CHAP. CVII.
Intitled, Necessaries; where it was released is disputed.
In the name of the most merciful God.
[a] Who pusheth away the orphan;] The person here intended, according to some, was Abu Jahl, who turned away an orphan, to whom he was guardian, and who came to him naked, and asked for some relief out of his own money. Some say it was Abu Sofiân, who, having killed a camel, when an orphan begged a piece of the flesh, beat him away with his staff; and others think it was al Walid Ebn al Mogheira, &c.
[b] Necessaries;] The original word al Maûn properly signifies utensils, or whatever is of necessary use, as a hatchet, a pot, a dish, and a needle, to which some add a bucket, and a hand-mill; or, according to a tradition of Ayesha, fire, water, and salt; and this signification it bore in the time of ignorance: but since the establishment of the Mohammedan religion, the word has been used to denote alms, either legal or voluntary; which seems to be the true meaning in this place.