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Ayah
Word by Word
وَمَا
And what
لَكُمۡ
(is) for you
أَلَّا
that not
تُنفِقُواْ
you spend
فِي
in
سَبِيلِ
(the) way
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
وَلِلَّهِ
while for Allah
مِيرَٰثُ
(is the) heritage
ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ
(of) the heavens
وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ
and the earth
لَا
Not
يَسۡتَوِي
are equal
مِنكُم
among you
مَّنۡ
(those) who
أَنفَقَ
spent
مِن
before
قَبۡلِ
before
ٱلۡفَتۡحِ
the victory
وَقَٰتَلَۚ
and fought
أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ
Those
أَعۡظَمُ
(are) greater
دَرَجَةٗ
(in) degree
مِّنَ
than
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
أَنفَقُواْ
spent
مِنۢ
afterwards
بَعۡدُ
afterwards
وَقَٰتَلُواْۚ
and fought
وَكُلّٗا
But to all
وَعَدَ
Allah has promised
ٱللَّهُ
Allah has promised
ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰۚ
the best
وَٱللَّهُ
And Allah
بِمَا
of what
تَعۡمَلُونَ
you do
خَبِيرٞ
(is) All-Aware
وَمَا
And what
لَكُمۡ
(is) for you
أَلَّا
that not
تُنفِقُواْ
you spend
فِي
in
سَبِيلِ
(the) way
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
وَلِلَّهِ
while for Allah
مِيرَٰثُ
(is the) heritage
ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ
(of) the heavens
وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ
and the earth
لَا
Not
يَسۡتَوِي
are equal
مِنكُم
among you
مَّنۡ
(those) who
أَنفَقَ
spent
مِن
before
قَبۡلِ
before
ٱلۡفَتۡحِ
the victory
وَقَٰتَلَۚ
and fought
أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ
Those
أَعۡظَمُ
(are) greater
دَرَجَةٗ
(in) degree
مِّنَ
than
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
أَنفَقُواْ
spent
مِنۢ
afterwards
بَعۡدُ
afterwards
وَقَٰتَلُواْۚ
and fought
وَكُلّٗا
But to all
وَعَدَ
Allah has promised
ٱللَّهُ
Allah has promised
ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰۚ
the best
وَٱللَّهُ
And Allah
بِمَا
of what
تَعۡمَلُونَ
you do
خَبِيرٞ
(is) All-Aware
Translation
And what cause have ye why ye should not spend in the cause of Allah?- For to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. Not equal among you are those who spent (freely) and fought, before the Victory, (with those who did so later). Those are higher in rank than those who spent (freely) and fought afterwards. But to all has Allah promised a goodly (reward). And Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do.
Tafsir
And why should you, after having embraced faith, not (allaa: the noon of an [an-laa] has been assimilated here with the laam of laa) expend in the way of God when to God belongs the heritage of the skies and the earth, with all that they comprise, so that He will [eventually] receive all your wealth but without the reward for having expended [of it for His cause], as opposed to if you had expended and had hence been rewarded. Not equal [to the rest of you] are those of you who expended and fought before the victory, at Mecca. Such are greater in rank than those who expended and fought afterwards. Yet to each, of the two groups (a variant reading [for wa-kullan, 'yet to each'] has nominative wa-kullun as a subject) God has promised the best reward, the Paradise. And God is Aware of what you do, and will requite you for it [accordingly].
Ordering Faith and encouraging spending
Allah the Exalted says,
امِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَأَنفِقُوا مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسۡتَخۡلَفِينَ فِيهِ
Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees.
Allah the Exalted and Blessed orders having perfect faith in Him and in His Messenger, and that one should persist on this path adhering firmly to it. Allah encourages spending from what He has made mankind trustees of, the wealth that you - mankind - have, that He has lent you. This wealth was in the hands of those before you and was later transferred to you. Therefore, O mankind, spend as Allah commanded you from the wealth that He entrusted to you for His obedience. Otherwise, He will hold you accountable and punish you for your ignoring what He ordained on you in this regard.
Allah's statement,
مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسۡتَخۡلَفِينَ فِيهِ
(of that whereof He has made you trustees),
indicates that you - mankind -- will surrender this wealth to someone else. In this case, those who will inherit from you might obey Allah with their wealth, and thus acquire more happiness than you on account of what Allah has granted them. They might disobey Allah, and in this case you will have helped them commit evil and transgression.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abdullah bin Ash-Shikhkhir said,
I came to Allah's Messenger as he was reciting
مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسۡتَخۡلَفِينَ فِيهِ
(abundance diverts you) and saying,
يَقُولُ ابۡنُ ادَمَ مَالِي مَالِي وَهَلۡ لَكَ مِن مَالِكَ إِلاَّ مَاأَكَلۡتَ فَأَفۡنَيۡتَ أَوۡ لَبِسۡتَ فَأَبۡلَيۡتَ أَوۡ تَصَدَّقۡتَ فَأَمۡضَيۡتَ
The Son of Adam claims, My wealth, my wealth. But is there anything belonging to you, except that which you consumed, which you used, or which you wore and then it became worn or you gave as charity and sent it forward.
Muslim also collected with the addition:
وَمَا سِوَى ذلِكَ فَذَاهِبٌ وَتَارِكُهُ لِلنَّاس
Other than that, you will go away from it and leave it behind for other people.
Allah's statement,
فَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا مِنكُمۡ وَأَنفَقُوا لَهُمۡ أَجۡرٌ كَبِيرٌ
And such of you as believe and spend, theirs will be a great reward.
encourages having faith and spending in acts of obedience.
Allah the Exalted said
وَمَا لَكُمۡ لَا تُوۡمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
وَالرَّسُولُ يَدۡعُوكُمۡ لِتُوۡمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمۡ
And what is the matter with you that you believe not in Allah! While the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord;
meaning,
what prevents you from believing, while the Messenger is among you calling you to faith and bringing forward clear proofs and evidences that affirm the truth of what he brought you?
And we have reported the Hadith through different routes in the beginning of the explanation on the chapter on Faith in Sahih Al-Bukhari, wherein one day the Messenger of Allah said to his Companions,
أَيُّ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ أَعۡجَبُ إِلَيۡكُمۡ إِيمَانًا
Who do you consider among the believers as having the most amazing faith?
They said, The angels.
He said,
وَمَا لَهُمۡ لَا يُوۡمِنُونَ وَهُمۡ عِنۡدَ رَبِّهِمۡ
And what prevents them from believing when they are with their Lord?
They said, Then the Prophets.
He said,
وَمَالَهُمۡ لَا يُوۡمِنُونَ وَالۡوَحۡيُ يَنۡزِلُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ
What prevents them from believing when the revelation comes down to them?
They said, Then us.
He said,
وَمَالَكُمۡ لَا تُوۡمِنُونَ وَأَنَا بَيۡنَ أَظۡهُرِكُمۡ وَلكِنۡ أَعۡجَبُ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا قَوۡمٌ يَجِييُونَ بَعۡدَكُمۡ يَجِدُونَ صُحُفًا يُوۡمِنُونَ بِمَا فِيهَا
What prevents you from believing, when I am amongst you Actually, the believers who have the most amazing faith, are some people who will come after you; they will find pages that they will believe in.
We mentioned a part of this Hadith when explaining Allah's statement in Surah Al-Baqarah,
الَّذِينَ يُوۡمِنُونَ بِالۡغَيۡبِ
(who believe in the Ghayb (unseen), (2:3)
Allah's statement,
وَقَدۡ أَخَذَ مِيثَاقَكُمۡ
and He has indeed taken your covenant,
is similar to another of His statements,
وَاذۡكُرُواۡ نِعۡمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمِيثَـقَهُ الَّذِى وَاثَقَكُم بِهِ إِذۡ قُلۡتُمۡ سَمِعۡنَا وَأَطَعۡنَا
And remember Allah's favor to you and His covenant with which He bound you when you said:We hear and we obey. (5:7),
which refers to giving the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet.
Ibn Jarir said that the covenant mentioned here, is that taken from mankind, when they were still in Adam's loin.
This is also the opinion of Mujahid, and Allah knows best.
إِن كُنتُم مُّوۡمِنِينَ
if you are real believers.
Allah said
هُوَ الَّذِي يُنَزِّلُ عَلَى عَبۡدِهِ ايَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ
It is He Who sends down manifest Ayat to His servant,
clear proofs, unequivocal evidences and plain attestations,
لِيُخۡرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ
that He may bring you out from darkness into light.
from the darkness of ignorance, disbelief and contradictory statements to the light of guidance, certainty and faith,
وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُمۡ لَرَوُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And verily, Allah is to you full of kindness, Most Merciful.
by revealing the Divine Books and sending the Messengers to guide mankind, eradicating doubts and removing confusion. After Allah commanded mankind to first believe and spend, He again encouraged them to acquire faith and stated that He has removed all barriers between them and the acquisition of faith.
Allah again encouraged them to spend
وَمَا لَكُمۡ أَلاَّ تُنفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَۡرۡضِ
And what is the matter with you that you spend not in the cause of Allah And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth.
means, spend and do not fear poverty or scarcity. Surely, He in Whose cause you spent is the King and Owner of the heavens and earth and has perfect control over their every affair, including their treasuries. He is the Owner of the Throne, with all the might that it contains, and He is the One Who said,
وَمَأ أَنفَقۡتُمۡ مِّن شَىۡءٍ فَهُوَ يُخۡلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيۡرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
And whatsoever you spend of anything, He will replace it. And He is the best of providers. (34:39),
and,
مَا عِندَكُمۡ يَنفَدُ وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ
whatever is with you, will be exhausted, and whatever is with Allah will remain. (16:96)
Therefore, those who trust in and depend on Allah will spend, and they will not fear poverty or destitution coming to them from the Owner of the Throne. They know that Allah will surely compensate them for whatever they spend.
The Virtues of spending and fighting before the Conquest of Makkah
Allah's statement,
لَاا يَسۡتَوِي مِنكُم مَّنۡ أَنفَقَ مِن قَبۡلِ الۡفَتۡحِ وَقَاتَلَ
Not equal among you are those who spent before the conquering and fought.
meaning those who did not fight and spend before the Conquest are not equal to those who spent and fought.
Before Makkah was conquered, things were difficult for Muslims and only the righteous ones embraced Islam. After Makkah was conquered, Islam spread tremendously throughout the known world and people embraced the religion of Allah en masse.
Similarly He said:
أُوۡلَيِكَ أَعۡظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أَنفَقُوا مِن بَعۡدُ وَقَاتَلُوا وَكُلًّ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الۡحُسۡنَى
Such are higher in degree than those who spent and fought afterwards. But to all Allah has promised the best (reward).
The majority considers the Conquest here to be the conquest of Makkah.
Ash-Sha`bi and several others said that the Ayah refers to the treaty at Al-Hudaybiyyah. There is proof for this opinion found in a Hadith from Anas, collected by Imam Ahmad. Anas said,
Khalid bin Al-Walid and Abdur-Rahman bin Awf had a dispute. Khalid said to Abdur-Rahman, You boast about days (battles) that you participated in before us.'
When the news of this statement reached the Prophet he said,
دَعُوا لِي أَصۡحَابِي فَوَالَّذِي نَفۡسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوۡ أَنۡفَقۡتُمۡ مِثۡلَ أُحُدٍ أَوۡ مِثۡلَ الۡجِبَالِ ذَهَبًا مَا بَلَغۡتُمۡ أَعۡمَالَهُم
Do not bother my Companions, for by He in Whose Hand is my soul! If you spend an amount of gold equal to (Mount) Uhud, (or equal to the mountains), you will not reach the level of their actions.
It is a known fact that Khalid bin Al-Walid, whom the Prophet addressed this statement to, embraced Islam during the period between the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyyah and the conquering of Makkah.
The dispute between Khalid and Abdur-Rahman occurred because of the battle of Bani Jadhimah. The Prophet sent Khalid bin Al-Walid to them after the conquest of Makkah, and they said, Saba'na, instead of saying, Aslamna (we embraced Islam). So Khalid ordered their execution and the execution of their prisoners (of war); Abdur-Rahman bin Awf and Abdullah bin Umar opposed him. This is the reason behind the dispute that occurred between Khalid and Abdur-Rahman. But in the Sahih, the Messenger of Allah said,
لَاا تَسُبُّوا أَصۡحَابِي فَوَالَّذِي نَفۡسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوۡ أَنۡفَقَ أَحَدُكُمۡ مِثۡلَ أُحُدٍ ذَهَبًا مَا بَلَغَ مُدَّ أَحَدِهِمۡ وَلَاا نَصِيفَه
None should revile my Companions, for by He in Whose Hand is my soul! If one of you were to spend as much gold as Uhud, it would not reach the level of them equal to an amount as much as one Mudd of one of them or half of it.
Allah said,
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الۡحُسۡنَى
But to all Allah has promised the best (reward).
meaning, those who spent before and after the conquest of Makkah; they all will gain a reward for their good deeds, even though some of them vary in rank and earn a better reward than others as Allah said,
لااَّ يَسۡتَوِى الۡقَـعِدُونَ مِنَ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ غَيۡرُ أُوۡلِى الضَّرَرِ وَالۡمُجَـهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمۡوَلِهِمۡ وَأَنفُسِهِمۡ فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الۡمُجَـهِدِينَ بِأَمۡوَلِهِمۡ وَأَنفُسِهِمۡ عَلَى الۡقَـعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً وَكُـلاًّ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الۡحُسۡنَى وَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الۡمُجَـهِدِينَ عَلَى الۡقَـعِدِينَ أَجۡراً عَظِيماً
Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled, and those who strive hard and fight in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives above those who sit (at home). Unto each, Allah has promised good, but Allah has preferred by a great reward those who strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home). (4:95)
There is a Hadith in the Sahih that states,
الۡمُوۡمِنُ الۡقَوِيُّ خَيۡرٌ وَأَحَبُّ إِلَى اللهِ مِنَ الۡمُوۡمِنِ الضَّعِيفِ وَفِي كُلَ خَيۡر
The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer; both have goodness in them.
The Prophet ended his statement this way to draw attention to the second type of believer, so that their own qualities are not forgotten in the midst of preferring the former type. In this way, the latter is not dismissed as being degraded in the Hadith. Therefore, the Prophet ended his statement by praising the second type -- the weak believers -- after giving preference to the first type.
Allah said:
وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
meaning, since Allah is perfectly aware of all things, He made distinctions between the rewards of the believers who spent and fought before the Conquest and those who spent and fought afterwards. Surely, Allah does this by His knowledge of the intention of the former type and their perfect sincerity to Him, all the while spending in times of hardship, poverty and dire straits.
This is found in the Hadith,
سَبَقَ دِرۡهَمٌ مِايَةَ أَلۡف
Spending one Dirham is preceded over a hundred thousand.
There is no doubt that the people of faith consider Abu Bakr As-Siddiq to be the person who has the best share according to the meaning of this Ayah. He was the chief of those who implemented it, among all followers of all Prophets. He spent all of his wealth seeking the Face of Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored. He did it voluntarily too, not to repay a debt or a favor that anyone from mankind had on him. May Allah be pleased with him.
The Encouragement to make a Handsome Loan in the Cause of Allah
Allah said
مَن ذَا الَّذِي يُقۡرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرۡضًا حَسَنًا
Who is he that will lend Allah a handsome loan?
Umar bin Al-Khattab said that this Ayah refers to spending in Allah's cause.
It was also said that it pertains to spending on children.
What is correct is that it is more general than that. So all those who spend in the cause of Allah with good intentions and a sincere heart, then they fall under the generality of this Ayah. This is why Allah the Exalted said:
مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقۡرِضُ اللّهَ قَرۡضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ
Who is he that will lend Allah handsome loan:then (Allah) will increase it manifold to his credit (in repaying), and in another Ayah,
أَضۡعَافًا كَثِيرَةً
(many times) (2:245),
meaning, being handsome reward and tremendous provisions:Paradise on the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abdullah bin Masud said,
When this Ayah,
مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقۡرِضُ اللّهَ قَرۡضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ
(Who is he that will lend Allah handsome loan:then (Allah) will increase it manifold to his credit (in repaying),) was revealed, Abu Ad-Dahdah Al-Ansari said, `O Allah's Messenger! Does Allah ask us for a loan' The Prophet said,
Yes, O Abu Ad-Dahdah.
He said, `Give me your hand, O Allah's Messenger,'
and the Prophet placed his hand in his hand.
Abu Ad-Dahdah said, `Verily, I have given my garden as a loan to my Lord.'
He had a garden that contained six hundred date trees; his wife and children were living in that garden too.
Abu Ad-Dahdah went to his wife and called her, Umm Ad-Dahdah!'
She said, `Here I am.'
He said, `Leave the garden, because I have given it as a loan to my Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored.'
She said, `That is a successful trade, O Abu Ad-Dahdah!'
She then transferred her goods and children.
The Messenger of Allah said,
كَمۡ مِنۡ عَذۡقٍ رَدَاحٍ فِي الۡجَنَّةِ لاَِبِي الدَّحۡدَاح
How plentiful are the sweet date clusters that Abu Ad-Dahdah has in Paradise!
In another narration, the Prophet said,
رُبَّ نَخۡلَةٍ مُدَلاَّةٍ عُرُوقُهَا دُرٌّ وَيَاقُوتٌ لاَِبِي الدَّحۡدَاحِ فِي الۡجَنَّة
How many a date tree that has lowered down its clusters, which are full of pearls and gems in Paradise for Abu Ad-Dahdah!
وَلَهُ أَجۡرٌ كَرِيمٌ
and he will have a honorable reward.
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