The Guiding Light — Page 71
S u rah Quraish, Chapter 106 71 ﷽ the word أﻗﺮء ( a qra’o ) “ I read” or أﺷﺮ ع ( ashra‘o ) “I begin” is taken to be understood. In the present case the understood expression, according to some Commentators, is اﻋﺠﺐ ﻳ ﺎ حمﻤﺪ ( a‘jabo y a Muhammad ) and the verse is supposed to read something like this : اﻋﺠﺐ ﻳ ﺎ حمﻤﺪ ﻟﻨﻌﻢ ا ﷲ "# ﻗﺮ ﻳ ﺶ ىف ا ﻳ ﻼﻓ%ﻢ رﺣﻠﺔ اﻟﺸ,ﺘﺎء وا ﻟﺼ ﻴ ﻒ i. e. , do thou wonder O Muhammad at God’s great favour upon the Quraish that He has created in their hearts love for journeying in winter and summer. The Divine favour consisted in the fact that by taking trade caravans in winter to Yemen and in summer to Syria and Palestine, the Quraish brought necessities of life to Makkah. By this trading activity, they developed a certain prestige and also became acquainted with the prophecies about the appearance of a great Prophet in Arabia by coming into contact with Jews of Yemen and Christians of Syria who knew those prophecies. It was indeed a great Divine favour that God created in the hearts of the Quraish a liking, for making journeys to Yemen and Syria. They were so rooted in the soil and had such great attachment for the Ka‘bah that they would rather