Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:72
Or do you, [O Muhammad], ask them for payment? But the reward of your Lord is best, and He is the best of providers.
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, exalted be His remembrance, says: Or do you ask, O Muḥammad, of these polytheists from your people a tribute — that is to say: a payment for what you have brought them from Allah of counsel and truth? فَخَرَاجُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ (But the reward of your Lord is better): the reward of your Lord for your carrying out of His command and your seeking of His good pleasure is better for you than that. He ﷺ did not ask them for any payment for what he had brought them from Allah; he said to them what Allah said to him and commanded him to say: قُلْ لا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَى (Say: I ask of you no reward for this, except love for the kinsfolk). The real meaning of the sentence is: Or do you ask them a payment for what you have brought them, so that they draw back upon their heels when you recite it to them, while they are proud of the Sacred Sanctuary — but the reward of your Lord is better.
In the spirit of what we have said spoke the exegetes also.
Mention of those who said this:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: أَمْ تَسْأَلُهُمْ خَرْجًا فَخَرَاجُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ (Or do you ask them a tribute, but the reward of your Lord is better): he said: "A payment."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Maʿmar informed us on the authority of al-Ḥasan — in accordance with what is stated above.
The root form of al-kharāj and al-kharj are both maṣdar forms that are not pluralized.
Concerning His words: وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ (And He is the best of Providers): that is to say: Allah is the best of those who give a payment in exchange for work and who bestow provision as provision.
