7. He found you lost (in His love) and guided you (to your destination).*
* It may also mean: ‘He found you (as a guide) amongst an unguided people and guided them through you.’ Or: ‘He found your nation misguided and guided them through you.’ It can also mean: ‘He found you all alone, unrecognised among the people, and guided (them to you).’ Scholars have given another possible meaning to this verse: ‘He found you like a tree in a desert, which shows the way to lost people, so He guided them to the right path through you.’ Scholars have also offered another meaning: ‘He has found you in an overwhelming wish of the Qibla (the Ka‘ba of Mecca), and He will guide you (through His command) towards it.’ In this translation, ‘al-dall’ means ‘lover’ or ‘wisher’. al-Suddi, al-Kalbi, al-Farra’ and other great scholars of the pious predecessors have reported these meanings. See: al-Tha‘labi, al-Razi, al-Qurtubi, Abu Hayyan, Abu Hafs al-Hanbali, al-Qadi ‘Iyad, al-Zurqani and others.
