Tefekkür Signs for those who reflect
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M10

Orphans, the poor, travelers and neighbors

The Quran describes faith in social terms: the one "who denies the Recompense" is "the one who drives away the orphan And does not encourage the feeding of the poor" (107:1–3). Care reaches out in rings — parents, relatives, orphans, the needy, near and far neighbours, the traveller (4:36).

فَأَمَّا ٱلْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ۝٩ وَأَمَّا ٱلسَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ۝١٠

fa-ammā l-yatīma falā taqhar · wa-ammā l-sāila falā tanhar

So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him]. And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him].

93:9–10

Translation: Saheeh International

  • Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful. 4:36

    Arabic text and transliteration

    ۞ وَٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِهِۦ شَيْـًٔا ۖ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَٰنًا وَبِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱلْجَارِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْجَارِ ٱلْجُنُبِ وَٱلصَّاحِبِ بِٱلْجَنۢبِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا

    wa-uʿ'budū l-laha walā tush'rikū bihi shayan wabil-wālidayni iḥ'sānan wabidhī l-qur'bā wal-yatāmā wal-masākīni wal-jāri dhī l-qur'bā wal-jāri l-junubi wal-ṣāḥibi bil-janbi wa-ib'ni l-sabīli wamā malakat aymānukum inna l-laha lā yuḥibbu man kāna mukh'tālan fakhūran

  • Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense? For that is the one who drives away the orphan And does not encourage the feeding of the poor. 107:1–3

    Arabic text and transliteration

    بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ أَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِ ۝ فَذَٰلِكَ ٱلَّذِى يَدُعُّ ٱلْيَتِيمَ ۝ وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ

    ara-ayta alladhī yukadhibu bil-dīni · fadhālika alladhī yaduʿʿu l-yatīma · walā yaḥuḍḍu ʿalā ṭaʿāmi l-mis'kīni

  • Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous. 2:177

    Arabic text and transliteration

    ۞ لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ ۗ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ

    laysa l-bira an tuwallū wujūhakum qibala l-mashriqi wal-maghribi walākinna l-bira man āmana bil-lahi wal-yawmi l-ākhiri wal-malāikati wal-kitābi wal-nabiyīna waātā l-māla ʿalā ḥubbihi dhawī l-qur'bā wal-yatāmā wal-masākīna wa-ib'na l-sabīli wal-sāilīna wafī l-riqābi wa-aqāma l-ṣalata waātā l-zakata wal-mūfūna biʿahdihim idhā ʿāhadū wal-ṣābirīna fī l-basāi wal-ḍarāi waḥīna l-basi ulāika alladhīna ṣadaqū wa-ulāika humu l-mutaqūna

  • And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [Saying], "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. 76:8–9

    Arabic text and transliteration

    وَيُطْعِمُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا ۝ إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ ٱللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَآءً وَلَا شُكُورًا

    wayuṭ'ʿimūna l-ṭaʿāma ʿalā ḥubbihi mis'kīnan wayatīman wa-asīran · innamā nuṭ'ʿimukum liwajhi l-lahi lā nurīdu minkum jazāan walā shukūran

If you want to go deeper

3min read

What it means

Yatīm, miskīn, ibn al-sabīl, jār. Yatīm: an orphan, a child who has lost the father. Miskīn: someone in need, whose income does not cover their needs. Ibn al-sabīl: "child of the road", a traveller cut off from home. Jār: neighbour.

What the Quran says

The orphan and the one who asks (93:9–10). "So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him]. And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him]" (93:9–10). Sura al-Duha is Meccan and addressed to the Prophet (pbuh), who was himself an orphan: the sura first reminds him that God found him an orphan and gave him refuge (93:6; not quoted, as no verified text was available), then tells him how to treat orphans.

Religion denied by neglect (107:1–3). "Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense? For that is the one who drives away the orphan And does not encourage the feeding of the poor" (107:1–3), usually counted as Meccan. Denying the Day of Judgement is shown not by a statement but by how one treats the weak.

The rings of care (4:36). "Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful" (4:36), Medinan.

Feeding without wanting thanks (76:8–9). "And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [Saying], 'We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude'" (76:8–9). In the Prophet's (pbuh) time the captives were non-Muslim prisoners of war, so the verse includes feeding enemies in captivity.

What the Prophet (pbuh) taught

The neighbour. Ibn ʿUmar (ra) reports the Prophet (pbuh) as saying: "Gabriel kept on recommending me about treating the neighbors in a kind and polite manner so much so that I thought that he would order (me) to make them (my) heirs" (Bukhārī 6015 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)).

The orphan's guardian. Sahl (ra) reports the Prophet (pbuh) as saying: "I and the guardian of an orphan will be in Jannah like this" (Bukhārī 5304 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)) — the full report describes him holding up two fingers close together.

What research shows

Strong social ties are linked to longer life. Established (correlational.) Holt-Lunstad, Smith and Layton (2010) combined 148 studies with 308,849 participants followed for an average of 7.5 years. People with stronger social relationships had about 50% greater odds of survival (odds ratio 1.50, 95% CI 1.42–1.59) — an effect the authors call "comparable with quitting smoking" and larger than many other risk factors.

Children do better in families than in institutions. Established (.) In the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, 136 young children living in Romanian orphanages were randomly assigned either to stay or to move to foster families. By 42 and 54 months, the foster-care group had significantly higher developmental and IQ scores; the earlier the placement, the better. Even the youngest placed children remained "nearly 10 points below" never-institutionalised children (Nelson et al., 2007, as reported). This supports the Islamic preference for caring for orphans within families (guardianship, kafāla) rather than in large institutions.

In daily life

Know your neighbours' names, greet them, share food, notice when someone is ill or alone.

Sponsor an orphan through a trusted organisation — or, if you can, take one into your home under kafāla (guardianship).

Feed people without expecting thanks (76:9): a meal for a family in need, a donation to a food bank.

Help travellers and newcomers: refugees, students far from home, new arrivals in your city.

For the heart and mind

If you grew up as an orphan or in care, the Prophet (pbuh) was an orphan too, and the Quran addresses him as one (93:6–9). Your experience is not a mark against you.

If you are lonely, you are not failing at faith. Loneliness is a real health risk (Holt-Lunstad et al.). Reaching out — to a mosque, a neighbour, a community group — is itself part of what these verses ask.

Questions readers ask next

Who were "the captive" in 76:8?

Prisoners of war, who in the Prophet's (pbuh) time were non-Muslims.

Why does 107 link denying religion to neglecting the poor?

Because, in the Quran, belief in judgement shows in conduct toward the weak.

What is kafāla?

Guardianship of an orphan, raising them without changing their lineage. Its legal rules were not covered here.

Is institutional orphan care bad?

The Bucharest study found that family-based foster care produced better development than institutions, especially when started early.

Sources

  1. Saheeh International via the site's Tanzil data — 93:9–10, 4:36, 107:1–3, 2:177, 76:8–9.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 6015 (sunnah.com), https://www.sunnah.com/bukhari:6015 — the neighbour.
  3. Sahih al-Bukhari 5304 (via hadithunlocked.com), https://hadithunlocked.com/bukhari:5304 — the guardian of an orphan.
  4. J. Holt-Lunstad, T. B. Smith and J. B. Layton, "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review", PLOS Medicine 7:7 (2010), e1000316, https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316.
  5. C. A. Nelson, C. H. Zeanah, N. A. Fox et al., "Cognitive Recovery in Socially Deprived Young Children: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project", Science 318 (2007), pp. 1937–1940, as reported by Medical News Today, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/92486/.
  6. Holt-Lunstad, Smith & Layton, "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review," PLOS Medicine 2010
  7. Nelson, Fox & Zeanah, Romania's Abandoned Children (Harvard University Press, 2014)
  8. Al-Qurṭubī on 4:36; al-Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ, "Ādāb al-Ṣuḥba"
  9. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, "Komşu", "Yetim"