Tafseer of Almsgiving · Al-Maa'un · 107:7
And withhold [simple] assistance.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His word: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ (and they withhold the māʿūn) — He says: and they withhold from people the benefits that lie within their power. The root of al-māʿūn is: the utility of every thing. The water that descends from the clouds is also called māʿūn. To this the word of the poet of Banū Thaʿlaba bears witness:
بِأَجْوَدَ مِنْهُ بِمَاعُونِهِ إذا مَا سَمَاؤُهُمُ لَمْ تَغِمْ
(More generous than he with his māʿūn, when their sky is not clouded over.)
Another poet, describing a cloud, said:
يَمُجُّ صَبِيرُهُ الْمَاعُونَ صَبًّا
(Its mass of cloud spews forth the māʿūn in a steady stream.)
And ʿUbayd al-Rāʿī said:
قَوْمٌ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ لَمَّا يَمْنَعُوا مَاعُونَهُمْ وَيُضَيِّعُوا التَّهْلِيلَا
(A people who, with respect to Islam, have not yet withheld their māʿūn, nor neglected the tahlīl.)
By al-māʿūn he means: obedience and the obligatory alms (zakāh).
The exegetes differed concerning the precise meaning of al-māʿūn in this place. Some said: by it the obligatory zakāh is meant.
*Mention of those who said that:*
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn Abī Najīḥ related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — said concerning His word وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ : "The zakāh."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — said: "Al-māʿūn is the zakāh."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us; and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — who said: "Al-māʿūn is the zakāh."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Sufyān informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him —: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ . He said: "They withhold the zakāh of their possessions."
Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra and Aḥmad ibn Hishām related to me, they said: ʿUbaydullāh ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him —: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ . He said: "The zakāh."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word: "Al-māʿūn." He said: "The zakāh."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of ʿAlī — in like manner.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — that ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — used to say: "Al-māʿūn is the obligatory alms-tax (al-ṣadaqa al-mafrūḍa)."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — that ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — said: "That is the zakāh."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, who said: "Al-māʿūn is the zakāh."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Abū al-Mughīra, who said: A man asked Ibn ʿUmar about al-māʿūn. He said: "It is the wealth whose dues are not discharged." The man said: "Ibn Umm ʿAbd says: it is the household goods that people exchange among themselves." He said: "It is what I tell you."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to us, saying: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Salama, who said: I heard Abū al-Mughīra say: I asked Ibn ʿUmar about al-māʿūn; he said: "It is the withholding of a due."
ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayyān related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd informed us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, who said: Ibn ʿUmar was asked about al-māʿūn; he said: "It is the one who is asked for the due upon his wealth and withholds it." The man said: "Ibn Masʿūd says: it is the cooking pot, the bucket, and the axe." He said: "It is what I tell you."
Hārūn ibn Idrīs al-Aṣamm related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl — that Ibn ʿUmar was asked about the word of Allah: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ . He said: "The one who is asked for the wealth of Allah and withholds it." The one who had asked him said: "Ibn Masʿūd says: it is the axe and the cooking pot." Ibn ʿUmar said: "It is what I say."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, who said: A man asked Ibn ʿUmar about al-māʿūn — he mentioned something similar.
Sulaymān ibn Muḥammad ibn Maʿdī Karib al-Ruʿaynī related to me, saying: Baqiyya ibn al-Walīd related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, saying: Salama ibn Kuhayl related to me, saying: I heard Abū al-Mughīra — a man of Banū Asad — say: I asked ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar about al-māʿūn. He said: "It is the withholding of a due." I said: "Ibn Masʿūd said: it is the withholding of the axe and the bucket." He said: "It is the withholding of a due."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Abū al-Mughīra, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, who said: "It is the zakāh."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of ʿAlī — in like manner.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Zayd ibn Rifāʿa related to us, on the authority of Ḥassān ibn Mukhāriq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: "Al-māʿūn is the zakāh."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda and al-Ḥasan: "Al-māʿūn is the obligatory zakāh."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū ʿAmr, on the authority of Ibn al-Ḥanafiyya — may Allah be pleased with him — who said: "It is the zakāh."
It was related to me through al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ : "The zakāh."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ : "These are the hypocrites (munāfiqūn): they withhold the zakāh of their possessions."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "Al-māʿūn is the obligatory zakāh."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda — in like manner.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUqba related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḥasan say: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — he said: "They withheld the alms of their possessions, and Allah rebuked them for that."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Mubārak, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ * وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — he said: "That is the hypocrite who withholds the zakāh of his wealth; when he prays, he does so for show, and when he has missed it, he does not grieve over it."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Salama, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: "It is the zakāh."
Others said: it is what people exchange among themselves, such as the bucket, the cooking pot, and the like.
*Mention of those who said that:*
Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida related to me, saying: Ibn Abī Idrīs related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Jazzār, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn — that he asked ʿAbdullāh: "Inform me about al-māʿūn." He said: "It is what people exchange among themselves."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, who said: I heard Yaḥyā ibn al-Jazzār relate a tradition on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn — a man of Banū Tamīm, blind of sight, who was acknowledged by ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd — who asked ʿAbdullāh about al-māʿūn. ʿAbdullāh said: "Among al-māʿūn is the withholding of the axe, the cooking pot, and the bucket — two of these three characteristics." Shuʿba said: "Concerning the axe there is no doubt."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to us, saying: al-Walīd related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtayba, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn al-Jazzār, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — in like manner.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtayba, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn al-Jazzār — that Abū al-ʿUbaydīn, a man of Banū Tamīm who was blind, asked Ibn Masʿūd about al-māʿūn. He said: "It is the withholding of the axe and the bucket" — or he said: "the withholding of the axe and the cooking pot."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn al-Jazzār — that Abū al-ʿUbaydīn asked Ibn Masʿūd about al-māʿūn. He said: "It is what people exchange among themselves: the axe, the cooking pot, and the bucket."
Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr al-Ramādī related to us, saying: Abū al-Jawwāb related to us, on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn Razīq, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Ḥāritha ibn Muḍarrib, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: "We, the Companions of Muḥammad, used to say that al-māʿūn is the cooking pot, the axe, and the bucket." Abū Bakr said: Abū al-Jawwāb was contradicted in this by Zuhayr ibn Muʿāwiya — in what was related to us by al-Ḥasan al-Ashyab, who said: Zuhayr related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of Ḥāritha, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn; Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to me, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Ḥāritha, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn and Saʿīd ibn ʿIyāḍ, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: "We, the Companions of Muḥammad ﷺ, used to say that al-māʿūn is the bucket, the axe, and the cooking pot — things one cannot do without."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Isḥāq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿIyāḍ — Abū Mūsā said: thus said Ghundar — on the authority of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Among al-māʿūn are: the axe, the bucket, and the cooking pot."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us; and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿIyāḍ — who related that on the authority of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ — in like manner.
He said: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, who said: I heard Saʿīd ibn ʿIyāḍ relate a tradition on the authority of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ — in like manner.
Khallād related to us, saying: al-Naḍr informed us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, saying: Abū Isḥāq informed us, on the authority of Ḥāritha ibn Muḍarrib, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn, who said: ʿAbdullāh said: "Al-māʿūn is the cooking pot, the axe, and the bucket."
Khallād related to us, saying: al-Naḍr informed us, saying: al-Masʿūdī informed us, saying: Salama ibn Kuhayl informed us, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn — who was an infirm man and was acknowledged by ʿAbdullāh — who said: "O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, what is al-māʿūn?" He said: "What people exchange among themselves: the axe, the cooking pot, the bucket, and the like."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn — that he asked Ibn Masʿūd about al-māʿūn. He said: "What people exchange among themselves."
He said: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, who said: "The axe, the bucket, and the cooking pot, and the like."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Abū al-ʿUbaydīn — that he asked Ibn Masʿūd about His word وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — and he mentioned something similar.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, on the authority of al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, who said: "The axe, the cooking pot, and the bucket."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, on the authority of al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: "Al-māʿūn is the withholding of the axe, the cooking pot, and the bucket."
Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — that he was asked about al-māʿūn. He said: "What people exchange among themselves: the axe, the bucket, and the like."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Mālik ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, who said: "The bucket, the axe, and the cooking pot."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿIyāḍ, on the authority of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ: "Al-māʿūn is the axe, the cooking pot, and the bucket."
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: ʿAbdullāh was asked about al-māʿūn. He said: "What people exchange among themselves: the axe, the cooking pot, the bucket, and the like."
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: "It is what people lend to one another: the axe, the cooking pot, the bucket, and the like" — meaning: al-māʿūn.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — in like manner.
He said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — in like manner. He said: "The axe and the bucket."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit al-Asadī, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Al-māʿūn is the loaning of goods (al-ʿāriyya)."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "It is the loaning of goods."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — in like manner.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — in like manner.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word "al-māʿūn." He said: "Household goods."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — he supposes on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās (Abū Kurayb was in doubt) —: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ . He said: "The household goods."
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Najīḥ informed us, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "It is the household goods of the house."
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "They withhold the loaning of goods from them — that is al-māʿūn."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — he said: "The people differed concerning this: some said they withhold the zakāh, others said they withhold obedience, and others said they withhold the loaning of goods."
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ : "The people to whom this refers have not yet come."
Ibn al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "Al-māʿūn is what people exchange among themselves."
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya informed us, saying: Layth related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Ḥārith, who said: ʿAlī — may Allah be pleased with him — said: "Al-māʿūn is the withholding of the zakāh, the axe, the bucket, and the cooking pot."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: "Al-māʿūn is the loaning of goods."
Abū Ḥuṣayn ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Yūnus related to me, saying: ʿAbathar related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn related to us, on the authority of Abū Mālik, concerning the word of Allah وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ . He said: "The bucket, the cooking pot, and the axe."
ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Abū ʿAwāna related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn Bahdala, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: "We were with our Prophet ﷺ and we said: al-māʿūn is the withholding of the bucket and the like."
Others said: al-māʿūn is kindness (al-maʿrūf).
*Mention of those who said that:*
Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Sulamī related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Rifāʿa related to us, saying: I heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb say: "Al-māʿūn is al-maʿrūf (kindness)."
Others said: al-māʿūn is wealth (al-māl).
*Mention of those who said that:*
Aḥmad ibn Ḥarb related to me, saying: Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd related to us, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, who said: "Al-māʿūn, in the language of Quraysh, is: wealth."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Dhiʾb, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: "Al-māʿūn, in the language of Quraysh, is: wealth."
The opinion that is, in our view, the most correct in this matter — since al-māʿūn is what we have described above, and Allah has informed concerning these people that they withhold it from people, as a general statement, without excepting anything within it — is that it should be said: Allah has described them with the fact that they withhold from people what they exchange and make use of among themselves, and that they withhold from the needy and the poor what Allah has imposed upon them as dues in their possessions; for all of this belongs to the benefits by which people profit from one another.
End of the exposition of Sūrat Araʾayta.
