There is a saying attributed to Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) that the fitna of my Ummah will be Wealth. Fitna in Arabic " فتنة " means temptation. This means that believers will be so engrossed in the love of worldly pleasures, and temptation to amass wealth in their coffers rather than spending on the the poor and the needy. And one day they will depart from this world with their coffers topped up - unspent.
Allah warns against such people in the Qur'an, verse 254 of Surah 2. Al Baqarah (The Cow):
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اَنۡفِقُوۡا مِمَّا رَزَقۡنٰكُمۡ مِّنۡ قَبۡلِ اَنۡ يَّاۡتِىَ يَوۡمٌ لَّا بَيۡعٌ فِيۡهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَّلَا شَفَاعَةٌ ؕ وَالۡكٰفِرُوۡنَ هُمُ الظّٰلِمُوۡنَ
"O you who believe! Spend out of what We have provided you before there comes a Day when there will be no buying and selling, nor will friendship and intercession be of any avail. Indeed those who disbelieve are the wrong-doers."
Here it is being said that one should fall for the temptation of wealth so much that he forgets to spend it in the way of Allah. The instruction given here is that those who have adopted the cause of the true faith should undertake financial sacrifices for its sake. For the more one spends in the way of Allah, the more he is been blessed with, both in this world and the hereafter.
Here the expression 'they who disbelieve' signifies either those who refused to obey God and held their property to be clearer than God's good pleasure, or those who did not believe in the Day of which they had been warned, or those who cherished the false illusion that in the Hereafter they would somehow be able to secure their salvation and that their association with men devoted to God would stand them in good stead for they would intercede with God on their behalf.
If we look around we will see many wealthy believers, who have been blessed with much more than they truly deserve, yet their temptation and greed for wealth is so much that they do not spend a penny for the poor and those who knock their doors are pushed away. And their temptation for more and more is so intense that they use all fair and unfair means to usurp the rights of others to their benefit. There are many Muslim rulers who have usurped the public money and made fortunes for their own comfort. Perhaps their greed for more has blinded them form the reality that there would come a day when there would be no buying and selling, but naked accountability of their deeds. On that day they would repent and wish that if they are given another life, they will make amends. But then that would be too late. Time is NOW to follow the commandments of Allah and spend more on charity rather than fattening their reserves, for no one knows when the angel of death knocks at the door.
Ibn Kathir Explanation:
Allah commands His servants to spend for His sake, in the path of righteousness, from what He has granted them, so that they acquire and keep the reward of this righteous deed with their Lord and King. Let them rush to perform this deed in this life, (before a Day comes) meaning, the Day of Resurrection.
This Ayah indicates that on that Day, no one will be able to bargain on behalf of himself or ransom himself with any amount, even if it was the earth's fill of gold; nor will his friendship or relation to anyone benefit him. Similarly, Allah said, "Then, when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another." [23:101]
(and it is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers) indicates that no injustice is worse than meeting Allah on that Day while a disbeliever. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Ata' bin Dinar said, "All thanks are due to Allah Who said, "(and it is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers) but did not say, `And it is the wrongdoers who are the disbelievers."
Yusuf Ali explains this verse as:
Spend, i.e, give away in charity, or employ in good works, but do not hoard. Good works would in Islam include everything that advances the good of one that is in need whether a neighbor or a stranger or that advances the good of the community or even the good of the person himself to whom God has given the bounty. But it must be real good and there should be no admixture of baser motives, such as vainglory, or false indulgence, or encouragement of idleness, or playing off one person against another. The bounties include mental and spiritual gifts as well as wealth and material gifts.
May Allah help us understand Qur'an and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.
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 Quran.
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 Quran.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
- The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
- The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy 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. [2]
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources:
- Towards Understanding the Quran
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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