Tafseer of The Night · Al-Lail · 92:19
And not [giving] for anyone who has [done him] a favor to be rewarded
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 word, the Exalted: And no one possesses with him a favor that must be repaid (19)
Some of the grammarians directed the explanation of this toward (the meaning): And no one among Allah's creatures has with this person — who expends his wealth in the path of Allah in order to purify himself — (a favor that must be repaid), that is to say, a (prior) benefaction for which he would reward him. He says: he does not expend what he expends thereof, nor does he bestow what he bestows, as a repayment to a human being whom he rewards for a benefaction that this person has (done) for him, nor as compensation for a favor that previously went out from him to him (the giver) and which he had shown him; rather, he expends it within the framework of the rights of Allah, striving after the Face of Allah. He said: and "illā" ("except") in this place has the meaning of "lākin" ("but"). And he said: it is possible that the verb (yafʿal) pertains to the future reward, so that the meaning is: and he did not intend by what he expended any reward from anyone. And the position of the lām that is in "aḥad" belongs with the suffix "-hu" (in "ʿinda-hu") which he placed in the genitive, as though you would say: and he has with no one, for what he has expended, a favor whose reward he seeks. He said: and the Arabs sometimes place the particle in a place other than its (proper) place when (the intent) is known. And they adduced as evidence for that the verse of al-Nābigha:
And I have feared, to such a degree that my fear did not increase beyond (the fear of) an ibex on the mountain of al-Maṭāra, prudent (2)
And the meaning is: to such a degree that the fear of an ibex did not increase beyond my fear. And this is what he said whose statement we have transmitted from the grammarians, and his assertion that it is permissible is the correct one, which accords with what has come in the reports of the exegetes; and they said: it was revealed concerning Abū Bakr because of his manumission (ʿitq) of those whom he set free.
* Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (And no one possesses with him a favor that must be repaid * except the seeking of the Face of his Lord, the Most High * and indeed, he shall be satisfied). He says: with him it is not (a matter of) the reward of the people, nor their repayment; his giving is only (for the sake of) Allah.
Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Anmāṭī related to me, he said: Hārūn ibn Maʿrūf related to us, he said: Bishr ibn al-Sarī related to us, he said: Muṣʿab ibn Thābit related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of his father, he said: This verse was revealed concerning Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq: (And no one possesses with him a favor that must be repaid * except the seeking of the Face of his Lord, the Most High * and indeed, he shall be satisfied).
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, he said: Saʿīd informed me, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (And no one possesses with him a favor that must be repaid) he said: it was revealed concerning Abū Bakr, who set free people from whom he sought neither repayment nor thanks, six or seven (in number), among them Bilāl and ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayra.
