Topic: Ways Of

2:178; 4:37.

Important Words:

خیر (good and abundant wealth). See 2:181.

اقربین (near relatives) is the plural of اقرب (derived from قریب) meaning, one nearer; a near relative (Aqrab).

Commentary:

When the Companions of the Holy Prophet were told that they could not win the pleasure of God and enter Heaven unless they were made to pass through sufferings and afflictions like those that had gone before, they at once signified their readiness to part with their wealth and property in the cause of God and asked the Holy Prophet to let them know what they should spend in order to win the pleasure of God and attain spiritual progress. They did not wait for the threatened trials to actually overtake them, but were prepared to make every kind of sacrifice in advance. They simply wanted to be told what form their sacrifice should take.

In reply to their eager question, God’s reply also indicates a sort of eagerness, as if He meant to impart to the Faithful the relevant commandment in its entirety, without waiting for any further question on their part; for whereas their question related only "what" they should spend, God’s answer goes a step further, describing also "on whom" the money is to be spent. As to the question, what is to be spent should be (1) well-acquired and (2) abundant. In moments of great national need, there can be no hope of success unless people spend freely and generously. But as free and generous expenditure carries with it the danger of weak people resorting to acquiring wealth by unfair means, therefore the condition about the money being "good" has been added.

As to the other part of the anticipated question, i.e. on whom should the money be spent, the Quran says that money should be spent on parents and near relatives (lit. near ones) and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer. The five classes include all such persons as generally stand in need of help. The two first-mentioned classes include relatives, neighbours and friends who go to form the group that immediately surrounds a man and must claim his first attention, owning to personal relationship or personal contact. Then follow two classes that deserve help owing to their particular circumstance, orphans being without anyone to support them and the needy without any means of support. Lastly comes the wayfarer, whose claim consists in his being a stranger with no friend, no relative and no supporter. By pointing out these five classes as deserving of help, the Quran desires to hint that unless the entire community, including those who come to stay with them temporarily, is prepared to fight in the cause of Allah and unless the well-to-do classes help the weaker ones in their preparation for the national struggle, Muslims cannot present a united front nor can their efforts bring about the desired result. Each and every person must gird up his loins to contribute his fullest possible share, and those who cannot do so for want of means must receive help from others who can afford such help.

47:22.

Important Words:

غنی (Self-Sufficient) is from the verb غنی which means, he was or became free from want; he was in a state of competence or sufficiency; he was rich and wealthy. Thus غنی means, one free from want; one who is in a state of competence or sufficiency; one who is rich and wealthy. الغنی is one of the names of God, meaning the Self-Sufficient; One Who has no need of anyone in anything (Lane).

Commentary:

The divine attribute of Self-Sufficient has been used to suggest that if money spent in the cause of God is to be followed by "taunt" and "injury," it need not be spent at all, for He is Self-Sufficient. He needs no money. The order to spend is meant for the good of those who spend. So if the act of spending is abused and becomes a source of demoralization, God does not approve of such spending. The attribute حلیم (Forbearing) which also means "wise" and "intelligent" has been used here to suggest that the injunctions to spend money in the cause of God are given not because He stands in need of money but because He, the Wise God, knows that such acts are conducive to the good of man himself, the significance of "Forbearing" hinting that though God is slow in punishing, yet if such men continue undoing their own good actions by injuring the feelings of others, He would have to chastise them.

The clause, A kind word and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury, signifies that it is better to refrain from spending at all, if spending is to be followed by injury. In that case one should say قول معروف i.e. a kind word of sympathy or excuse to the person who asks for help, rather than give him help and then follow it up with injury. One should also observe an attitude of مغفرة (forgiveness) which literally means "covering up", i.e. one should cover and conceal the want of the person who comes for help and refrain from talking about it to others so that he may not feel ashamed. Or مغفرة may signify forgiveness on the part of him who asks for help, i.e. he should forgive the person who expresses his inability to render help. Again, in case the spending spoken of in the verse refers to spending in national needs, قول معروف (kind word) would mean expression of good opinion, i.e. if one cannot spend without following it up with injury, i.e. without criticizing those responsible for national expenditure, one had better refrain from spending at all.

See 2:263.

4:39; 8:48.

14:19.

Important Words:

رئاء (to be seen) is derived from رأی i.e. he saw with his physical or mental eyes. الرئاء means, to make a show of goodness or virtue without there being any sincere or genuine feeling behind it, simply to be seen of men (Aqrab & Mufradat).

صفوان (smooth rock) is in the measure of رحمان being derived from صفا i.e. it became clear or pure and was free from dirt, etc. صفوان besides being used in the singular number is also the plural of صفاة meaning, a smooth and hard rock (Aqrab).

وابل (heavy rain) is derived from وبل. They say وبله بالعصا i.e. he beat or battered him with a rod continuously. وبلت السماءmeans, the sky poured forth heavy rain (Aqrab).

صلد (bare, smooth and hard) is from صلد. They say صلدالزند i.e. the material, meant for producing fire gave out a sound but no Spark. صلد الارض means, the earth became hard. صلد السائل means, he turned away the beggar without giving him anything. صلد is, therefore, spoken of such rock or piece of ground as is hard and smooth and grows nothing (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse makes it clear that a Muslim who follows up his charity with taunt and injury, undoes his own good act and will have no reward with God. He is like a disbeliever who spends merely to be seen of and praised by men. The words, ‘and he believes not in Allah and the Last Day’ have been added because sometimes even a believer does a deed to be seen of men, and that act of his has a useful purpose. For instance, it is on record that once a Companion of the Holy Prophet was seen strutting before the hostile Quraish of Mecca. When the Prophet saw the man thus walking, he said, "This gait is hateful to God, but on the present occasion it is not so." In fact, there had been an outbreak of fever among the Companions who were greatly weakened thereby, and the aforesaid Muslim walked with a boastful gait in order to make a display of his strength so that the enemy might not think that the Muslims had been weakened by fever. This turned an ordinarily reprehensible act into a praiseworthy one. Elsewhere Muslims have been bidden to spend their money not only secretly but also openly (2:275), and the object underlying this injunction is that other Muslims, seeing a brother of theirs expending money in the cause of God, may be induced to follow his good example. But he who has no faith in God expends his money openly solely with the object of winning the good opinion of men, and such a one has no reward with God.

The concluding portion of the verse likens a disbeliever to a smooth rock which is not fit for producing a crop; but sometimes, when it is covered with a layer of dust, some corn may grow on it, i.e. when circumstances are favourable and such person does some really good deed, he derives some benefit from it. But when he spends money merely for the sake of display and show, his good deeds are wasted, just as a heavy rain washes away the dust from the surface of a smooth and hard rock, leaving it bare and unproductive.

9:60, 103, 104.

4:32; 8:30; 29:8; 64:10; 66:9.

Important Words:

یکفر (will remove) is derived from کفر (kaffara) which again is derived from کفر (kafara) for which see 2:7. They say کفر عنه سیئته i.e. (1) He (God) covered or removed, or did away with his sin; (2) He expiated his sin; (3) He effaced or obliterated his sin (Lane).

Commentary:

Islam has most wisely recommended both forms of giving alms, i.e. open and secret. By giving alms openly, a man sets a good example to others and many begin to imitate him. Secret alms-giving is in many cases better, because in this way one refrains from exposing the poverty of his brethren and there is also little occasion for pride in secret giving. It should be noted that the word خیر (better) occurring in the verse is qualified by the words "for You", while the word نعما (well and good) is not so qualified, which points to the fact that whereas secret giving to the poor is better for the giver, open giving may often be conducive to more good for the Community in general.

Again, the particle من (many) in the clause, "many of your sins" may, according to Arabic idiom, either be redundant and used merely for the sake of emphasis, or used in the sense of "many" or "some"; or it denotes ابتداءالغایة i.e. the commencement of the limit. Following these different senses and also keeping in view the different meanings of the word یکفر (will remove), the clause ویکفر عنکم من سیآتکم may be rendered in four different ways: (1) He (God) will certainly remove from you your sins. (2) He will remove from you many or some of your sins. (3) He will expiate many or some of your sins for you. (4) He will certainly obliterate, or efface from you, your sins.

In the first and the fourth rendering, the particle من has been treated as redundant, used for the sake of emphasis only, and therefore it has been omitted in the translation and the word "certainly" has been added. But if we take the word من in the sense of "many" or "some", the meaning of the sentence will be as given in the second and the third rendering.

In the case of the second rendering, the idea is that if we practise charity, those of our sins which are committed against the rights of God will be pardoned, but not those which are committed against the rights of men for which other acts of virtue have been recommended. In the case of the third rendering, the idea is that on the basis of charity practised in accordance with the injunctions of the Quran, God will so arrange that sins committed by the giver of charity, against the rights of men, will be pardoned by the very men who are sinned against.

But as it is possible that even after a man has been pardoned, his sins may continue to rankle in his own mind, so God has promised to show a further favour to those who practise charity according to the teachings of Islam. This promise is implied in the word یکفر (efface and obliterate) which is intended to hint that God will make them forget their sins and thus obliterate and efface from their minds all traces of the sins committed by them. This idea has been expressed in the last rendering. Thus a single small sentence has been so worded as to cover all the possible forms of forgiveness, from its lowest phase to its highest manifestation.

28:57; 92:13.

2:282; 4:174; 8:61; 39:11.

Commentary:

As the verse relates to believers, the word ھدی occurring in it does not mean "showing the right path," for believers have already accepted guidance. It means "making them follow the right path". It is indeed God alone Who can enable believers to continue treading on the right path and protect them from the dangers of the way. See also 2:6.

The Quran has here selected the word خیر (wealth) instead of any other word meaning wealth or property; for this word not only signifies "property" but "good and well-earned property". Nay, it signifies even more, for it extends to "anything and everything good". The choice of this word thus greatly extends the scope of charity and does not confine it to the spending of wealth alone. The expression includes the doing of good to mankind in any form.

The clause while you spend not but to seek the favour of Allah, is a great tribute to the Companions of the Holy Prophet. They are not bidden to spend their wealth to seek the pleasure of God, but are told that such is already their practice. This is also a form of exhortation which is considered to be more effective than a direct command or prohibition.

2:265.

43:37, 39.

Important Words:

قرین (companion) is the verbal adjective from قرن. They say قرن شیئا بشییء i.e. he connected, coupled or conjoined a thing with another. قرین means, an associate; a comrade; a companion; also a husband (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Some people spend their money while they have no faith in God or in the Last Day. They do it to win the applause of men and not the pleasure of God. So, instead of winning reward, they earn God’s displeasure. Sometimes, however, money is spent openly in the cause of God with the object of inducing others to do the same. This display of charity belongs to an altogether different category and is commendable.

16:91; 30:39.

Important Words:

تبذر (squander) is derived from بذر (badhdhara) which is the intensified form of بذر (badhara) which means, he sowed seed; he scattered seed upon the ground; he scattered or dispersed or he scattered or dispersed much; he divulged what was secret; he talked much. They say بذر الخلق i.e. He (God) scattered or dispersed mankind in the earth. بذرت الارضmeans, the land put forth its herbage in a scattered state. بذرالعلم means, he disseminated and diffused knowledge. بذر المال (badhdhara) means, he dissipated or squandered wealth by extravagant expenditure and destroyed and wasted it; he expended his wealth so largely as not to leave of it whereby he might subsist, or he expended it in acts of disobedience; or he squandered it in a way that was not right (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse declares that the relatives of a rich person are entitled to a share in his property, and so are wayfarers and poor people. A person’s relatives help him in various ways to earn his wealth. For instance, ‘A’ succeeds in getting a highly lucrative post as the result of the good education his parents have given him, depriving their other children of a similar education. The latter, therefore, possess a right in the wealth of ‘A’ because he rose to his high position at their expense. It is clearly stated in 51:20 that the poor and the needy have a right to share the property of the rich.

As for the wayfarer, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that a wayfarer could claim, as of right, three days’ free entertainment from the residents of a place which he might visit, and if it were denied to him, he could demand it even by reasonable force (Dawud, Kitabul-At‘ima).

This injunction can only be carried out in a country where the Law of Islam is in force, for according to it the residents of a place, as a whole, are bound to act as the host to a wayfarer. If this injunction were carried into practice many of the social evils which are to be found in hotels and restaurants would disappear.

This general commandment about entertainment of guests and visitors is also eminently calculated to promote peace and goodwill among different nations. The chief cause of international strife is mutual hatred. So if the entertainment of visitors should become popular in the way in which it has been inculcated by Islam, much international hatred would disappear. Those who returned to their country after having enjoyed the hospitality of a people would naturally remain favourably inclined towards them and would be slow to pick a quarrel with them. Thus this practice would prove a good means of promoting brotherly relations between different peoples.

One meaning of the word تبذیر as shown under Important Words is, "to spend for a wrong cause." Thus, if a person gives away even his whole property for the cause of religion he will not be guilty of تبذیر for the money so spent will have been spent for a right cause.

6:142; 7:32; 25:68.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that God has bestowed His favours upon men that they may make right use of them. A person who does not make right use of God’s gifts is guilty of ingratitude to Him. He who squanders away his wealth, in fact, seeks to shirk the responsibilities which lie upon him in connection with its proper use.

6:142; 7:32; 17:28.

Important Words:

لم یقتروا (nor spend niggardly). See 2:237 & 10:27.

قواما (a moderate position) is derived from قام which means, he stood still in his place. قاومه means, it was equal or equivalent to it. قوامmeans, stature of a man; symmetry or justness of proportion; moderation; stay or support of a thing; subsistence of a man (Lane & Aqrab).

17:24