and give shelter; and He found you unaware and guided; and He found you in need and enriched” (al-Duḥā 93:6-8). He did not say “and He sheltered you,” nor “and He guided you,” nor “and He enriched you.” Why were these personal pronouns omitted? For two reasons: one concerns wording, the other meaning.

The lexical reason: to preserve the harmony of the verse-endings. Consider His saying: “By the morning brightness, and by the night when it grows still; your Lord has not forsaken you nor does He detest you; and the Hereafter is better for you than the first life; and your Lord will surely give you and you will be pleased” (al-Duḥā 93:1-5). Each verse ends with the long vowel ā. Had the verse read “and He sheltered you (fa-āwāka),” “and He guided you (fa-hadāka),” or “and He enriched you (fa-aghnāka),” the cadence would be broken. The endings were therefore kept uniform.
The semantic reason—which is greater: “Did He not find you an orphan and give shelter?” Did Allah shelter him alone, or did He shelter him and, through him, his community? The latter: Allah sheltered him and, by his hand, sheltered multitudes countless to anyone but Allah. “And He found you unaware and guided”: did He guide him alone? No; through him He guided great nations until the Day of Resurrection. “And He found you in need and enriched”: did He enrich him alone? No; Allah enriched him and, through him, enriched others. Think of the immense conquests granted to the Muslim ummah: “Allah has promised you much booty that you will take, and He has hastened this one for you” (al-Fatḥ 48:20). Thus Allah enriched them through Muhammad ﷺ.

Therefore: Did He not find you an orphan and give shelter—to you and through you; and He found you unaware and guided—guiding you and guiding others through you.

حتى كان يقسم ويعطي الناس، وقد أعطى ذات يوم رجلاً غنماً بين جبلين، وكان يعطي عطاء من لا يخشى الفاقة ﵊. ثم تأملوا قوله تعالى: (أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيماً فَآوَى) ما قال فآواك بل قال: (فَآوَى) (وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالاً فَهَدَى) ولم يقل فهداك (وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلاً فَأَغْنَى) ولم يقل فأغناك. لماذا؟ لمناسبتين؛ إحداهما لفظية، والثانية معنوية. أما اللفظية: فلأجل تناسب رؤوس الآيات كقوله تعالى: (وَالضُّحَى وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنَ الْأُولَى وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى) [الضحى: ١ ـ٥] كل آخر الآيات ألفات، فقوله: (أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيماً فَآوَى) [الضحى: ٦] ، لو قال فآواك اختلف اللفظ، ووجدك ضالاً فهداك اختلف اللفظ، ووجدك عائلاً فأغناك اختلف اللفظ، لكن جعل الآيات كلها على فواصل حرف واحد. المناسبة الثانية معنوية: وهي أعظم، (أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيماً فَآوَى) هل آواه الله وحده أو آواه وآوى أمته؟ والجواب: الثاني، آواه الله وآوى على يديه أمما لا يحصيهم إلا الله ﷿، ووجدك ضالاً فهدى. هل هداه وحده؟ لا؛ هدى به أمما عظيمة إلى يوم القيامة، ووجدك عائلاً فأغنى. هل أغناه الله وحده؟ لا؛ أغناه الله وأغنى به. كم حصل للأمة الإسلامية من الفتوحات العظيمة. (وَعَدَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَغَانِمَ كَثِيرَةً تَأْخُذُونَهَا فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَذِهِ) [الفتح: ٢٠] ، فأغناهم الله ﷿ بمحمد ﷺ. إذاً ألم يجدك يتيماً فآواك وآوى بك، ووجدك ضالاً فهداك وهدى