Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:47
And when it is said to them, "Spend from that which Allah has provided for you," those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Should we feed one whom, if Allah had willed, He would have fed? You are not but in clear error."
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 statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: Wa-idhā qīla lahum anfiqū mimmā razaqakumu llāhu qāla lladhīna kafarū lilladhīna āmanū anuṭʿimu man law yashāʾu llāhu aṭʿamahu in antum illā fī ḍalālin mubīn "And when it is said to them: 'Spend from what Allah has provided you,' those who disbelieve say to those who believe: 'Shall we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He would feed? You are only in manifest error'" (36:47).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and when it is said to these who ascribe partners to Allah: "spend from the provision of Allah which He has bestowed upon you, and pay out of it what Allah has imposed upon you therein for those of you who are needy and destitute," those who deny the oneness of Allah and worship others alongside Him say to those who believe in Allah and His Messenger: "shall we give our wealth and our food to those whom Allah, if He willed, would feed?"
And concerning His saying ( in antum illā fī ḍalālin mubīn ) "You are only in manifest error" there are two views. The one is that it belongs to the speech of the disbelievers to the believers, so that the explanation of the words then reads: "you, O people, are in your saying to us — 'spend from what Allah has provided you upon your poor' — only in a straying from the truth and a deviation from the right path, which is manifest to whoever considers and reflects upon it, that it is error." And this is the more fitting of the two views for its explanation. The other view is that it belongs to the speech of Allah to the polytheists (mushrikīn), so that its explanation then reads: "you, O disbelievers, are in your saying to the believers — 'shall we feed those whom Allah, if He willed, would feed?' — only in manifest error, because that saying of yours to them is error."
