Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:47
Say, "Whatever payment I might have asked of you - it is yours. My payment is only from Allah, and He is, over all things, Witness."
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 explanation of His, the Exalted's, word: Say: "Whatever reward I have asked of you, that is for you. My reward rests only with Allah, and He is Witness over all things." (47)
He, exalted is His remembrance, says: Say, O Muhammad, to your people who deny you and reject that with which you have come to them from your Lord: I ask of you no reward for my warning you against the punishment of Allah, and for my instilling fear in you of it by His might, and for my sincere counsel to you in my command to you to believe in Allah and to act according to His obedience — that reward is for you; I have no need of it. The meaning of the words is only: say to them: I have not asked you any reward for it, so that you would not suspect me and suppose that I have called you to follow me only for the sake of money that I would take from you.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word (Say: "Whatever reward I have asked of you"), that is: reward, (that is for you) — he says: I have not asked you any reward for Islam.
And His word My reward rests only with Allah — he says: my reward for my calling you to believe in Allah and to act according to His obedience, and for my conveying His message to you, rests only with Allah. (And He is Witness over all things) — he says: and Allah is a Witness over the truth of what I say to you, testifying it for me, and over all other things besides that.