Mujahid, Qatadah and Zaid bin Aslam, from among the commentators, say that the word victory in this verso has been used for the conquest of Makkah, and Amir Shabi says that it refers to the truce of Hudaibiyah. The former view has been adopted by most of the commentators, and in support of the latter this tradition from Abu Saeed Khudri is presented: During the time when the truce of Hudaibiyah was concluded, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to us: In the near future there will appear the people whose deeds will make you look upon your own deeds as mean and trifling, but even if one of them possessed a mountain of gold and he spent all of it in the cause of Allah, he would not attain to your spending two pounds, or even one pound of it. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduyah, Abu Nuaim Isfahani).
"And whatsoever you spend of anything, He will replace it. And He is the best of providers." [34:39], and,
" whatever is with you, will be exhausted, and whatever is with Allah will remain." [16:96]
Therefore, those who trust in and depend on Allah will spend, and they will not fear poverty or destitution coming to them from the Owner of the Throne. They know that Allah will surely compensate them for whatever they spend.
"And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah hath given them of His Grace think that it is good for them: nay it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar on the Day of Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do. "
By an apt metaphor the miser is told that his wealth or the other gifts which he hoarded will cling round his neck and do him no good. He will wish he could get rid of them, but he will not be able to do so. According to the Biblical phrase in another connection they will hang like a millstone round his neck (Matt. xviii. 6). The metaphor here is fuller. He hugged his wealth or his gifts about him. They will become like a heavy collar, the badge of slavery, round his neck. They will be tied tight and twisted, and they will give him pain and anguish instead of pleasure. Cf. also xvii. 13.
Another metaphor is now introduced. Material wealth or property is only called ours during our short life here. So all gifts are ours in trust only; they ultimately revert to Allah, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens or on earth.
Wiki Quran:
The surah then adds the incentive to spend in charity, putting this in an emphatic way: "Why should you not spend freely in the cause of God, seeing that God's alone is the heritage of the heavens and the earth?" (Verse 10) This reference takes us back to the fact already mentioned in the opening verses: "His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth. Everything goes back to God." (Verse 5) The heavens and the earth are His own property and they revert back to Him. What has been assigned to people on trust will also go back to Him as part of this inheritance. Why should they, then, not be charitable when He is asking them to spend in charity? When this is put into perspective, there can be no justification for stinginess.
The elite community of the early believers, the Muhajirin and the Ansar, came forward with what they could of sacrifice, in life and property, during a very hard time, before the great triumph was achieved. The victory mentioned here may refer to either the fall of Makkah to Islam, or to the signing of the peace treaty at al-Hudaybiyah. Both were events that greatly consolidated the position of Islam at a time when it was still besieged by enemies on all fronts. These people offered their sacrifices to God, entertaining no thought of worldly gain or currying favour with a powerful Muslim state, for there was none. Their sacrifice was the result of a choice they made for God's sake. It was in support of a faith they wholeheartedly accepted and loved, valuing it dearer than their lives and properties. Yet what they sacrificed was, in quantity, much less than what those who flocked to Islam after its victory were able to sacrifice. Some of these offered sacrifices, stopping at the amount they heard the early Muslims gave. Therefore, the Qur'an gives these offerings their true values, making it clear that it is not the quantity that determines the value; rather, it is the motive pointing to the truth of faith: "Those of you who gave and fought [for God's cause] before the victory are not like others: they are higher in rank than those who gave and fought afterwards." (Verse 10)
A person who makes financial sacrifices and fights when the faith he believes in is struggling against great odds, able to call on the support of only a few, and when there is little hope of personal gain is totally different from the one who makes such sacrifices and fights at the time of security, when supporters are plentiful and victory is assured. The first is totally dedicated to his faith, placing his complete trust in God, with no quick gains to be hoped for. Nothing but faith urges him to make such sacrifices. The other always finds those who encourage him to do good deeds, even when his intention is right and he is totally dedicated to faith. Anas reports: "Some verbal disagreement occurred between Khalid ibn al-Walid and (Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf. Khalid said to (Abd al-Rahman: 'You take pride against us because of the period you had ahead of us.'1 We heard that this was mentioned to the Prophet. He said: `Leave my Companions alone. By Him who holds my soul in His hand, should any of you spend the like of Mount Uhud, [or he might have said, 'the weight of mountains'] in gold, he would not achieve the like of their deeds'." [Related by Ahmad.] The Prophet is also authentically quoted as saying: "Do not curse my Companions. By Him who holds my soul in His hand, should any of you spend the like of Mount Uhud in gold, he would not achieve the measure of any one of them, not even half that measure."
Having established the true measure of both groups in God's sight, the surah now states that they will all reside in heaven: "Although God has promised the ultimate good to all of them." (Verse 10) Despite their difference in degree, they have all done well. This difference in rank and the promise of the great reward to all are due to God's knowledge of their respective situations, intentions, determination and actions: "God is well aware of all that you do." (Verse 10) This is a reference to real intentions beyond apparent actions. It is after all the intention that determines the value of any action.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
- The exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [1]
- The plain translation has been taken from the Qur'ān officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- Towards Understanding the Quran
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
2 comments:
Jazak Allah khair JHB.
May Almighty Allah bless us al n make us a good pious muslim.
O brother in faith....your effort in putting across the most valuable.....subject....with such clarity is remarkable... I pray to Allah for grant of HIS blessings....to you.....for such a beautiful work....for a common man to understand the message from Allah.
Asim jelani
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