Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:92
Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love. And whatever you spend - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.
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.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ (92)
(You will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love. And whatever you spend, indeed, Allah knows of it. (3:92))
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His praise, means by it: you will not obtain, O believers, the piety (al-birr) — and that is "the goodness" (al-birr) of Allah which they seek from Him through their obedience to Him and their worship of Him, and which they hope for from Him, namely His favor to them by admitting them into His paradise (janna) and turning His punishment away from them.
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Therefore many of the people of exegesis have said that "al-birr" is the paradise (janna), for the goodness of the Lord toward His servant in the Hereafter is that He honors him by admitting him into the paradise.
Mention of who said that:
7386 - Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, concerning His statement "you will not attain piety," he said: the paradise.
7387 - Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Ḥimmānī related to us, he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, concerning His statement "you will not attain piety," he said: piety is the paradise.
7388 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "you will not attain piety" — as for piety, that is the paradise.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The explanation of the statement is thus: you will not attain, O believers, the paradise of your Lord = "until you spend from that which you love." He says: until you give charity from that which you love and wish to possess, of your most precious possessions, as in:
7389 - Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," he says: you will not attain the goodness of your Lord until you spend from that which pleases you and from that which you desire of your possessions.
7390 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, he said: Abū Bakr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbbād, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning his statement: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," he said: of the wealth.
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As for His statement: "And whatever you spend, indeed, Allah knows of it," by it He means: and whatever you spend and give away as charity of your possessions, indeed Allah — exalted be His mention — is, of that with which the charitable among you bestows charity and what he spends of the wealth that he loves, in the way of Allah or otherwise — "all-knowing." He says: He has knowledge of all of that, none of it escapes Him, until He gives the one who gave it his recompense for it in the Hereafter, as in:
7391 - Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "And whatever you spend, indeed, Allah knows of it," he says: it is preserved for you, Allah knows of it and is grateful for it.
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In accordance with the explanation we have given, a group of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and the Followers (tābiʿūn) have explained this verse.
Mention of who said that:
7392 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah, Mighty and Exalted: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," he said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb wrote to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī that he should buy for him a slave-girl (jāriya) from Jalūlāʾ on the day the cities of Kisrā (Chosroes) were conquered in the battle of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ. Then ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb had her summoned to him and said: indeed, Allah says: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," and ʿUmar set her free. And this is equivalent to the statement of Allah, Mighty and Exalted: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا [Surah Al-Insān: 8] (And they give food, in spite of their love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive), and وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ [Surah Al-Ḥashr: 9] (And they give preference over themselves, even though they are in need).
7393 - Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, exactly the same.
7394 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, he said: When this verse was revealed: لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ (You will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love), or this verse: مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا [Surah Al-Baqarah: 245, Al-Ḥadīd: 11] (Who is it that will lend to Allah a goodly loan?), Abū Ṭalḥa said: O Messenger of Allah, my garden which is in such-and-such place is a charitable gift, and if I were able to give it in secret, I would not do it openly! Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: make it for the benefit of the poor among your family.
7395 - Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, he said: When this verse was revealed: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," Abū Ṭalḥa said: O Messenger of Allah, indeed, Allah asks us to spend from our possessions, bear witness that I have given my land in Arīḥā to Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: make it for your relatives. Thereupon he divided it between Ḥassān ibn Thābit and Ubayy ibn Kaʿb.
7396 - ʿImrān ibn Mūsā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, he said: Layth related to us, on the authority of Maymūn ibn Mihrān: that a man asked Abū Dharr: which deeds are most excellent? He said: the prayer (ṣalāh) is the pillar of Islam, and the jihād is the summit of deeds, and charity is something wondrous! Then he said: O Abū Dharr, you have omitted something that in my own conviction is my most trustworthy deed, I see that you have not mentioned it! He said: what is that? He said: fasting (ṣawm)! Then he said: that is a means of nearness, but it does not attain it! And he recited this verse: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love."
7397 - Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Dāwūd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Makkī informed me, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥusayn, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, he said: When this verse was revealed: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," Zayd came with a horse of his, which was called "Sabal," to the Prophet ﷺ and said: give this as charity, O Messenger of Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave it to his son Usāma ibn Zayd ibn Ḥāritha. Thereupon he said: O Messenger of Allah, I only wished to give it as charity! Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: your charity has already been accepted.
7398 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ayyūb and others: that when it was revealed: "you will not attain piety until you spend from that which you love," Zayd ibn Ḥāritha came with a horse of his that he loved and said: O Messenger of Allah, this is in the way of Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had Usāma ibn Zayd ride it, and it was as if Zayd felt aggrieved about that. When the Prophet ﷺ saw that from him, he said: indeed, Allah has already accepted it.
