CHARITY
﴿ لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا مِنْ شَىْءٍ ۢ فَإِنَّ اللهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٌ ﴾
Never will you attain righteousness until you spend from what you love.
And whatever you spend of a thing, then regarding that,
indeed Allah f is All-Knowing. [3:92]
This verse emphasises the importance and virtue of spending in the path of Allah f. However, what we give must be that which we love; as giving something that means little to us is not striving to attain righteousness. In order to attain the pleasure of our Creator, we must sacrifice that which we love the most and we must give what we would love to receive; this is the essence of spending in the path of Allah f.
The message of spending in the path of Allah f has been mentioned in various places in the Qur’ān. This particular verse alludes to the wealth that we love, and this varies from person to person. Some people love attaining wealth and their happiness lies in having a large bank balance. Others, however, love commodities and for them it is about being seen with having the best worldly goods.
The Companions of the beloved Messenger j desired nothing more than pleasing their Creator. One such Companion was Abū Ṭalḥah h.
Abū Ṭalḥah h owned a well by the name ‘Bīraḥā’ and the water of this well was very sweet. The beloved Messenger ﷺwould often visit and drink the water of this well.
After hearing the above verse, Abū Ṭalḥah h approached the Messenger g and informed him that he intended to give his well in charity. He was desperate to act upon this verse and was willing to give away his most precious wealth without any hesitation. The Messenger g responded by saying,
“O Abū Ṭalḥah; Bakhin! (An expression of surprise and approval) This is a profitable trade indeed.”
He then distributed the well amongst his relatives. [1]
The abomination of spending the bad is mentioned in the following verse:
﴿ يَآ أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوآ أَنفِقُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَمِمَّا أَخْرَجْنَا لَكُمْ مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ وَلَا تَيَمَّمُوا الْخَبِيثَ مِنْهُ تُنْفِقُونَ وَلَسْتُمْ بِآخِذِيهِ إِلَّآ أَنْ تُغْمِضُوا فِيهِ وَاعْلَمُوآ أَنَّ اللهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ ﴾
O you who believe! Spend from the good things that you have earned and whatever We brought forth for you from the earth. And do not aim at the bad of it in order
to spend that which you would not take except with closed eyes; and know
that Allah f is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy. [2:267]
According to Ibn Kathīr r, the above verse (2:267) was revealed regarding the Anṣār (the citizens of Madīnah who received and supported Prophet Muḥammad g following the Hijrah, referred to as the Helpers) who would hang dry dates on a rope between two pillars of the Prophet’s Mosque during the dates harvesting period for the poor Muhājirūn (those people who left Makkah and migrated to Madīnah, referred to as Emigrants) to consume, which they would eat from. This verse admonishes those of the Anṣārwho would hang rotten dates between the dry dates, thinking this act to be virtuous. [2]
Ibn ‘Abbās h is of the opinion that the meaning of the verse (2:267) is that Allah f commands the believers to spend wealth which is of good quality, valuable and precious, and He prohibits them from spending wealth which is of poor quality, bad and awful. This is because Allah f is pure and He only accepts that which is pure. [3]
May Allah f give us the ability to spend in charity all year round and spend from the wealth that we hold dear to us, Āmīn.
[1] Bukhārī, 1461, 2752, 2318, 2769, 4554, 5611; Muslim, 998.
[2] Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr Al-Qur’ān Al-‘Aẓīm, 1:697.
[3] Ibid. 1:697.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
