تَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍ

2:190; 9:36.

3:98; 22:28.

Important Words:

رفث (foul talk) means, foul, immodest or lewd talk or speech in relation to women. It also signifies acts leading to and including coition (Mufradat & Lane). See also 2:188.

فسوق (transgression) is the same as فسق for which see note on 2:27.

جدال (quarrelling) is derived from جدل. They say جدل الحبل i.e. he twisted the rope. جدل الرجل means, his dispute or quarrel became intensified. جادله means, he disputed or quarrelled with him. Thus جدال means, dispute or quarrel, or the use of strong and hot words (Aqrab).

تزودوا (furnish yourselves) and الزاد (provision) are both derived from زاد with واو as the central root letter. They say زادالرجلi.e. the man prepared a provision for himself for a journey, etc. تزود means, he took for himself a provision. تزودمن الامیرکتابا الی عامله means, he took from the caliph a letter of introduction to his governor so that the latter might afford him his assistance as and when required. الزاد means, any provision, etc. taken when proceeding on a journey (Aqrab). The word is used of extra store meant for future use (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The clause the months of the Hajj are well known is intended to hint that, in the matter of the time of Pilgrimage, the Quran gives no new commandment. The established custom is the right one, being rightly retained by the Arabs from the days of Abraham and Ishmael. The three lunar months during which one may formally undertake the Pilgrimage and enter into the state of Ihram are Shawwal, Dhul-Qa‘dah and the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah (Bukhari).

The clause, there is to be no foul talk, nor any transgression nor any quarrelling during the Pilgrimage, does not mean that such acts are permissible at other times but that these are necessary conditions for the completion of Pilgrimage, which would be like a soulless body if one indulged in such things while undertaking it. Another purpose underlying these injunctions is that a person should abstain from them particularly during the period of Pilgrimage so that it might become easy for him to shun these things at other times as well. The three vices selected are typical of what should be scrupulously avoided in a religious gathering like that at the Pilgrimage. رفث (rafath) stands for all foul, immodest and lewd talk as well as acts relating to sex. فسوق (fusuq) stands for transgression against the laws of God and disobedience of lawful authority, whether spiritual or temporal. And جدال (jidal) stands for disputes and quarrels with co-travellers, companions and neighbours.

The clause, And furnish yourselves with necessary provisions, does not only refer to the preparation which one makes for an ordinary journey which is necessary in its own way, but also to the preparation which one has to make for a spiritual journey. In this sense the clause would signify "provide yourselves with piety and righteousness;" and in order to emphasize the latter kind of provision, the Quran fittingly adds, and surely the best provision is righteousness. But ordinary provision is also necessary; for, if a man does not take necessary provisions with him, he will be certainly put to great inconvenience and hardship on the way and will have to beg of others for help and both these things are detrimental to the noble object underlying Pilgrimage.

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.

4:4.

Important Words:

یستفتونك (they seek of thee the decision of the Law) and یفتیکم (gives you His decision) are both derived from فتو or فتی i.e.he was or became youthful, or he was in the prime of life. فتا الرجل means, he surpassed the man in فتوة i.e. in generosity. افتاه فی الامر means, he made known or explained to him the decision of the Shari‘ah respecting the matter; or he gave him an answer stating the decision of the Law respecting a question. استفتیت الفقیه فی الامر means, I asked or sought of the jurist or the lawyer or the learned man the decision of the Shari‘ah respecting the matter. فتوی therefore means, an explanation or notification or pronouncement of the decision of the Law in some dubious or difficult matter given by a jurist or a lawyer or a man learned in religious Law. استفتاء means, asking or seeking of a jurist or a lawyer or a learned man the decision of the Law (Shari‘ah) in a certain dubious or difficult matter (Lane & Aqrab). The expression إفتا rendered in the verse as gives you the decision, is also sometimes used in the sense of permitting or giving permission, as in the well-known hadith الاثم ماحك فی صدرك وان افتاك الناس i.e. a sin is that which pricks in thy mind even if people should say that it is permissible (Lisan). In this case the Quranic clause الله یفتیکم rendered as, Allah gives you His decision, may also be translated as "Allah gives you permission".

Commentary:

The verse which has been differently translated is considered to be a rather difficult one. The decision spoken of in the clause, Allah gives you His decision, refers to what follows in the succeeding verses, i.e. 4:129-131.

The allusion in the words, that which is recited to you in the Book, is to verse 4:4 in the beginning of the present Surah. It was prohibited to Muslims to marry those orphan girls whose rights they could not adequately discharge. ‘Umar, the Holy Prophet’s Second Successor, would not allow the guardians of wealthy and handsome orphan girls to marry them but would insist on better husbands being found for them. On the other hand, if they were not so wealthy or handsome, he recommended them to their guardians for marriage so that, being acquainted with their defects and weaknesses, they might overlook their shortcomings and deal kindly with them. For further instructions about good treatment of orphans; see 4: 6, 7.

Generally speaking the clause, Allah gives you His decision regarding them (women) and so does that which is recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls, means that some instructions about women have already been given in the Quran and other instructions follow.