Provision and Utter Need
رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ، فَقِيرٌ.
رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ
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“My Lord! Indeed, I am in need of whatever good You send down to me.”
Form: an expression of absolute need before God (faqir — poor, in need). A graceful supplication for provision, shelter, and help without a direct demand.
Tafsir of Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Saadi
Sheikh as-Saadi explains: “Musa was hungry, exhausted, and had no shelter. Having watered the flock of the two young women, he took refuge in the shade and showed his extreme need before Allah. Allah granted him food, a home, work, and a wife.”
Tafsir of Imam Ibn Kathir
Ibn Kathir transmits the words of Ibn Abbas: “Musa had travelled such a long path that his stomach had clung to his belly from hunger, and he asked for at least a piece of bread.”
Tafsir al-Baghawi
«…And (then) he watered (the flock) for the two of them. Then he turned to the shade…»—the shade of a tree. He sat in its shade because of the intense heat, and he was also hungry.
«…and (being hungry) said: “My Lord! Indeed, I am in need of whatever good You send down to me!”…»—food.
«…in need»…» The scholars of the Arabic language said: Here, the preposition “lam” has the meaning of “ila.” They say, “He is in need of it,” and they say, “He is in need of it.”
Musa said: “Indeed, I am in need of whatever good You send down to me”—that is, food; I am in want of it. He asked for food because he was hungry. The two women hurried back to their father, and the sheep had been fed and watered. Their father asked them: “Why did you hurry?”
They replied: “We found a righteous man who showed us kindness and watered our flock for us.” Their father said to one of them: “Go and invite him to me.”
In “Sunan at-Tirmidhi” (No. 2482) it is narrated: “Whoever shows his need before Allah, Allah will grant him sufficiency.”