His words, Exalted is He:

By the forenoon,

He said:

In its inner meaning it is the spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ).

and [by] the night when it is still,

This means the natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ) when it finds tranquil repose with the spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ) in the constant remembrance (dhikr) of God, Exalted is He.^{1The MSS (Z515, f. 135b, F638, f. 67a and F3488, f. 318b) all have dhikr li’Llāh as opposed to dhikr ilā’Llāh. Again we have here the idea of the natural self and the spiritual self coming together in the remembrance of God.}

His words, Exalted is He:

and verily, the life to come will be better for you than first [life]

He said:

What I have kept in store for you [Muḥammad], such as the Praiseworthy Station (maqām maḥmūd),^{1On the ‘Praiseworthy Station’ see above, p. 31, n. 104.} and the place of intercession (maḥall al-shafāʿa), is better than that which I have given you in the life of the world, such as prophethood and messengership.

His words, Exalted is He:

Did He not find you an orphan and shelter you?

He said:

Did He not find you alone and then gave you refuge with your Companions?

And did He not find you erring and then guide you?

He said:

He found you without knowledge of your own worth, so He made you aware of your great worth. He found you erring away from [understanding] the implications (maʿānī) of [God’s] unadulterated affection (maḥḍ mawadda) for you, so He gave you to drink of the draught of His affection in the cup of His love. Then He guided you to gnosis (maʿrifa) of Him and invested you with the robe of His prophethood and His messengership, that He might guide [you] by them [these distinctions] to proximity (qurb) with Him, and to His unicity (waḥdāniyya).

He said:

It also has another interpretation: And did he not find you, that is, your natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ) in need (faqīra) of the way of gnosis (sabīl al-maʿrifa).

And did He not find you needy and enrich you?

He said:

‘He found your soul^{1Or ‘natural self’ as in the preceding interpretation.} in bewilderment (ḥayrāna), craving (wāliha) for gnosis of Us, in need (faqīra) of it. Then [He] strengthened your spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ) and enriched it with the Qurʾān and wisdom (ḥikma).’ Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Richness (ghinā) is not having an abundance of possessions; richness is only a richness of the soul.’^{2Isḥāq b. Rāhwayh, al-Musnad (Medina, 1991), vol. 1, p. 332.}

So, as for the orphan, do not oppress him,

‘For you have tasted [the bitterness of] being an orphan (yutm).’

Then he said:

Another interpretation is the following: ‘⸢So be gracious to the orphan (fa-ʾlṭuf bi’l-yatīm)⸣,^{1Added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 135b, F638, f. 67a and F3488, f. 318b.} for you know what it means for the heart of an orphan to receive benevolence (luṭf).’