Tafsir Ibn Kathir -> Surah An-Najm -> Chastising Those Who disobey Allah and stop giving Charity |
Allah the Exalted chastises those who turn away from His obedience, ﴿فَلاَ صَدَّقَ وَلاَ صَلَّى - وَلَـكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى ﴾ (So he (the disbeliever) neither believed nor prayed! But on the contrary, he belied and turned away!)(75:31-32), ﴿وَأَعْطَى قَلِيلاً وَأَكْدَى ﴾ (And gave a little, then stopped) Ibn `Abbas said, "Gave a little, then stopped giving.'' Similar was said by Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and several others. `Ikrimah and Sa`id said: "Like the case of a people who dig a well, during the course of which they find a rock preventing them from completing their work. So they say, `We are finished' and they abandon the work.'' Allah's statement, ﴿فأَعِندَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَى ﴾ (Is with him the knowledge of the Unseen so that he sees) means, does this person, who stopped giving for fear of poverty and ended his acts of charity have knowledge of the Unseen and thus knows that if he does not stop giving, his wealth will go away No. Such a person has stopped giving in charity for righteous causes and did not keep relations with kith and kin because of his miserliness, being stingy and out of fear of poverty. The Prophet said in a Hadith, «أَنْفِقْ بِلَالُ، وَلَا تَخْشَ مِنْ ذِي الْعَرْشِ إِقْلَالًا» (O Bilal, spend and fear not less provisions from the Owner of the Thone.) Allah the Exalted and Most honored said, ﴿وَمَآ أَنفَقْتُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ﴾ (And whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allah's cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of providers.)(34:39)
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