Tafseer of Man · Al-Insaan · 76:8
And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive,
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.
His word: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا ("And they give food, out of love for it, to a needy person"). The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: these righteous ones gave food out of love for it and out of their craving for it.
And in the sense of what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Yaḥyā ibn Ṭalḥa al-Yarbūʿī related to us, he said: Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ("And they give food, out of love for it"), he said: while they have a craving for it.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, he said: Abū al-ʿAryān related to us, he said: I asked Sulaymān ibn Qays, Abū Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, about His word: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا ("And they give food, out of love for it, to a needy person"), he said: out of their love for the food.
And His word: مِسْكِينًا ("a needy person"): the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, means by His word "miskīn": the needy who have been humbled by their poverty. وَيَتِيمًا ("and an orphan"): and that is the child whose father has died and who possesses nothing. وَأَسِيرًا ("and a captive"): and that is the combatant from the abode of war (dār al-ḥarb) who is taken as spoil by force through superior power, or someone from the people of the qibla [a Muslim] who is lawfully detained and imprisoned. Allah praised these righteous ones for feeding these people, as a means of drawing near to Allah thereby and out of seeking His good pleasure, and out of mercy from them toward them.
And the people of knowledge differed about the captive (asīr) whom Allah mentioned in this place. Some of them said, according to what Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا ("And they give food, out of love for it, to a needy person, an orphan, and a captive"), he said: Allah has indeed commanded that the captives be treated well, and their captives at that time were polytheists (ahl al-shirk).
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: وَأَسِيرًا ("and a captive"), he said: their captives at that time were the polytheist (mushrik), and your Muslim brother has more right that you feed him.
He said: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū ʿAmr, that ʿIkrima said concerning His word: وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا ("And they give food, out of love for it, to a needy person, an orphan, and a captive") — he claimed that he said: the captives at that time were the polytheist.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Masʿada related to us, he said: Ashʿath related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا ("and an orphan and a captive"), he said: their captives were none other than the polytheists.
And others said: by it is meant: the captive from the people of the qibla [Muslims].
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: the captive (asīr): the imprisoned one.
Abū Shayba ibn Abī Shayba related to me, he said: ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ related to us, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of Ḥajjāj, he said: ʿAmr ibn Murra related to me, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا ("a needy person, an orphan, and a captive"): from the people of the qibla and others. Then I asked ʿAṭāʾ, and he said something similar.
ʿAlī ibn Sahl al-Ramlī related to me, he said: Yaḥyā — that is: Ibn ʿĪsā — related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَأَسِيرًا ("and a captive"), he said: the captive: that is the confined one.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
And the correct of the statements about this is that one says: Allah has described these righteous ones as those who in the worldly life fed the captive — the captive whose characteristic I have described. The name "captive" (asīr) can encompass both groups, and the report about them that they feed them was expressed in a general sense. The report thus remains in its generality until that which demands obligatory acceptance restricts it. As for the statement of the one who said: they at that time had no captive other than the polytheists — even if that were so, those who at that time fulfilled their vows were nevertheless not restricted thereby; rather, it is a report from Allah about everyone who had this quality at that time and thereafter, until the Day of Resurrection. Likewise, by the captive is meant the captive of the polytheists and of the Muslims, at that time and thereafter, until the coming of the Hour.
