Who has fed them from hunger, and made them safe from fear.
(Al-Quraish – ayah 4)

This is the last ayah of Surah Quraish. The common translation of the ayah is simple: 'that Allah provided food to Quraish at the time of hunger and protected them from fears of theft and robberies.' The ayah just before this says: 'Let them worship the Lord of this house.' From this, we understand that Allah is telling the Quraysh to worship the owner of the Kaaba (Allah), followed by mentioning His favors upon them. So, at first, it feels like an instruction to Quraish. But the Quran is not only for that time, it is for every single human being.

Once, my teacher told me that the lesson in this ayah is that 'A person who can overcome his hunger and fear, can do anything.' One who can control his hunger and fears cannot be controlled or forced by anyone. These two things are mentioned specifically because they are crucial reasons which lead a person to the wrong path. So, we must thank Allah as He protected us from these hardships.

After that, I started to see the ayah from another perspective, and I realized that hunger is not only for food. There is hunger for power, dominance, money, lust, luxuries, etc. Similarly, fear is not only of horrible things. There can be fear of losing someone, fear of being unemployed, fear of powerful people, or fear of becoming poor.

These things—'hunger' and 'fear'—lead us to the path of sins. People give and take bribes to get rich and gain dominance. People start doing things unpleasant to Allah to acquire luxuries in life. Some people fall into haram relationships in order to fulfill their lust.

In the same way, people start doing haram things to overcome their fears. They fall into exorcism for protection of themselves and their loved ones. They do corruption to get jobs or promotions. They commit acts of shirk to please powerful people.

So, if we could overcome every kind of hunger and every kind of fear, then we would be able to do anything and succeed in the path of Allah. The way hunger for food can be satisfied by eating, the hunger for these things can be overcome by halal means instead of haram. For example, one can do halal jobs to earn money, follow halal strategies to gain power, use halal earnings to enjoy luxuries in life, and do nikah to fulfill their lustful needs.

Similarly, we can overcome our fears in halal ways. We can ask Allah for help and protection for ourselves and our loved ones. We should be genuine in our work to secure our jobs. We should work hard, within our ability, to achieve promotions.

Once we are able to control our hunger and fear, we will be successful. And if we make it, we should thank Allah, as He helped us and provided us with resources to overcome these critical challenges.

Assalaamu Alaikum,

Welcome to QuranReflect, and thank you for sharing your first reflection with us! Your insights on the last ayah of Surah Quraish are truly thought-provoking. It's wonderful to see new members like you engaging with the Quran and sharing your reflections with the community. Your perspective on overcoming hunger and fear in various aspects of life is both enlightening and inspiring.

We look forward to reading more of your reflections and contributions in the future. Keep up the great work, and thank you for being a part of our community.

Jazak Allah Khair for your valuable reflection.

- QuranReflect review team member



A Hadith and an Ayah about the fundamental blessings we often under value.

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Whoever among you wakes up in the morning secured in his dwelling, healthy in his body, having his food for the day,then it is as if the world has been gathered for him.' [At- Tirmidhi].

من أصبح منكم آمنا في سربه، معافى في جسده، عنده قوت يومه، فكأنما حيزت له الدنيا بحذافيرها

JazakAllah khair for the reminder of this hadith. 

Is each meal really God feeding us? Is each day really God giving us security?
How can we imagine another response except to live in service to the Provider and Protector alone?

Jazak Allah Khair. 
This reminds me of an activity we sometimes do with our 5 year old at the dinner table where we choose a food and take it all the way back to the beginning. For example, a carrot had to be stocked at the grocery store by someone who was strong enough to work, and how his strength came from Allah, the driver, the person at the factory, the farmer- how all of them had to have strength and blessings from Allah to work. The sun had to shine, the rain had to come down, or water had to be brought from somewhere else by someone, and how that water had to be available to them by the will of Allah.  There are so many blessings wrapped up in one carrot, that we could never enumerate them! Alhamdullilah! Allah truly has fed us against hunger as this ayat says.