ٱلَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ ٱلْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِى ٱلصَّدَقَٰتِ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ ۙ سَخِرَ ٱللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
9:58.
Commentary:
The verse purports to say that the hypocrites sought excuses to find fault with all classes of believers—both those who spent freely and those who could not do so. Particular reference is to the expedition to Tabuk. Before he started for Tabuk, the Holy Prophet invited the believers to make voluntary contribution to meet the expenses of this great expedition. ‘Uthman gave 300 camels and 10,000 dinars; AbuBakr parted with all that he possessed; while ‘Umar gave as much as half of his entire property. The hypocrites attributed these and other similar liberal donations to a desire for show and display on the part of the donors. On the other hand, poor believers, who could make only small contributions, were also not spared. For instance, a poor Muslim, Abu ‘Aqil, who gave only a small quantity of dates, his whole day’s earnings, as his contribution, was scoffed at by the hypocrites for his scanty offering. It is to the taunting and scoffing of the hypocrites on this occasion that this verse particularly refers.
9:58.
A poor Muslim, Abu ‘Aqil, who gave only a small quantity of dates, his whole day’s earnings as his contribution, was scoffed at by the Hypocrites for his scanty offering.