Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:79
Those who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning [their] charities and [criticize] the ones who find nothing [to spend] except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allah will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment.
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 saying: الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَالَّذِينَ لا يَجِدُونَ إِلا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (79) (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms, and those who find nothing [to give] but their utmost effort, and so deride them — Allah will deride them, and for them is a painful punishment (ʿadhāb).) (79)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: Those who slander the voluntary givers (al-muṭṭawwiʿīn) among the believers concerning the alms (ṣadaqa) given to the needy and the destitute — with that which Allah has not made obligatory upon them in their possessions — and who attack them therein by saying: "They gave that only as ostentation and for reputation, and they did not intend the Face of Allah" — and they also slander those who find nothing to give as alms but their utmost effort, that is, their capacity, and they belittle them and say: "Allah had no need of the alms of these people!", as derision from them toward them — فيسخرون منهم سخر الله منهم (and they deride them — Allah will deride them).
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We have already set forth elsewhere the nature of "Allah's derision" (sukhriyyat Allāh) — toward those of His creatures who deride Him — in a manner that makes its repetition here unnecessary.
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ولهم عذاب أليم (and for them is a painful punishment), He says: and for them is, from Allah on the Day of Resurrection, a grievous, painful punishment (ʿadhāb).
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It has been mentioned that by His saying (the voluntary givers among the believers) ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf and ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAdī al-Anṣārī are meant — and that by His saying (and those who find nothing but their utmost effort) Abū ʿAqīl al-Arāshī is meant, the brother of the Banū Unayf.
* Mention of who said that:
17003 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf came to the Prophet ﷺ with forty ūqiya of gold, and a man of the Anṣār came to him with one ṣāʿ of food. Then some hypocrites said: "By Allah, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān has come with what he brought only out of ostentation!" And they said: "Indeed, Allah and His Messenger had no need of this ṣāʿ!"
17004 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms, and those who find nothing but their utmost effort): that was because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out one day to the people and called out among them: "Gather your alms!" And the people gathered their alms. Then a man among the last of them came with a mann of dates, and he said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is a ṣāʿ of dates; I spent my night drawing water with the rope until I obtained two ṣāʿ of dates. I withheld one of them and have come to you with the other." And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded him to scatter it among the alms. Then some men derided him and said: "By Allah, Allah and His Messenger have no need of this! And what are they to do with your ṣāʿ?!" Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf — a man of the Quraysh, of the Banū Zuhra — said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Is there anyone left among the givers of these alms?" He said: "No!" Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf said: "I have with me a hundred ūqiya of gold for the alms." ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said to him: "Are you mad?" He said: "I am not mad!" He said: "Then explain to us what you have said?" He said: "Yes! I possess eight thousand; four thousand of it I lend to my Lord, and four thousand I keep for myself!" Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: "May Allah bless for you what you have withheld and what you have given!" But the hypocrites detested that and said: "By Allah, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gave his gift only out of ostentation!" — and they were liars, for he gave it only as a voluntary giver (mutaṭawwiʿ). Then Allah revealed his excuse and the excuse of his needy companion who had come with the ṣāʿ of dates, and Allah said in His Book: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), the verse.
17005 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Shibl, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers), he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf came with the alms from his wealth, four thousand, and the hypocrites slandered him and said: "He did it out of ostentation!" — (and those who find nothing but their utmost effort), he said: a man of the Anṣār had hired himself out for one ṣāʿ of dates, he had nothing else, and he came with it. Then they slandered him and said: "Allah had no need of this man's ṣāʿ!"
17006 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
17007 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
17008 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers), the verse, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf came forward with half of his wealth, seeking thereby nearness to Allah. Then the hypocrites slandered him and said: "He gave that only out of ostentation and for reputation!" Then a man of the poor Muslims came forward, who was called "Ḥabḥāb, Abū ʿAqīl," and he said: "O Prophet of Allah, I spent the night drawing water with the rope for two ṣāʿ of dates; one ṣāʿ I withheld for my family, and the other ṣāʿ — here it is!" Then the hypocrites said: "By Allah, Allah and His Messenger had no need of this." Then Allah revealed concerning that the Qurʾān: (Those who slander), the verse.
17009 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf gave half of his wealth as alms — his wealth amounted to eight thousand dīnār, and he gave four thousand dīnār as alms. Then some people of the hypocrites said: "Indeed, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf is enormously full of ostentation!" Then Allah said: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms) — and a man possessed two ṣāʿ of dates, and he came with one of them, and some people of the hypocrites said: "Indeed, Allah had no need of this man's ṣāʿ!" And the hypocrites attacked them and derided them, and Allah said: (and those who find nothing but their utmost effort, and so deride them — Allah will deride them, and for them is a painful punishment).
17010 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl al-Anmāṭī related to us, saying: Abū ʿAwāna related to us, on the authority of [ʿUmar ibn] Abī Salama, on the authority of his father: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Give alms, for I wish to dispatch an expedition." He said: Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have with me four thousand; two thousand I lend to Allah, and two thousand are for my family." He said: Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "May Allah bless for you what you have given, and bless what you have withheld!" Then a man of the Anṣār said: "And I have with me two ṣāʿ of dates — one ṣāʿ for my Lord, and one ṣāʿ for my family!" He said: Then the hypocrites slandered and said: "Ibn ʿAwf gave this only out of ostentation!" And they said: "Or did Allah have no need of this man's ṣāʿ?!" Then Allah revealed: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers), to the end of the verse.
17011 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar informed us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, concerning His saying: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), he said: The people were afflicted by severe hardship, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded them to give alms. Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān came with four hundred ūqiya, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O Allah, bless for him what he has withheld." Then the hypocrites said: "ʿAbd al-Raḥmān did this only out of ostentation and for reputation!" He said: And a man came with one ṣāʿ of dates, and he said: "O Messenger of Allah, I hired myself out for two ṣāʿ; one ṣāʿ of them I brought to my family, and with one ṣāʿ of dates I have come." Then the hypocrites said: "Indeed, Allah had no need of this man's ṣāʿ!" Then Allah revealed this verse: (and those who find nothing but their utmost effort, and so deride them — Allah will deride them, and for them is a painful punishment).
17012 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), the verse. The voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms were ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf — who gave four thousand dīnār as alms — and ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAdī, the brother of the Banū al-ʿAjlān. That was because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ urged toward alms and incited to it. Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf stood up and gave four thousand dirham as alms, and ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAdī stood up and gave a hundred wasq of dates as alms. Then they slandered both of them and said: "This is nothing but ostentation!" And the one who gave alms with his utmost effort was Abū ʿAqīl, the brother of the Banū Unayf, al-Arāshī, ally of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf; he came with one ṣāʿ of dates and poured it into the alms. Then they laughed at him and said: "Indeed, Allah had no need of Abū ʿAqīl's ṣāʿ!!"
17013 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū al-Nuʿmān al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, on the authority of Abū Masʿūd, he said: When the verse about alms came down, we carried loads for hire — Abū al-Nuʿmān said: we worked — he said: Then a man came and gave much as alms. He said: And a man came and gave one ṣāʿ of dates as alms, and they said: "Indeed, Allah had no need of this man's ṣāʿ!" Then there came down: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms, and those who find nothing but their utmost effort).
17014 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Zayd ibn al-Ḥubāb related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, he said: Khālid ibn Yasār related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī ʿAqīl, on the authority of his father, he said: I spent the night drawing water with the rope on my back for two ṣāʿ of dates; I returned with one to my family so that they might make use of it, and with the other I came to seek nearness thereby to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him, and he said: "Scatter it in the alms." Then the hypocrites derided him and said: "Allah had no need of this poor man's alms!" Then Allah revealed: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), the two verses.
17015 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: al-Jurayrī informed us, on the authority of Abū al-Salīl, he said: A man halted at the tribe, and said: My father — or my uncle — related to me and said: I witnessed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he said: "Who will give today an alms for which I will testify on his behalf before Allah on the Day of Resurrection?" He said: And I had a turban on. He said: So I unwound a wrap or two of it to give as alms. He said: Then there reached me what tends to reach the son of Adam, and I bound it back around my head. He said: Then a man came — I saw in al-Baqīʿ no man shorter in stature, nor blacker, nor darker of skin than him — leading a she-camel of which I saw in al-Baqīʿ none more beautiful nor finer. He said: "Is she an alms, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Yes!" He said: "Then take her!" and he threw him her halter — or her rein. He said: Then a man who was sitting slandered him, and said: "By Allah, he gives her as alms while she is indeed better than him!" Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ looked at him and said: "No, he is better than you and than her!" Three times he said that, ﷺ.
17016 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yūnus informed me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik informed me, saying: The one who gave the ṣāʿ of dates as alms and whom the hypocrites slandered was "Abū Khaythama al-Anṣārī."
17017 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Rajāʾ Abū Sahl al-ʿAbbādānī related to us, saying: ʿĀmir ibn Yasāf al-Yamāmī related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr al-Yamāmī, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with four thousand dirham and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I possess eight thousand; I have come to you with four thousand — place them in the path of Allah — and I have withheld four thousand for my family." Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "May Allah bless what you have given and what you have withheld!" And another man came and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I spent this night drawing water for two ṣāʿ; one of them I left for my family, and with the other I have come to you; I place it in the path of Allah." He said: "May Allah bless what you have given and what you have withheld!" Then some people of the hypocrites said: "By Allah, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān gave only out of ostentation and for reputation, and indeed, Allah and His Messenger had no need of so-and-so's ṣāʿ!" Then Allah revealed: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms) — by which ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf is meant — (and those who find nothing but their utmost effort) — by which the owner of the ṣāʿ is meant — (and so deride them — Allah will deride them, and for them is a painful punishment).
17018 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: The Prophet ﷺ commanded the Muslims to gather their alms, and then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf came forward with four thousand, and he said: "This is my wealth; I lend it to Allah, and there remains to me the same amount." Then he said to him: "Blessed for you is what you have given and what you have withheld!" Then the hypocrites said: "He gave it only out of ostentation, and the owner of the ṣāʿ gave it only out of ostentation; indeed, Allah and His Messenger had no need of this! And what is Allah to do with a ṣāʿ!"
17019 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms), up to His saying: (and for them is a painful punishment), he said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded the Muslims to give alms. Then ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb stood up: "And I found my wealth at that time abundant, so I will take half of it." He said: Then I came forward with much money. Then a man of the hypocrites said to him: "You are being ostentatious, O ʿUmar!" He said: "Yes, I show myself to Allah and His Messenger, but to other than the two of Them I do not!" He said: And a man of the Anṣār had nothing with him, so he hired himself out to pull the rope on his neck through his night for two ṣāʿ; he left one ṣāʿ for his family and came with one ṣāʿ which he carried. Then one of the hypocrites said to him: "Indeed, Allah and His Messenger had no need of your ṣāʿ!" And that is the saying of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: (Those who slander the voluntary givers among the believers concerning the alms, and those who find nothing but their utmost effort) — that is this man of the Anṣār — (and so deride them — Allah will deride them, and for them is a painful punishment).
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We have already set forth previously the meaning of "al-lamz" (slander) in the speech of the Arabs, with its proofs and what occurs therein of usage and reading.
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As for His saying (al-muṭṭawwiʿīn), its meaning is: the voluntary givers (al-mutaṭawwiʿīn); the tāʾ is assimilated into the ṭāʾ, so that it became a doubled ṭāʾ, as it is said: وَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا [Sūrat al-Baqara: 158], which means: he voluntarily does good.
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As for "al-jahd": the Arabs have therein two modes of pronunciation. One says: "he gave me of his juhd," with a ḍamma on the jīm — and that, according to what is reported, is the usage of the people of the Ḥijāz — and "of his jahd," with a fatḥa on the jīm, and that is the usage of Najd.
And according to the ḍamma is the reading of the [great] cities, and that is preferred by us, on account of the consensus of the authoritative proof among the reciters concerning it.
As for the scholars of the speech of the Arabs among the transmitters of poetry and the lexicographers: they claim that with a fatḥa and with a ḍamma it has one and the same meaning, and that the difference therein arises only from the difference in usage concerning it, just as their usage differed in "al-wajd" and "al-wujd," with the ḍamma and the fatḥa, from: "wajadtu" (I found).
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And concerning al-Shaʿbī there has been transmitted regarding this the following:
17020 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn al-Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: "al-jahd" and "al-juhd": al-jahd is in labor, and al-juhd is in sustenance.
17021 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn al-Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, something similar.
17022 — ...... he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn al-Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: al-jahd is in labor, and al-juhd is in food.