Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:60
And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord -
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.
Allah the Exalted means by His saying: وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا (Those who give what they give) — those who give to those entitled to the shares of the zakāh what Allah has imposed upon them in their possessions. مَا آتَوْا — that is to say: what they give them of obligatory alms (ṣadaqa), discharging to those entitled the rights that Allah has fixed upon their possessions for them. وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — He says: afraid, out of fear that they will return to their Lord and that what they have done will not save them from the punishment of Allah; so they are afraid of the return to Allah on account of that. As al-Ḥasan said: "The believer combines good deeds with fear."
In the same sense as what we have said about this, the scholars of tafsīr also spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abjur, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar — concerning يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "the zakāh."
Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra related to me, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Abū Yaḥyā, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "The believer gives away his wealth while his heart is afraid."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū al-Ashhab, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, who said: يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "They perform what they perform of good deeds, while fearing that it will not save them from the punishment of their Lord."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Jarīr related to me, on the authority of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, and Hushaym on the authority of al-ʿAwwām ibn Ḥawshab — both on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, who said that she asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; he said: "O daughter of Abū Bakr" — or: "O daughter of al-Ṣiddīq, they are those who pray and fear that it will not be accepted from them."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "The believer gives away his wealth and gives alms, while his heart is afraid that he will return to his Lord."
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, that he used to say: "Truly, the believer combines good deeds with fear, and the hypocrite combines evil deeds with a sense of security." Then al-Ḥasan recited: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ هُمْ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ رَبِّهِمْ مُشْفِقُونَ up to وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ. And the hypocrite says: "I have obtained it through knowledge that I possess."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima — concerning يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا — he said: "They give what they give." وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he says: "Afraid."
Khallād ibn Aslam related to us, saying: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, saying: Sālim al-Afṭas informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His saying: وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "They do what they do while knowing that they are going to death, and it is one of the glad tidings."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "They give what they give and do what they do of good, while their hearts are afraid and fearful."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda — to the same effect.
ʿAlī related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "They act out of fear."
He said: 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, concerning His saying: وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "They give what they give, out of fear of Allah and dread of Allah."
It has been related to me through al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying: يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا — he said: "They expend what they expend."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — he said: "They give what they give, expend what they expend, and give alms of what they give as alms, while their hearts are afraid — out of dread of the wrath of Allah and the Fire." And according to this reading — namely وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا — it is the reading of all the great cities, and this is also what their codices (maṣāḥif) contain, and this is what we read, because of the unanimity of the authoritative reciters upon it and its agreement with the text of the codices of the Muslims.
It has been related from ʿĀʾisha, may Allah be pleased with her, concerning this subject — what Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf related to us, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn Thābit related to us, on the authority of Ṭalḥa ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Khalaf, who said: I visited ʿĀʾisha together with ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, and ʿUbayd asked her: "How do we read this word — وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا?" She said: "يَأْتُونَ مَا أَتَوْا" — and it was as though she intended thereby the meaning: "Those who do what they do of good deeds while they fear Allah."
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Qays related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿīd ibn Wahb al-Hamdānī, on the authority of Abū Ḥāzim, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: ʿĀʾisha said: "O Messenger of Allah — وَالَّذِينَ يَأْتُونَ مَا أَتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — is that the one who commits a sin while being afraid on account of it?" He said: "No, but rather the one who fasts, prays, and gives alms while being afraid."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Mālik ibn Mighwal, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿīd ibn Wahb, that ʿĀʾisha said: "I said: O Messenger of Allah — الَّذِينَ يَأْتُونَ مَا أَتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — are they those who commit sins while being afraid, and who fast while being afraid?"
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: Layth related to us, on the authority of Mugīth, on the authority of a man from Mecca, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, who said: "I said: O Messenger of Allah — الَّذِينَ يَأْتُونَ مَا أَتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ" — he said: and he mentioned something to the same effect.
Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Mālik ibn Mighwal, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿīd, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that she said: "O Messenger of Allah — الَّذِينَ يَأْتُونَ مَا أَتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ — is that the man who commits fornication (zinā), steals, and drinks wine?" He said: "No, O daughter of Abū Bakr" — or: "O daughter of al-Ṣiddīq — but it is the man who fasts, prays, and gives alms and fears that it will not be accepted from him."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Jarīr related to me, on the authority of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, and Hushaym on the authority of al-ʿAwwām ibn Ḥawshab — both on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that she said: I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said: "O daughter of Abū Bakr" — or: "O daughter of al-Ṣiddīq, they are those who pray and fear that it will not be accepted from them."
The word "anna" in His saying أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ is in the accusative position, because the meaning of the text is: وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ on account of the fact that they — when "min" (from) was elided, the preceding text connected to it thereby and it was placed in the accusative. Some, however, said that it is in the genitive, even though the genitive-governing particle is not apparent.
