106- Surat Quraish/Tafseer
4 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Le-ilafi Quraish (1).
For the familiarity of the Quraish.
Ilafihim rihlata alshitai wa alsaif (2).
Their familiarity with the journey of Winter and Summer.
Fal-ya'budu rabba hadha albait (3).
Let them worship the Lord of this House.
Allazi at'ama-hum men ju'in wa amanahum men khawf (4).
Who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear.
Simplified interpretation:
Quraish used to travel twice a year for trade in order to bring the necessities of their life such as food, fruits, cloths...etc, and they used to take caravans to the neighboring areas, traveling to the south in the Winter (Yemen), and to the north in the Summer (Syria).
Allah Almighty says in the first two verses (1,2) "For the familiarity of the Quraish, their familiarity with the journey of Winter and Summer", that is, these two verses can not be separated from one another, the first one came to describe an habit of Quraish to do something and their familiarity with the tribes, but it did not specify that habit, so the second verse came to explain their familiarity, which is the familiarity with the caravans of the journey of Winter and Summer.
The two caravans are a great example of the honor that Allah has bestowed upon Quraish for Allah has honored Mecca with the presence of the sanctuary House (Ka'bah) therein, then Quraish became the residents of Allah's sanctuary, so the people used to respect them, and as a result they always returned to Mecca in safety during the two caravans.
When the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) called Quraish to believe in Allah, they said to Him as Allah has stated in Surat Alqassas Aya (57) {And they said if we follow the guidance with you, we would be snatched away from our land, Do they not see that We established for them a secure sanctuary to which fruits of everything are brought, a provision from Us?, but most of them do not know}, so Quraish feared the pagan Arab tribes, and said that if they follow the Messenger of Allah and the Holy Quran, the other tribes will harm them, wage war against them, and snatch them from their country, but Allah assured that their excuse is a lie and a falsehood as He made for them a secure sanctuary and they are in a great security and fruits from all things are brought to them from everywhere as a provision from Allah, but most of them do not know as they follow their whims without any proof or argument.
Allah Almighty says in the last two verses (3,4) "Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear", that is, because of the blessings of peace, security, and provision that Allah has bestowed upon Quraish, they should be grateful to Allah, and they should worship the Lord of the Sanctuary House (Ka'bah), as Sanctuary House is a source of peace and respect for them among other tribes, and this in turn save them from attacks during the two caravans and save their land simultaneously. So they should worship the One who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear.