Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra - Verse 30

Moderation in Spending

Allah enjoins moderation in living. He condemns miserliness and forbids extravagance.

وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ يَدَكَ مَغْلُولَةً إِلَى عُنُقِكَ

(And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck,) this means, do not be miserly and stingy, never giving anything to anyone, as the Jews - may the curses of Allah be upon them - said, "Allah's Hand is tied up (i.e., He does not give and spend of His bounty)". They attributed miserliness to Him, Exalted and Sanctified be the Most Generous Bestower!

وَلاَ تَبْسُطْهَا كُلَّ الْبَسْطِ

(nor overextend it (like a spendthrift)) means, nor be extravagant in spending and giving more than you can afford, or paying more than you earn, lest you become blameworthy and find yourself in severe poverty. If you are a miser, people will blame you and condemn you, and no longer rely on you. When you spend more than you can afford, you will find yourself without anything to spend, so you will be worn out, like an animal that cannot walk, so it becomes weak and incapable. It is described as worn out, which is similar in meaning to exhausted. As Allah says:

الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقًا مَّا تَرَى فِى خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَـنِ مِن تَفَـوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِن فُطُورٍ - ثُمَّ اْرجِعِ البَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ البَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ

(Then look again: "Can you see any rifts" Then look again and yet again, your sight will return to you in a state of humiliation and worn out. ) (67:3-4) meaning, unable to see any faults. Similarly, Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ibn Jurayj, Ibn Zayd and others understood this Ayah as miserliness and extravagance. It was reported in the Two Sahihs from the Hadith of Abu Az-Zinad from Al-A`raj that Abu Hurayrah heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

«مَثَلُ الْبَخِيلِ وَالْمُنْفِقِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلَيْنِ عَلَيْهِمَا جُبَّتَانِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ مِنْ ثُدِيِّهِمَا إِلَى تَرَاقِيهِمَا، فَأَمَّا الْمُنْفِقُ فَلَا يُنْفِقُ إِلَّا سَبَغَتْ أَوْ وَفَرَتْ عَلَى جِلْدِهِ حَتَّى تُخْفِيَ بَنَانَهُ وَتَعْفُوَ أَثَرَهُ، وَأَمَّا الْبَخِيلُ فَلَا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُنْفِقَ شَيْئًا إِلَّا لَزِقَتْ كُلُّ حَلْقَةٍ مِنْهَا مَكَانَهَا، فَهُوَ يُوَسِّعُهَا فَلَا تَتَّسِع»

(The parable of the miser and the almsgiver is that of two persons wearing iron cloaks from their chests to their collar-bones. When the almsgiver gives in charity, the cloak becomes spacious until it covers his whole body to such an extent that it hides his fingertips and covers his tracks (obliterates his tracks - or, his sins will be forgiven). And when the miser wants to spend, it (the iron cloak) sticks and (its) every ring gets stuck to its place, and he tries to widen it, but it does not become wide.) This version was recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Book of Zakah. In the Two Sahihs it is recorded that Mu`awiyah bin Abi Muzarrid narrated from Sa`id bin Yasar that Abu Hurayrah said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ يُصْبِحُ الْعِبَادُ فِيهِ إِلَّا وَمَلَكَانِ يَنْزِلَانِ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمَا:اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِ مُنْفِقًا خَلَفًا، وَيَقُولُ الْآخَرُ: اللَّهُمَّ أَعْطِ مُمْسِكًا تَلَفًا»

(There is no day when a person wakes up but two angels come down from heaven. One of them says, `O Allah, compensate the one who gives (in charity),' and the other one says, `O Allah, destroy the one who withholds.')" Muslim recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said:

«مَا نَقَصَ مَالٌ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ، وَمَا زَادَ اللهُ عَبْدًا أَنْفَقَ إِلَّا عِزًّا، وَمَنْ تَوَاضَعَ للهِ رَفَعَهُ الله»

(Wealth never decreases because of Sadaqah (charity). Allah never increases a servant who gives in charity except in honor, and whoever is humble for the sake of Allah, Allah will raise him in status.) According to a Hadith narrated by Abu Kathir from `Abdullah bin `Amr, who attributed it to the Prophet :

«إِيَّاكُمْ وَالشُّحَّ فَإِنَّهُ أَهْلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ، أَمَرَهُمْ بِالْبُخْلِ فَبَخِلُوا، وَأَمَرَهُمْ بِالْقَطِيعَةِ فَقَطَعُوا، وَأَمَرَهُمْ بِالْفُجُورِ فَفَجَرُوا»

(Beware of stinginess for it destroyed the people who came before you. It commanded them to be miserly, so they were miserly; and it commanded them to cut the ties of kinship, so they cut them; and it commanded them to commit immoral actions, so they did so.)

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَقْدِرُ

(Truly, your Lord expands the provision for whom He wills and straitens (for whom He wills).) This Ayah is telling us that Allah is the One Who provides or withholds, the Bestower Who is running the affairs of His creation as He wills. He makes rich whomever He wills, and He makes poor whomever He wills, by the wisdom that is His. He said: /

إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا

(Verily, He is Ever All-Knower, All-Seer of His servants.) meaning, He knows and sees who deserves to be rich and who deserves to be poor. In some cases, richness may be decreed so that a person gets carried away, leading to his own doom. In other cases, poverty may be a punishment. We seek refuge with Allah from both.

Spending in the way of Allah so liberally as would throw one in trouble: The pros and cons of it

The verse, given the outer view, seems to prohibit the kind of spending following which the spender himself ends up becoming poor and needy, a prey of all sorts of hardships and anxieties. Tafsir authority, al-Qurtubi has said that this injunction covers the general condition of Muslims who would, after such spending, find the resulting hardships distressing and the whole thing would make them contrite over past give-outs and grieve about it. The word: مَّحْسُورً‌ا (mahsura: empty-handed - 29) of the Holy Qur'an provides a hint in this direction. (As in Tafsir Mazhari) As for the people of high determination, who would not be emotionally disturbed by hardships that may come later and would still go on fulfilling rights of those who hold such rights, this restriction does not apply to them. This is the reason that it was the customary practice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he would not store anything for tomorrow.

What came today was spent out today. And there were occasions when he would remain hungry reaching the outer limits of having to tie a piece of rock against his stomach (to simulate the weight of food). Then there were many among the noble Sahabah who had spent their entire wealth and property in the way of Allah during the blessed period of the Holy Prophet ﷺ who did not categorically prohibit it nor did he blame them for it. This tells us that the prohibition contained in this verse is for those who cannot brave the hardships of poverty and hunger and they would start to rue after spending that they would have been better off if they had not spent in the way of Allah. If so, this attitude would nullify the good they had done in the past. Hence, the prohibition.

Poorly managed spending is prohibited

And the main thing in the verse is that it prohibits spending haphazardly in the sense that one would ignore what may happen in the near future and spend on the spot. The result is that comes tomorrow, other needy people show up or one is required to take care of a major religious exigency and he would, then, be in no position to help out. (Qurtubi) Or, he may be rendered equally incapable of fulfilling the rights of his family, something he is duty-bound to fulfill. (Mazhari) Explaining the words: مَلُومًا مَّحْسُورً‌ا (reproached, empty-handed - 29), Tafsir Mazhari says that the first word: مَلُوم (malum) relates to the first condition, that is, miserliness - meaning if he were to hold back on giving out of miserliness, people would reproach him.' And the word: مَّحْسُورً‌ا (mahsura) relates to some condition other than this - meaning that one should not exaggerate in spending to the extent that he himself becomes a pauper. If so, he will turn empty-handed, defeated and rueful.

Islam favours moderation in all matters. According to Islam, the middle way, i.e. avoidance of extremes, is the best way. ‘The best of matters is their moderation.’ The same advice has been given in respect of expenditure. Man should not be so niggardly as to degrade himself in the eyes of others, but neither should he spend so much as to leave himself with nothing. It has been recorded in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, that one who adopts the way of moderation will not be a pauper. Lack of moderation with regard to wealth generally develops in a man because he loses sight of the fact that the Giver is God. It is He Who in His wisdom gives less to one and more to another. God’s dictum on this subject has been recorded in a divinely inspired tradition (hadith qudsi) of the Prophet Muhammad, ‘There are some among My servants for whom poverty is better, that is, too much of wealth will lead them astray. If I were to make them wealthy, their faith would suffer. And there are some among My servants for whom being wealthy is better. If I were to make them paupers, their faith would suffer.’