Tafseer of The Hypocrites · Al-Munaafiqoon · 63:10
And spend [in the way of Allah] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous."
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 Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Spend, O you who believe in Allah and His Messenger, from the possessions which We have bestowed upon you, before death comes to one of you, so that, when death descends upon him, he says: O my Lord, would that You had granted me respite, so that I might be given a reprieve in the term of life until a near term. (Then I would give alms) — he says: then I would pay the zakāh on my wealth (and I would be among the righteous) — he says: and I would act in obedience to You, and fulfill Your obligations.
It has been said: by His words (and I would be among the righteous) is meant: and I would perform the pilgrimage to Your Sacred House.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus and Saʿīd ibn al-Rabīʿ related to me; Saʿīd said: Sufyān related to us; and Yūnus said: Sufyān informed us, on the authority of Abū Janāb, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: There is no one who dies without having paid the zakāh on his wealth and without having performed the pilgrimage, but that he asks to return (to the worldly life). They said: O Abū ʿAbbās, you keep coming to us with something that we do not know. He said: Well then, I shall recite it to you from the Book of Allah: (And spend from that which We have bestowed upon you before death comes to one of you and he says: My Lord, would that You had granted me respite until a near term, so that I might give alms) — he said: that I might pay the zakāh on my wealth — (and I would be among the righteous) — he said: that I might perform the pilgrimage.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: What prevents one of you, when he has wealth upon which the zakāh is obligatory for him, from paying the zakāh, and when he is able to perform the pilgrimage, from performing the pilgrimage, before death comes to him and he asks his Lord to return without it being granted to him? Then a man said: Do you not fear Allah? Does the believer ask to return? He said: Yes. I shall recite to you a passage of the Qurʾān. And he recited: O you who believe, let not your possessions and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. Then the man said: What then makes the pilgrimage obligatory upon me? He said: A mount that carries him, and provision that brings him (to the destination).
ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb al-Asadī and Faḍāla ibn al-Faḍl related to us; ʿAbbād said: Yazīd Abū Ḥāzim, the client of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, informed us.
And Faḍāla said: Bazīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, concerning His words: (Would that You had granted me respite until a near term, so that I might give alms) — he said: that I might give alms with the zakāh on my wealth — (and I would be among the righteous) — he said: the pilgrimage.
